WENZ

WENZ
City Cleveland, Ohio
Broadcast area Greater Cleveland
Northeast Ohio
Branding Z 107.9
Slogan Cleveland's Blazin' Hip Hop and R&B
Frequency 107.9 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date April 5, 1958
Format Mainstream urban
HD2: News/talk (WERE simulcast)
ERP 16,000 watts (horizontal)
15,000 watts (vertical)
HAAT 272 meters
Class B
Facility ID 2685
Transmitter coordinates 41°27′54.00″N 81°17′13.00″W / 41.4650000°N 81.2869444°W / 41.4650000; -81.2869444
Callsign meaning The ENd
Former callsigns WNOB (1958–70)
WELW-FM (1970–75)
WDMT (1975–87)
WPHR (1987–92)
Owner Radio One, Inc.
(Blue Chip Broadcasting Licenses, Ltd.)
Sister stations WERE, WJMO, WZAK
Webcast Listen Live
HD2: Listen Live
Website zhiphopcleveland.com

WENZ (107.9 FM) – branded Z 107.9 – is a commercial mainstream urban radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Radio One since 1999, its studios are located along the Euclid Avenue Corridor in Cleveland's eastside, while the station transmitter resides in Russell Township in Geauga County. Besides a standard analog transmission, WENZ broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online.[1]

History

Early years

The station debuted on April 5, 1958 as WNOB (Northern Ohio Broadcasting), was started by several people from WNEW in New York. When the companion AM license was not granted, the station found itself in a precarious position, because standalone FM stations in the 1950s did not make money.

In 1961, the station filed for bankruptcy. A machine operator, Phillip Kerwin, purchased WNOB for $16,000. In 1963, WNOB became one of the first FM stations in the US to broadcast in stereo. In 1968 the signal was upgraded; the station purchased a new transmitter and antenna system. Two years later, in 1970, Multicom Inc. (owner of WELW AM 1330 in Willoughby, Ohio) purchased the station for $330,000. The call letters were then changed to WELW-FM. WELW played a top 40 Drake type format for almost two years, then switched to country music.

Disco 108

In 1975, Beasley Broadcast Group purchased the station from Multicom for $550,000, and changed the call letters to WDMT which is short for We're Dynomite! ("Dynomite!", which happened to be a well known catchphrase by comic and actor Jimmie "Kid Dynomite" Walker on the popular sitcom Good Times). In 1976, the station switched to the then-popular disco format and took the moniker Disco 108. This is where the urban influence started, and in 1978, the station switched to an "Urban Contemporary" format as The New FM 108 WDMT. WDMT was one of the first urban-formatted FM stations in the country. It is during this era that the popular "Club Style" show was initiated, where street jocks from Cleveland got the chance to mix live on the air. Caroline Ford, Freddie James, Brenda & Michael Love, Matthew Morgan, Lady Skill, Hot Rod See, with Dean Rufus, and the 'Ghoul' were popular DJs during this period. In 1985, the air staff appeared with Arsenio Hall on the first 'Urban Music Awards' show. The station's early disco and 80s urban format can now be heard online at www.fm108wdmt.com which is a tribute to the station's heritage from 1975 to 1986. Many of the former disc jockeys have cut liners for the online station.

Power 108

Power 108 logo

In 1987, the call letters were changed to WPHR, and the station re-branded itself as Power 108 along with a switch to Top-40. In 1988, the station was sold to Ardman Broadcasting for $2.8 million. Personalities during this period included Program Director "Big" Steve Kelly, Calvin Hicks, Jimmy Bosh, Maria Farina, Elizabeth "Liz" Luke, John Records Landecker, Gina St. John, Cat Thomas, Steven "Little Stevie Z." Szabo, Ricky Michaels, Cathy Cruise, Scott James, Mark Allen, Edward "Downtown Eddie" Brown, with James "Jammin' Jimmy" Hart, and KMEL/WQHT alum Sonny Joe Fox, among others. WPHR moved its studios to Playhouse Square in late 1988.

107.9 The End

107.9 The End logo

On May 12, 1992, the station changed its callsign to WENZ and flipped its format to alternative rock, branding itself as 107.9 The End.[2] Both the branding and callsign reflected the station's position on the FM dial. In March 1996, Ardman would sell the station to Clear Channel Communications. Both the inception and the demise of The End were stunted: with both format changes, the station broadcast a 24-hour loop of R.E.M.'s song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". There was a documentary film made about The End, entitled The End of the World As We Knew It, released in 2009. It featured many of the former staffers and jocks.[3]

Z 107.9

On January 15, 1999, WENZ was purchased by Radio One, a company that owns and operates radio stations, most of which target African American communities. On May 14, 1999, the station relaunched as Kiss 107.9, with a Mainstream Urban format featuring hip-hop and R&B.[4] However, legal action from Clear Channel Communications – which claimed exclusive rights to the "Kiss" brand in the state of Ohio through CHR station WAKS (104.9 FM) – forced Radio One to drop the "Kiss" brand at WENZ. On September 1, 1999, WENZ branded itself Z 107.9.[5][6]

Current programming

WENZ is the Cleveland affiliate of the nationally syndicated The Rickey Smiley Morning Show (via Syndication One).[7] The rest of the day features local DJs - including Robin "Bijou Star" Sandler middays, Rochelle "Ro Digga" Frazier & Keenan "DJ Knyce" Williams afternoons, Jared "Incognito" McGriff evenings, and MoQuick overnights.[8][9]

References

  1. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=70 Cleveland HD Radio Guide
  2. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1992/RR-1992-05-15.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1384803/
  4. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1999/RR-1999-05-21.pdf
  5. ↑ Feran, Tom (May 26, 1999). "One station may have to kiss name goodbye". The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 1E - Entertainment.
  6. ↑ Feran, Tom (September 25, 1999). "Swoboda backs to news as anchor on TV-5 at 11". The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 6E - Entertainment.
  7. ↑ "Affiliates". The Rickey Smiley Morning Show. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  8. ↑ "Show Schedules | Z 107.9". Zhiphopcleveland.com. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  9. ↑ "Rickey Smiley Morning Show debuts in Cleveland". Radio-Info.com. June 7, 2010.
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