Ohio Radio: New FM Promises To Be Local

Lake County, Ohio’s first commercial FM radio station, WQGR Cougar 93.7-FM, officially began its programming on August 1 and according to Program Director Jeremy Jones that’s a distinct honor, reports news-herald.com.

"I grew up in and live in Lake County, and except for going away to college, I'm a lifelong Lake County kind of guy," James said. "Our signal is very strong here, it reaches, Cuyahoga, Geauga and Ashtabula County, but our main focus is definitely Lake County, because Lake County has never had an FM radio station."

Musically speaking, the 6,000-watt Cougar 93.7-FM features a format that James describes as "adult contemporary hybrid ... very upbeat, fun and eclectic."

WQGR 93.7 FM 60dBu Coverage

"Think about this, your Katy Perrys and Lady Gagas, mixed in with your Bon Jovis and Madonnas, and all the greatest from the '80s, '90s and today," James said. "We do have Top 40 hits, but we're not jamming them down your throat. So it's a really nice blend of music."

While Cougar 93.7-FM's target market is 18- to 49-year-old women - a group touted as having considerable earning and spending power and thus attractive to radio advertisers - the station also seeks to use its airwaves to provide public service to the community at large.

Cougar's prime radio competitors in the region are FM stations to the west in Cleveland, where Lake County listeners seeking music-rich formats have often turned in the past.

One way that Cougar hopes to win back these listeners is not just by "Playing the Latest and the Greatest" - one of the station's catch phrases - but also by delivering news and information geared to Lake County, said General Manager Dana Schulte.

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