Steve Kingston’s Cortona Media has filed a deal to buy WYRE Annapolis, MD from Richard Dent. Cortona Media has operated the station under a local marketing agreement since July 2023, simulcasting the online version of the former WRNR Annapolis, the adult alternative station Kingston’s Empire Broadcasting recently sold for $1.54 million to religious broadcaster The Peter and John Fellowship.
WRNR, a 6,000-watt Class A signal, signed off on Friday, Feb. 10 2023, ending a 25-year legacy as one of the few remaining independently-owned adult alternative stations in the country. However, Kingston, the former “K-Rock” WXRK New York programmer turned station owner, hinted the legacy may continue in some form. Kingston retained the WRNR call letters and the intellectual property of the former adult alternative outlet.
After going dark for several months, WYRE returned to the air in September 2018 simulcasting WRNR (103.1). In late 2020 WYRE flipped to oldies, most recently as “810 The Wire.” In February 2023, WYRE began carrying the WRNR online stream. A top of the hour ID proclaims, "The Voice of the Bay, WYRE Annapolis and WRNR Online" with occasional "103.1 RNR" drop-ins.
Kingston and wife and radio personality Patty Steele have announced plans to open a music-themed cannabis dispensary in New Jersey.