WDMK
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| WDMK | |
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| City of license | Detroit, Michigan |
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| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | 105.9 Kiss FM |
| Slogan | Detroit's Best R&B From The 70's, 80's and Motown |
| Frequency | 105.9 MHz (Also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | May 26, 1960 |
| Format | Urban Adult Contemporary |
| Power | 20,000 watts |
| HAAT | 221 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 4597 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Callsign meaning | Detroit, Michigan's Kiss-FM |
| Former callsigns | WDTJ (8/21/98-6/28/05) WCHB-FM (8/23/96-8/21/98) WJZZ (?-8/23/96) WCHD (5/26/60-?) |
| Owner | Radio One |
| Sister stations | WCHB, WHTD |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.kissdetroit.com |
WDMK is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting at 105.9 mHz, owned by Radio One. The station is positioned as 105.9 Kiss FM, Detroit's Best R&B From The 70's, 80's and Motown, with a very Oldies-heavy Urban Adult Contemporary format. The station broadcasts from an antenna 725 feet in height with an effective radiated power of 20,000 watts. The station's transmitter is located in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park at the intersection of 10 mile Rd. and Greenfield.
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[edit] History
[edit] WCHD
105.9 FM went on the air on May 26, 1960, as WCHD. Originally WCHD simulcast the R&B format of WCHB, Detroit's first Black-owned-and-operated radio station (then at 1440 AM, now at 1200 AM). By the late 1960s, WCHD had programmed itself separately from its AM sister and was playing Jazz. Early jazz announcers on WCHD included Ken Bradley, Jo Ray, and Ed Love (who now hosts the long-running weeknight jazz program on public radio station WDET).
[edit] WJZZ Jazz
Eventually, WCHD changed its call letters to WJZZ to emphasize its musical format. WJZZ remained a traditional Jazz station until around 1989, when the station changed direction and began playing more mainstream contemporary jazz (the genre of music that would eventually be known as Smooth Jazz) and New Age material, adding artists such as Sade, Luther Vandross and Al Jarreau to its playlist. Although jazz purists decried the format tweak, WJZZ's ratings improved. By this time, WJZZ and WCHB were owned by Bell Broadcasting.
[edit] 105.9 The Beat/105.9 Jamz
By 1996, WJZZ had gained a competitor in Smooth Jazz" V98.7, the former rocker WLLZ which had changed format to Smooth Jazz shortly before Christmas 1995. With WVMV rapidly growing in popularity, Bell Broadcasting decided to take WJZZ in a different direction. On August 23, 1996, WJZZ shifted its format to Mainstream Urban and took the WCHB-FM calls and the slogan "105.9 The Beat," in an attempt to go after longtime urban leader WJLB. Radio One acquired WCHB-AM/FM in July 1998, and the following month, WCHB-FM became WDTJ, "105.9 Jamz." WDTJ aired the Russ Parr morning show syndicated from sister station WKYS in Washington, DC. "105.9 Jamz" did respectably in the ratings, but not respectably enough to beat WJLB.
[edit] 105.9 Kiss FM
On June 26, 2005, Radio One made a major change in its Detroit cluster. The company moved the "Old School" Rhythmic Oldies format of WDMK-FM 102.7 "Kiss-FM" to 105.9. 105.9 took on the WDMK calls and the "Kiss-FM" moniker, as the "Kiss" format was updated to a gold-based Urban AC. Detroit Pistons announcer John Mason (formerly of WJLB), who had done mornings at 102.7, was relegated to afternoon drive to accommodate the Tom Joyner morning show, previously heard on Clear Channel-owned WMXD, on the new "105.9 Kiss-FM." The "105.9 Jamz" mainstream urban/hip-hop format moved to 102.7, which took on the new calls WHTD and the moniker "Hot 102-7."
WDMK's ratings remain respectable with its current format, although the station has been unable to unseat WMXD, which is still frequently the #1 station 12+ in the Detroit market. In addition, the syndicated Steve Harvey morning show on WMXD regularly outperforms Tom Joyner on WDMK (although Joyner remains one of Detroit's top ten morning shows as rated by Arbitron).
John Mason, WDMK's former afternoon drive personality, left the station in September 2006 and shortly afterward announced that he would be looking to syndicate his own morning show, most likely based at independently-owned Detroit urban AC outlet WGPR. Radio One successfully took Mason to court to uphold a non-compete clause, and thus it will likely be several months before his voice is heard over WGPR's airwaves. In the meantime, Mason was able to secure a deal to begin broadcasting on WOWE (98.9 FM) in the Flint market.
[edit] Airstaff
The current lineup (as of April 2008) is as follows
- Morning Show: The Tom Joyner Morning Show - Tom Joyner, Myra J., Miss. Dupree,
Jay Anthony Brown, Tavis Smiley & A.J Parker (News) - Mid-Days: Tune Up
- Afternoon Drive: Terry Bello
- Evenings: Kelia Karson
- Nighttime: Kisses After Dark - Jay Black
- Weekenders/Shows: Donnie McClurkin
- Kisses Sunday Today - Rev. Angelo Henerson & Sister Staci
- On Point - Renee Prewitt
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
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