WQHT
WQHT (97.1 FM, Hot 97) is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund, and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement.
"Hot 97" redirects here. For the Roswell, New Mexico-based pop radio station of the same name, see KBCQ-FM.
- New York, New York
- United States
- New York, New York
- United States
Hot 97 FM
HD2: New hip-hop
- Mediaco Holding, Inc.
- (Mediaco WQHT License LLC)
January 11, 1940
- W2XWG (1940–1944)
- WEAF-FM (1944–1946)
- WNBC-FM (1946–1954)
- WRCA-FM (1954–1960)
- WNBC-FM (1960–1975)
- WNWS-FM (1975–1977)
- WYNY (1977–1988)
"Hot"
19615
B
6,700 watts
408 meters (1,339 ft)
WQHT's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
HD radio operations[edit]
On September 9, 2008, Emmis announced a programming partnership with WorldBand Media and to use WQHT's HD-3 signal to produce programming for the South Asian communities in three major cities including New York City.[26] In June 2009, the service was removed from WQHT and placed on sister station WRKS's HD2.
In January 2012, Emmis added WRXP, which was formerly on WFAN-FM and streaming online, to their HD2 sub-channel. With this move, the station no longer streamed online. In 2014, WQHT-HD2 began airing HumDesi Radio, a South Asian-focusing radio network.
Controversies[edit]
2004 Indonesia tsunami parody[edit]
On January 17, 2005, Miss Jones provoked a controversy by airing a song entitled "Tsunami Song" a month after approximately 167,000 people in Indonesia and 227,000 people worldwide were left dead or missing from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which affected the Asia-Pacific and Somalia. The song, a parody sung to the 1985 tune "We Are the World", was criticized for overtly racist mocking of the Asian victims; the song lyrics contain the racially derogatory word "Chinamen," and calls the drowning victims "bitches." Some of the lyrics included the words "Go find your mommy. I just saw her float by, a tree went through her head. And now your children will be sold into child slavery."[27]
Miss Info, a fellow on-air colleague of Korean descent, was outraged and spoke against the song on the station. She excluded herself from producing the song and said it was wrong for it to be played.[28] Miss Info was insulted by other DJs on the air.[29] Another jock on the show, Todd Lynn, muttered "I'm gonna start shooting Asians."[30] Following angry protests from the public, Miss Jones, DJ Envy, and Tasha Hightower were suspended for two weeks while Todd Lynn and songwriter Rick Del Gado were fired.[31][32] The station issued an apology on its website. Newsday, Sprint, McDonald's and Toyota all pulled their advertising from the station.[33] The suspended employees' pay was diverted to charities helping victims of the tsunami.
Fights and shootings[edit]
On February 25, 2001, a shootout erupted between Lil' Kim and the entourages of Kim and rival rapper Foxy Brown in front of the offices of Hot 97 on Hudson Street, with an injury to one of Foxy's friends.[34][35] It led to an investigation by the FBI and a trial which found Lil Kim guilty of perjury and sentenced to a year in prison for it in mid-2005. In February 2005, gunfire erupted in front of the same place between 50 Cent's entourage and the Game's entourage. The Game was quickly met by 50 Cent's crew after being notified he was at the front entrance of the building. A friend of 50 Cent pulled a gun out and shot at The Game and his entourage. A bullet hit a member of the Game's entourage in the leg.[36] Both incidents also led to the nickname "Shot 97" by Wendy Williams.[37]