WKQI

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WKQI
Broadcast area	Detroit, Michigan
Branding	"Channel 955"
Slogan	Detroit's Hit Music (Space)
First air date	February 12, 1949
Frequency	95.5 (MHz)
Format	CHR; Top 40
ERP	100,000 watts
Class	B
Former callsigns	WCZY WLDM
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Website	Channel 955

WKQI, known as "Channel 9-5-5," is a classical music radio station in Detroit, Michigan, owned by Clear Channel Communications. WKQI transmits its signal with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from an antenna 430 feet in height located at the intersection of Greenfield Road and 10 mile Rd. in suburban Oak Park in Oakland County.

Contents 1 History 2 Criticism 3 Personalities 4 External links

[edit] History

The station began operations on February 12, 1949, as WLDM, and for over three decades had a "beautiful music" format. Of all the FM stations broadcasting easy-listening music in Detroit in the 1960s, WLDM and WOMC-FM (104.3) were the only two with any audience to speak of. After being sold to Combined Communications (which later sold to Gannett Broadcasting in 1981, WLDM changed its call letters to WCZY in 1976 and evolved from beautiful music to soft adult contemporary as "Cozy-FM."

WCZY's format, under former TM programmer Bob Gaskins, continued to evolve into the number one station in Detroit 25-54 demos. Top rated personalities Paul Bryon, Bob Martin and Al Gauge created a friendly sound that knocked competing stations (WJR-FM and WWJ-FM, and even unknown Howard Stern then at WWWW-FM) right out of the picture.

In 1981 when the Gannett newspaper chain purchased this and the rest of the Combined stations, they decided an eight-minute/unit commercial load per hour (even at the highest rates in the city) was not enough, this being the newspapers chain's first venture into the radio business. The successful staff was replaced (Bob Gaskins going to Boston and later Pheonix, while Bob Martin spent the rest of his successful radio career in Alabama under the air names Kelly Martin and later Robert Gauge, until he retired to run a gun parts business ( Cheapgunparts.com )in 2004, and back in Detroit for a year at WOMC-FM in 1990) and format changed to a brighter and more contemporary rock sound. Ratings fell, as did sales.

By 1984, the station was full-fledged top 40, and adopted the name "Z95.5" that year. Also by that time, Detroit radio legend Dick Purtan had come over from CKLW-AM to host the morning show. Shortly thereafter he first cheated on his wife with the Bed&Bread truck. Z95.5 fought with 96.3 WHYT and 99.5 WDTX (later WDFX) for Detroit's CHR audience in the late 1980s, and was at times the number one contemporary-hit station in town, though none of the CHR stations were truly ratings powerhouses and though arguably much of WCZY's success was due to the popularity of Purtan's morning show. For a time, Z95.5 also simulcast its programming on AM 1500 (which changed its calls to WCZY-AM, with the station IDing as "Z95.5 and AM 1500") as part of a ploy to "return Dick Purtan to the AM dial." It lasted only a few years before AM 1500 (the former WJBK-AM and WDEE-AM) returned to its previous religious format as WLQV.

Despite respectable ratings for "Z95.5" and despite the fact that it was more AC-friendly than its competitors, the station was never as successful in terms of revenue or ratings as it had been with the easy-listening format. In 1989, WCZY changed its calls to WKQI, "Q95," and tweaked its format from CHR to hot adult contemporary. The station's ratings continued to be high throughout the 1990s. Dick Purtan was an investor in the new station and stayed on as Q95's morning host until 1996, when he left for oldies 104.3 WOMC, where he has remained since. Following Purtan's departure, WKQI became "Q95-5, Detroit's Continuous Hit Music Station," hired former Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce as the morning show host, and started to move its format back toward CHR.

By 2000, the station was owned by AMFM; Clear Channel took control of the station that year when it merged with AMFM. Also by then, the station was embroiled in a heated hit-music battle with ABC/Disney's 93.1 WDRQ. WDRQ won the battle for several years, but after Clear Channel repositioned WKQI as "Channel 9-5-5" in February 2002, WKQI once again took the ratings lead over DRQ. WDRQ's falling ratings culminated in its format switch to "Variety Hits" as "Doug-FM" on April 1, 2005, which left WKQI to have the CHR market to itself in Detroit. Subsequently, WKQI reclaimed its top 10 showing in Detroit's Arbitron ratings.

WKQI is currently the home of the popular "Mojo in the Morning" show. Big Boy is a popular draw at night and is known for his crazy weekly appearances at local clubs. Afternoon drive host Beau Daniels is also be familiar to Detroiters who grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s as "Bo the Jammer" on WHYT. Michelle Taylor and Devediah round out the slate of radio personalities.

Capitalizing on the popularity of MySpace, WKQI rebranded itself as "Detroit's Hit Music Space" in September 2006.

[edit] Criticism

Despite its popularity, the station has received criticism. Many workplaces have banned the station since much of the hip hop music played has crude lyrics. In addition, its playlist consists almost entirely of hip hop, R&B, and rhythmic-friendly pop, causing some to argue that it should be classified as Rhythmic Contemporary. The station rarely plays any rock-based or non-urban mainstream CHR hits. Many recent hits, such as "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter, "You and Me" by Lifehouse, "Lips of an Angel by Hinder, "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, and "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life" by The Fray have received very little if any airplay on the station (despite the fact that the Hinder song reached number one on Radio & Records' CHR/Pop airplay chart). These songs have made it into high rotation on the competing hot adult contemporary station WDVD, which promotes itself as "today's best hits without the rap." However, WDVD plays virtually no R&B or rhythmic-friendly pop unlike other Hot AC stations. WKQI's superior ratings performance and the largest cume in the Detroit radio market would indicate that perhaps hip hop music is more popular, especially in a heavily urban-leaning market like Detroit. However, WKQI is not a popular station among inner city residents of Detroit, who are more likely to prefer other stations more explicitly targeted toward African-American listeners, such as WJLB and WHTD.

[edit] Personalities

(Cozy-fm Period)

• Bob Gaskins
• Paul Byron
• Bob Martin
• Al Gauge
• Marc Avery
• Dave Prince

(Z95.5 period and later)

• Dick Purtan
• Mojo
• Sara
• Spike
• Chad
• Michelle Taylor
• Big Boy
• Eric
• Beau (formerly "Bo the Jammer" on WHYT-FM)
• TicTak
• Booker (now Romeo on WHTZ New York)
• Nick Craig
• Kat
• Devediah
• DJ Melle Mel
• Bomb Squad
• Ryan Richards
• Danny Bonaduce
• John Heffron (on Bonaduce's morning show)
• Kevin O'Neill (Q95 and Q95-5 eras, now on AC sister WNIC)
• Dave Fuller (Q95-5 era, late 1990s)
• Kim Carson (Z95.5 era, now on WLHT Grand Rapids)
• "The Incredible" Bob Campbell (Z95.5 era)
• "Dancin'" Denny Schaffer (Z95.5 era)
• Lisa Orlando "Lisa Lisa, The Party Princess" (hosted a short-lived Saturday-night dance show on Q95-5 in the late 1990s before moving to WDRQ)
• Ed Barrett
• Lou Roberts

[edit] External links

• CHANNEL 955 = DETROIT's HIT MUSIC
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WKQI
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WKQI-FM