Is there room for another news talk station in Washington DC?
This market has a world-class news station with WTOP. It’s a great station, very traditional, highly structured. However, that doesn’t allow for conversation and reaction to the news. Wonk is a different animal. We feature news, reactions, and entertainment. Wonk will serve a younger audience, with a more modern feel. It should complement the other news stations in the market.
Why do you feel now is the right time to launch a station like WONK-FM?
There is a massive wave of retirements in DC. According to the 2018 Federal Media & Marketing Study, the percentage of Federal workers under the age of 45 has doubled in just the last couple of years. That’s a crazy statistic. The huge growth of younger WONKs provides a great opportunity for us. The average age of those listening to traditional news is well over 55 years old. We’ve designed WONK-FM to sound younger, have a bit of an attitude and be more modern with features like Podcast Central and the Reaction Zone.
Where can I hear WONK?
WONK can be heard inside the beltway on 104-7fm, throughout the DMV on 101.1 HD2, and listen on your smart speaker nationwide on iHeartRadio. WONK can also be found on social media with Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Directly interacting with our audience.
Who’s going to be listening?
WONK will be catering to thought leaders and decision makers. Those individuals that that are driving true change in the marketplace. Everything we do is designed for them.
You mentioned news and entertainment, what is the entertainment portion?
The one thing we know about wonks, is they love podcasts. They seek informative, entertaining, storytelling. And here is an amazing stat about our region…13 of the top 25 counties in the U.S. for podcast consumption, are in the DMV and greater Virginia Maryland area. And that’s great news for us because iHeartRadio is the nation’s largest podcast content producer and largest commercial podcast platform. We have amazing content to share.
WONK-FM will feature mini podcasts once per hour through our prime time Reaction Zone programming. We will also feature an hour-long Podcast central program daily at 5am and 6pm.
Is there a political lean to the station?
We strive for balance. There will be reactions that can be viewed as either the left or the right, however, we work hard to maintain a balance. Our anchors, however, are there to report, not interpret, the news
How will you drive listenership to WONK?
With our existing stations, iHeartRadio already reaches millions of listeners a month in the DMV. We will be promoting WONK using our existing stations and their social and digital platforms. In fact, we have incredible synergy with WASH and Big 100. They have been identified as two of the primary outlets for media consumption in the district with WONKs.