WMJZ-FM

Infobox Radio station
name = WMJZ-FM


city = Gaylord, Michigan
area = [http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WMJZ&service=FM&status=L&hours=U]
branding = "Eagle 101.5 FM"
slogan = "We Play Everything"
airdate = April 30, 1982
frequency = 101.5 MHz
format = Variety Hits
erp = 50,000 Watts
haat =
class = C2
callsign_meaning = Majic 95 (previous format)
former_callsigns = WZXM-FM (1/11/84-7/13/87)
WEGS (4/30/82-1/11/84)
owner = Darby Advertising
webcast =
website = http://www.radioeagle.com/gaylord/
affiliations =

WMJZ-FM (101.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to the city of Gaylord, Michigan. It broadcasts at the assigned frequency of 101.5 megahertz with a power output of 50,000 watts. The station airs a Variety Hits format as Eagle 101.5, We Play Everything, and is owned by Darby Advertising, a company headed by Kent Smith. Dave Smith, Kent's father, owns a similarly formatted station in Newberry, Michigan, WMJT-FM "Eagle 96.7." The Smiths also have applied for stations in Frederic, Michigan (95.3 FM) and Paradise, Michigan (94.7 FM).

History

Beginnings as WEGS

For many years, WMJZ operated at the class A frequency of 95.3 FM, and a power output of only 3,000 watts. The station first went on the air on April 30, 1982, as WEGS-FM, and operated as a simulcast sister station of then co-located daytime-only AM station WATC 900, which had been on the air since 1950. The FM changed its calls to WZXM in 1984.

Both stations were sold in June 1986 to Classic Radio, Inc., a group of local investors headed by William Rolinski. The call letters were then changed to WMJZ for both stations, as the simulcast of adult contemporary and oldies music continued, provided by /SMN's Starstation satellite-delivered format along with a lot of local community involvement.

imulcast abandoned: WMJZ comes into its own

In response to the growing number of vehicles equipped with FM radios, as well as an effort to increase revenue, Classic Radio decided to end the simulcast between the two stations in 1990, as WMJZ-AM had been given limited nighttime power and thus the ability to have its own identity. WMJZ-AM then became known as WSNQ (the call letters stood for the new Sun Radio Network, which provided news/talk programming for the station), but the call letters for WMJZ-FM remained the same, and it became known as "Majic 95.3". WMJZ then ended its relationship with ABC/SMN and picked up another affiliation with Unistar's (now Westwood One) AC II format.

In June 1996, Classic Radio, Inc. decided to sell the station to Morning Dove, Inc., a company headed by David Essmaker (then 26 years old and one of the youngest owner-operators in the country) and his wife Jo'Anne, for $25,000.

WMJZ Goes With New Technology

Morning Dove then made $125,000 in equipment upgrades and ended the satellite format relationship and began a new format of Hot Adult Contemporary music, all programmed locally on-site, using Scott Studios' AXS hard-disk computer-based technology for commercials, PSA's and promotional announcements, with CDs for music. The station also dropped its "Majic" moniker and became known on-air as "Z95." Essmaker handled morning show duties and managed the overall sales and programming operations for both stations, with his wife Jo'Anne handling traffic and billing, as well as some sales. David Essmaker, Kay Burson and Mike Reling all handled news and on-air duties over the course of Morning Dove ownership.

In February 1998, David Essmaker received an unsolicited offer of $235,000 to sell the stations, and after careful consideration he and his wife decided to sell the radio stations to Sandusky, Ohio-based broadcaster Kent Smith that year.

Bold Moves Under New Owner

Smith had demonstrated success of his own back in the early 90's with his own popular oldies-formatted FM station, WNCG (Northcoast Gold 101) FM 100.9, licensed to Clyde, Ohio about a half hour south of Cedar Point. Smith's aggressive marketing and promotional efforts for WNCG had made him and partner Dave Searfoss (the other 'S' in licensee S&S Broadcasting) legends in Northwest Ohio, and his station an unusual success, as many high-powered FM stations dominated the market with their signals, compared to his smaller 3,000 watt signal.

Smith sold WNCG and under the name of his new company, Darby Advertising, purchased WMJZ and WSNQ, almost immediately putting facility changes into place.

Farewell to WSNQ

After more than 50 years on the air, beginning as WATC, it became obvious that little more could be done to support Otsego County's first radio station.

WATC first signed on in 1950 as part of the Paul Bunyan Network, a group of stations that were launched by Pennsylvanian Les Biederman, including its flagship, WTCM Traverse City in 1940. Biederman built a total of five stations as part of the network, and WATC was the last station to be built. Biederman ended up selling WATC off to comply with FCC ownership limits in order to allow his company to grow. WATC was sold to William Barr by the end of the 1970s, but would change hands again in 1982. Barr's son David, would later buy a station of his own, WIFN (now WHLX) in Marine City, 50 miles northeast of Detroit.

Because AM operates on the groundwave principle, as opposed to FM skywave, the station's reception problems arising from Michigan's sandy terrain were all but insurmountable when competing against the high-powered FM stations coming on the air at around this period that dominated northern Michigan's landscape.

WSNQ switched to a nostalgia-based music format by mid-1997 in an effort to reverse its sagging fortunes. It was shut off a year after its acquisition from Darby. The license was returned to the FCC in 2002, after not having turned a real profit in years.

The move would silence WSNQ forever, as adjacent AM 910 WFDF in Flint later petitioned the FCC for a transmitter move south to Farmington Hills and a construction permit to increase its power to a full 50,000 watts.

WMJZ Presses On

Darby Advertising then applied for a construction permit to move WMJZ from 95.3 to 101.5 that summer. The FCC approved the application in October 1998.

Smith, having demonstrated success at WNCG (now Clear Channel-owned classic rocker WMJK) with ABC/SMN's Pure Gold satellite-delivered format, brought an oldies format to WMJZ in February of the following year. Most of WMJZ's programming (except for a local, live mornings show, locally based news blocks, remotes and public-service programs) consisted of the satellite-delivered "Good Time Oldies" format from Jones Radio Networks. The oldies format also helped fill the hole for the format in northern Michigan created when WAIR 92.5 FM in Atlanta flipped from oldies to a simulcast of country WBYB in the Traverse City market; although there were (and still are) oldies stations in Rogers City and Traverse City, Gaylord is in the fringes of both stations' coverage areas. In October of 1999, one year after approval was given for the new channel, WMJZ moved to 101.5 and was rebilled as "Oldies 101.5", with its power now doubled to 6,000 watts.

In October 2001, Darby Advertising applied for a modification in the station's license, requesting a change from Class A to C2 status. The FCC granted the request in February 2004, allowing WMJZ to move its antenna to a taller tower and increase its effective radiated power to 50,000 watts, covering much of Michigan's northern lower peninsula and Mackinac Straits area. While the power increase and tower relocation move was pending, WMJZ moved from its longtime home at 650 East Main Street to a new, state-of-the-art facility at 3687 Old 27 South in Gaylord.

Once the FCC move was approved, all traces but one of the station at the old East Main Street location were removed. The now unused tower at 650 East Main remains today.

WMJZ Today

In early 2006, WMJZ dropped its oldies format in favor of the popular adult hits format. The station is billed today as "Eagle 101.5...We Play Everything". Operations Director Mike Reling does mornings. Today the station now features local personalities, one of whom, Rob Weaver, was a popular DJ for years at former Top 40 giant WKPK. The "Eagle 101.5" playlist is much more broad-based and all-inclusive than those of most major-market Variety Hits stations, incorporating a very wide variety of popular music of all genres from the past five decades. In any given hour, the station may play everything from pre-Beatles oldies to Green Day to Culture Club to Travis Tritt.

Sources

* [http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-m/wmjz.html Michiguide.com - WMJZ-FM History]

External links

*FMQ|WMJZ-FM
*FML|WMJZ
*FMARB|WMJZ