WFMR (defunct)

Infobox Radio Station
name = WFMR


city =
area = Milwaukee, Wisconsin
branding =
slogan =
airdate = June 26, 1956
frequency = 96.5 MHz (1956-1983)
98.3 MHz (1983-2000)
106.9 MHz (2000-2007)
format = Classical music
power =
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner = Saga Communications
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = [http://web.archive.org/web/20060220130623/www.wfmr.com/ Archived WFMR website]
affiliations =

WFMR was a classical music station that existed on three different FM frequencies in the Milwaukee area during its 51-year history. Its last frequency was 106.9 MHz.

History

Originally at 96.5 on the FM dial, WFMR signed on the air with a classical music format on June 26, 1956 from the Bayshore Shopping Center in Glendale. The next year, the studios moved to downtown Milwaukee. A subsequent move put the studios on the north side of the city, at 711 W. Capitol Drive.

In 1983, the station was sold and was flipped to an adult contemporary format. The owner of a radio station in suburban Menomonee Falls, WXJY (98.3 FM), immediately picked up the classical format and WFMR call letters, and it remained there at that frequency until December 12, 2000, when owner Saga Communications moved WFMR to the 106.9 FM dial position, and WJMR-FM's urban AC format and call letters to 98.3. This was done primarily to boost WJMR-FM's signal in the urban areas of Milwaukee, and to target WFMR toward the Western and Northern suburbs. Saga moved the studios to Milwaukee the year before, in 1999.

During its time as a classical music station, WFMR was a four-time finalist for the National Association of Broadcasters' Marconi Award for "Classical Station of the Year", and celebrated its 50th year as a classical station in 2006.

At midnight on June 26, 2007, ironically on the 51st anniversary of its original sign-on, WFMR ended its classical music format when it flipped to a smooth jazz format. The decision was made when a rival station, WJZI, dropped the format a week earlier for light adult contemporary music. Ironically, just days after the flip, KING-FM/Seattle posted a banner on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal website telling listeners that they have a new place to turn to for Classical by going to their website.

On July 15, 2007, the station changed its call sign to WJZX. [ [http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=67484&Callsign=WJZX Call Sign History ] ] The callsign passed in early 2008 to WOMR in Provincetown, Massachusetts to be used as a repeater.

Logo Gallery

ee also

*WKLH
*WJMR-FM
*WJZX

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060220130623/www.wfmr.com/ Archived WFMR website]
* [http://www.onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/milwradio.html Milwaukee radio: a retrospective]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060220130623/www.wfmr.com/history.asp History of WFMR (from the Internet Archive)]
* [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=624353 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article on flip to smooth jazz]