WJBQ
Encyclopedia
WJBQ is a radio station
in Portland, Maine
, United States
, which airs a contemporary hit radio
format.
Weekday mornings feature the "Q Morning Show" with Meredith Manning, Jeff Parsons, and Lori Voornas. The morning show features music as well as news every half hour and is supplemented with talk and recurring features such as "movie montage/mash-ups," "Pen of the Day," weekly calls to Movie Mom, and "Open Mic Wednesdays" which allows callers to call in and say mostly anything on the air (with exceptions) for ten seconds.
Afternoons feature the Q late lunch with Teddy McKay who plays listener requests from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.
Weeknights feature Rob "Steelzy" Steele with the exception of Wednesday nights in the summertime when he hosts a ladies night at the OOB pier.
Nights and Weekends also feature a mix of on-air staff and nationally syndicated programs such as Open House Party
and American Top 40
, which was nationally recognized as having some of the highest ratings (on a percentage basis) in the country. In its first Arbitron ratings, WJBQ edged WLOB by about three points which was the beginning of the end for WLOB.
WLOB's demise took a while, probably because it had the backing of legendary consultant Paul Drew protege Ron Foster and others. Meanwhile, WJBQ was staffed by Wally Brian doing mornings (now WROR/Boston), Joe McMillan in middays (who went on to WHDH (now WEEI
) and KABL in San Francisco), and Jeff Ryder in the afternoon slot (also the station's program director, who went on to WBBF
Rochester, NY and WOKY
Milwaukee). By 1977, WLOB had changed formats to an older-targeted Adult Contemporary format.
In September 1980, WJBQ's owner John Bride swapped frequencies and formats with Portland classical station WDCS on 97.9. This would make WJBQ a full-power 50,000 watt facility. The move proved to be profitable for the station. High-profile names like Andy Carey, Brian Phoenix, and Harry Nelson took turns as the station's programming directors, and brought it continued high ratings.
In August 1986, Bride sold WJBQ in order to launch independent UHF TV station WPXT
. The new owner was former WJTO
/WIGY owner Turner Porter, who launched an ambitious full-service adult contemporary format featuring Joe McMillan in morning drive and NBC Talknet
at night and new call letters: WWGT, or "The Great 98". Jack O'Brien was imported from sister station WERZ
as program director. This "AM on FM" approach didn't garner the success that was hoped for, and the station changed format again in November 1987. The A/C format was replaced with CHR
as "G-98" with Jon Holiday who is now a programming consultant at the helm. Under Holiday's guidance the station achieved big ratings success and remained CHR as G-98 into the early 90's. Later the station changed on air slogans several times (as Ocean, Coast, etc.) with the WCSO calls as an AC for several years before returning to its Top 40 roots for a 3rd time and original WJBQ call letters in 1996 under the ownership of Fuller-Jeffrey Radio who later sold to Citadel Broadcasting
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media
on September 16, 2011.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which airs a contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format.
Programming
The station provides around the clock top 40 hit music played by either its own staff of disc jockeys and supplemented with some syndicated programming.Weekday mornings feature the "Q Morning Show" with Meredith Manning, Jeff Parsons, and Lori Voornas. The morning show features music as well as news every half hour and is supplemented with talk and recurring features such as "movie montage/mash-ups," "Pen of the Day," weekly calls to Movie Mom, and "Open Mic Wednesdays" which allows callers to call in and say mostly anything on the air (with exceptions) for ten seconds.
Afternoons feature the Q late lunch with Teddy McKay who plays listener requests from 1:00pm to 2:00pm.
Weeknights feature Rob "Steelzy" Steele with the exception of Wednesday nights in the summertime when he hosts a ladies night at the OOB pier.
Nights and Weekends also feature a mix of on-air staff and nationally syndicated programs such as Open House Party
Open House Party
Open House Party is an American radio show hosted on Saturday nights by John Garabedian that promotes itself as "the biggest party on the planet". It focuses on playing contemporary hit radio music, also known as Top 40. The show differentiates itself from most Top 40 stations because it plays a...
and American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
History
WJBQ started as a 3,000 watt Top 40 station at 106.3 FM (Scarborough) and 1440 AM (Westbrook) in April 1974. Its main competition was then Top 40 AM Station WLOBWLOB
WLOB is a news/talk radio station in the Portland, Maine area. The current owner is Atlantic Coast Radio. In the 1960's McGavern/Guild Media NYC owned WLOB AM 1310/FM 98 as Atlantic States Industries Div...
, which was nationally recognized as having some of the highest ratings (on a percentage basis) in the country. In its first Arbitron ratings, WJBQ edged WLOB by about three points which was the beginning of the end for WLOB.
WLOB's demise took a while, probably because it had the backing of legendary consultant Paul Drew protege Ron Foster and others. Meanwhile, WJBQ was staffed by Wally Brian doing mornings (now WROR/Boston), Joe McMillan in middays (who went on to WHDH (now WEEI
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
) and KABL in San Francisco), and Jeff Ryder in the afternoon slot (also the station's program director, who went on to WBBF
WBBF
WBBF is a radio station located in Buffalo, New York and broadcasting at a frequency of 1120 kHz on the AM band with a daytime power of 1000 watts....
Rochester, NY and WOKY
WOKY
WOKY is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, radio station. They broadcast a classic country radio format emphasizing country from the 50s-80s...
Milwaukee). By 1977, WLOB had changed formats to an older-targeted Adult Contemporary format.
In September 1980, WJBQ's owner John Bride swapped frequencies and formats with Portland classical station WDCS on 97.9. This would make WJBQ a full-power 50,000 watt facility. The move proved to be profitable for the station. High-profile names like Andy Carey, Brian Phoenix, and Harry Nelson took turns as the station's programming directors, and brought it continued high ratings.
In August 1986, Bride sold WJBQ in order to launch independent UHF TV station WPXT
WPXT
WPXT is the CW-affiliated television station for Southern Maine and Northern New Hampshire licensed to Portland. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter in South Gray along I-95/Maine Turnpike/Gold Star Memorial Highway...
. The new owner was former WJTO
WJTO
WJTO 730 AM is an Adult Standards/Oldies station licensed to Bath, Maine. WJTO is owned by Bob Bittner Broadcasting and is a sister station to Cambridge, Massachusetts' WJIB.-History:...
/WIGY owner Turner Porter, who launched an ambitious full-service adult contemporary format featuring Joe McMillan in morning drive and NBC Talknet
NBC Talknet
NBC Talknet was a nighttime programming block on the NBC Radio Network from the 1980s to the 1990s. It comprised several advice-oriented call-in talk shows, the most notable personalities being Bruce Williams and Sally Jessy Raphael...
at night and new call letters: WWGT, or "The Great 98". Jack O'Brien was imported from sister station WERZ
WERZ
WERZ is a radio station located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, located at 107.1 on the FM dial. On air it is presented as 107.1 WERZ.The station was formerly known as WKXR-FM. In March 1982 the call letters were changed to WERZ, with the slogan "Z107...the continuous music FM". The format also...
as program director. This "AM on FM" approach didn't garner the success that was hoped for, and the station changed format again in November 1987. The A/C format was replaced with CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
as "G-98" with Jon Holiday who is now a programming consultant at the helm. Under Holiday's guidance the station achieved big ratings success and remained CHR as G-98 into the early 90's. Later the station changed on air slogans several times (as Ocean, Coast, etc.) with the WCSO calls as an AC for several years before returning to its Top 40 roots for a 3rd time and original WJBQ call letters in 1996 under the ownership of Fuller-Jeffrey Radio who later sold to Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
on September 16, 2011.