WJMK (FM)
Encyclopedia
WJMK is a classic hits
radio station
in Chicago
, Illinois
. The station is known as "K-Hits 104.3." The station adopted this format on March 14, 2011, after spending 6 years as Jack FM
. Prior to that, WJMK spent 21 years as an oldies
station. WJMK is owned by CBS
.
, and went on the air as WCFL-FM on March 12, 1949. Though licensed for 22,000 watts, it only broadcast from 3pm to 9pm, as a 400-watt simulcast of WCFL (AM)
from an antenna on top of the studio. In early October 1949, the Federation shut down WCFL-FM and announced that they would surrender their FM license because they saw no possibility to make money with it.
) by Plough Broadcasting. Originally the FM station simulcast the AM station's signal during their operating hours, but changes in FCC rules eventually led to a separate format for the FM. By 1977, the station was known as WJEZ and had a "beautiful country
" format, playing instrumental background music with country overtones. This was not a ratings success, and by 1980, WJEZ had a more conventional country music format. In the early 1980s, the station gained competition as WUSN
(99.5 FM) also adopted a similar format. At that point, WJJD 1160 adopted a pop standards format and became known as "Music Of Your Life
". In 1983, Infinity Broadcasting acquired both WJJD and WJEZ.
format as "Magic 104" with the call letters WJMK. Initially, it was similar to what RKO's 103.5 WFYR was playing, except that WJMK played more '50s and early '60s music. WJMK initially also played '70s and '80s music along with a new song every hour. By early 1985, all songs released after 1972 were dropped.
The station focused primarily on songs released between 1964-1969 with a good amount of '50s music as well. In 1991, the station's moniker was changed from "Magic 104" to "Oldies 104.3". In 1992, another acquisition by Infinity made WUSN
WJMK's sister station. In 1996 Infinity was sold to CBS
, adding classic rock
station WCKG
(105.9 FM), 70s-based oldies
station WYSY (107.9 FM), WBBM-FM
(96.3 FM), a rhythmic/CHR
station and AAA
WXRT
(93.1 FM). To stay within the station ownership limits for the Chicago radio market, Infinity/CBS
sold WYSY to Spanish Broadcasting System. That move left CBS
/Infinity with its limit of 8 stations; 5 FM and 3 AM stations, in addition to WBBM-TV
.
WJMK dropped the moniker "Oldies 104.3" by 2001, and returned to their former moniker "Magic 104.3". In 1998, they began to add more '70s music to the format. In 1999, with new competition from the new "Jammin Oldies format of WUBT
"The Beat", WJMK added a few disco
songs and more '70s and early '80s songs to the playlist.
After WUBT dropped Jammin' Oldies for CHR
in 2001, WJMK continued with their oldies format, though they modified the playlist over the years, dropping older music in favor of more recent material. In 2003, the station once again, changed monikers, going from "Magic 104.3" back to "Oldies 104.3" and began airing Dick Bartley
's syndicated "Rock and Roll's Greatest Hits" to Saturday nights (which they'd drop at the beginning of June 2004 to return the 70s show "Saturday Night 70s"). By the winter of 2004/05, the station dropped the "oldies" moniker and became known as just "104.3 WJMK".
format known as "Jack FM
", which had seen success on a few Canadian
stations, to put a variety hits format on stations in some of their markets markets. That April, they flipped KCBS-FM
in Los Angeles
and WQSR
in Baltimore, Maryland to the new format. On June 3, 2005 at 4 PM, an hour after flipping long-time oldies
station WCBS-FM
in New York, WJMK became "Jack FM" as well.
Jack FM
was a format featuring mostly rock
and pop
songs that appeal to adults. The roughly 2,000 song playlist consisted mostly of music from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, in addition to a few current tracks. Though WJMK's previous oldies format continued to be streamed online and on their HD Radio
subchannel, complaints about the change were prevalent, but not nearly to the extent of those in New York City with WCBS-FM.
The former WJMK airstaff returned to the air on WJMK-HD2 in October 2005. Also, that Fall, WZZN (now WLS-FM) 94.7, saw a format void and after many years of struggling with different formats, switched to ABC's "True Oldies Channel, a satellite-delivered oldies format.
On July 13, 2006, in a cost-cutting move by CBS Radio, the entire airstaff of WJMK-HD2 was laid off, though the oldies format continued to stream online without air talent. Since then, WLS-FM had added a lot of WJMK's former airstaff
With a format change on WCKG
from talk to adult contemporary, Steve Dahl
and Buzz Kilman
moved from there to WJMK to host mornings starting November 5, 2007, as the only live personalities on Jack FM. Dahl continued there until December 5, 2008. At that time, Jack FM reverted back to having no live personalities. The station's ratings continued to struggle more when Bonneville International
debuted "Rewind 100.3" (a mostly 80s-based format) on rival WILV
in June 2010
.
format without the "Jack FM" branding. Station management describes the format as "high energy, music intensive and locally driven". Chicago radio personalities Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon anchor the station's morning show with Gary Spears hosting mid-days, Bo Reynolds on afternoon drive, and George McFly for nights. The last song on Jack FM was "Goodbye to You
" by Scandal
, before a montage of songs between 1966 and 1989 was played (similar to what WCBS-FM
did in 2007 when it relaunched its classic hits format, and using the almost exact same montage that launched the oldies format of WOCL-FM/Orlando
). K-Hits' first song was "Beginnings
" by Chicago
.
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
radio station
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 Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The station is known as "K-Hits 104.3." The station adopted this format on March 14, 2011, after spending 6 years as Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
. Prior to that, WJMK spent 21 years as an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station. WJMK is owned by CBS
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
.
1948 license
The 104.3 allocation in Chicago was originally licensed in 1948 to the Chicago Federation of LaborChicago Federation of Labor
The Chicago Federation of Labor is an umbrella organization for unions in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is a subordinate body of the AFL-CIO, and as of 2011 has about 320 affiliated member unions representing half a million union members in Cook County....
, and went on the air as WCFL-FM on March 12, 1949. Though licensed for 22,000 watts, it only broadcast from 3pm to 9pm, as a 400-watt simulcast of WCFL (AM)
WCFL (AM)
WCFL was the callsign of a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor, hence its call letters. The station is now known as WMVP. Its transmitter is located in Downers Grove and is still in use by WMVP...
from an antenna on top of the studio. In early October 1949, the Federation shut down WCFL-FM and announced that they would surrender their FM license because they saw no possibility to make money with it.
Current station
The station signed on, with the current license, in 1961 as WJJD-FM, co-owned with 1160 WJJD (now WYLLWYLL
WYLL 1160 is a "Christian Talk & Teaching" radio station located in Chicago and owned by Salem Communications. The station runs features, preaching, and other religious programs. Ministries may also buy time for programming. WYLL additionally produces a couple hours of local call-in shows every...
) by Plough Broadcasting. Originally the FM station simulcast the AM station's signal during their operating hours, but changes in FCC rules eventually led to a separate format for the FM. By 1977, the station was known as WJEZ and had a "beautiful country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
" format, playing instrumental background music with country overtones. This was not a ratings success, and by 1980, WJEZ had a more conventional country music format. In the early 1980s, the station gained competition as WUSN
WUSN
WUSN is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, The station broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and is a country radio station owned by CBS Radio. The station focuses on country music from the '90s, along with current product and some classic country from the '70s and '80s.-99.5 WEFM/99-"We" FM:Until 1978,...
(99.5 FM) also adopted a similar format. At that point, WJJD 1160 adopted a pop standards format and became known as "Music Of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
". In 1983, Infinity Broadcasting acquired both WJJD and WJEZ.
Oldies as WJMK
In 1984, WJEZ dropped country and flipped to an oldiesOldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format as "Magic 104" with the call letters WJMK. Initially, it was similar to what RKO's 103.5 WFYR was playing, except that WJMK played more '50s and early '60s music. WJMK initially also played '70s and '80s music along with a new song every hour. By early 1985, all songs released after 1972 were dropped.
The station focused primarily on songs released between 1964-1969 with a good amount of '50s music as well. In 1991, the station's moniker was changed from "Magic 104" to "Oldies 104.3". In 1992, another acquisition by Infinity made WUSN
WUSN
WUSN is an FM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, The station broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and is a country radio station owned by CBS Radio. The station focuses on country music from the '90s, along with current product and some classic country from the '70s and '80s.-99.5 WEFM/99-"We" FM:Until 1978,...
WJMK's sister station. In 1996 Infinity was sold to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, adding classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
station WCKG
WCKG
WCFS-FM , known on-air as "WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9", is a radio station licensed to Elmwood Park, Illinois and serving the Chicago, Illinois market...
(105.9 FM), 70s-based oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station WYSY (107.9 FM), WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Rhythmic Contemporary outlet in Chicago, Illinois with a Rhythmic based playlist. The station is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 4.2 kW. WBBM's main competition is WKSC-FM "103.5 Kiss FM", as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM &...
(96.3 FM), a rhythmic/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...
station and AAA
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
WXRT
WXRT
WXRT, also known as WXRT 93.1, XRT, and 93-XRT is a AAA radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". WXRT is a primary sponsor of the Chicago nonprofit Rock For Kids.-History:...
(93.1 FM). To stay within the station ownership limits for the Chicago radio market, Infinity/CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sold WYSY to Spanish Broadcasting System. That move left CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
/Infinity with its limit of 8 stations; 5 FM and 3 AM stations, in addition to WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV
WBBM-TV, virtual channel 2 , is the CBS owned-and-operated television station in Chicago, Illinois. WBBM-TV's main studios and offices are located in The Loop section of Chicago, as part of the development at Block 37, and its transmitter is atop the Willis Tower.-History:WBBM-TV traces its history...
.
WJMK dropped the moniker "Oldies 104.3" by 2001, and returned to their former moniker "Magic 104.3". In 1998, they began to add more '70s music to the format. In 1999, with new competition from the new "Jammin Oldies format of WUBT
WKSC
WKSC-FM is a Top 40 radio station serving the Chicago area. They are owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station is known as "103-5 KISS FM" or simply "103-5". WKSC's main competition is WBBM-FM "B96".-1950s - 1973:...
"The Beat", WJMK added a few disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
songs and more '70s and early '80s songs to the playlist.
After WUBT dropped Jammin' Oldies for 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...
in 2001, WJMK continued with their oldies format, though they modified the playlist over the years, dropping older music in favor of more recent material. In 2003, the station once again, changed monikers, going from "Magic 104.3" back to "Oldies 104.3" and began airing Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley
Dick Bartley, a popular American radio disc jockey since 21 June 1969, hosts several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including the current Classic Countdown since 1991 and the Saturday night call-in request show Rock & Roll's Greatest Hits since 1982...
's syndicated "Rock and Roll's Greatest Hits" to Saturday nights (which they'd drop at the beginning of June 2004 to return the 70s show "Saturday Night 70s"). By the winter of 2004/05, the station dropped the "oldies" moniker and became known as just "104.3 WJMK".
104.3 Jack FM
In the spring of 2005, Infinity (the radio division of CBS) had contracted with SparkNet Communications, which owned the U.S. trademarks of an adult hitsAdult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
format known as "Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
", which had seen success on a few Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
stations, to put a variety hits format on stations in some of their markets markets. That April, they flipped KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and WQSR
WQSR
WQSR is a radio station broadcasting on 102.7 FM. The station is licensed to Baltimore and serves that market. Its transmitter is located in Pikesville, next to the Pikesville Reservoir. It is under ownership of Clear Channel Communications. The station offers an adult rock hits format known as...
in Baltimore, Maryland to the new format. On June 3, 2005 at 4 PM, an hour after flipping long-time oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
in New York, WJMK became "Jack FM" as well.
Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
was a format featuring mostly rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs that appeal to adults. The roughly 2,000 song playlist consisted mostly of music from the '70s, '80s, and '90s, in addition to a few current tracks. Though WJMK's previous oldies format continued to be streamed online and on their HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
subchannel, complaints about the change were prevalent, but not nearly to the extent of those in New York City with WCBS-FM.
The former WJMK airstaff returned to the air on WJMK-HD2 in October 2005. Also, that Fall, WZZN (now WLS-FM) 94.7, saw a format void and after many years of struggling with different formats, switched to ABC's "True Oldies Channel, a satellite-delivered oldies format.
On July 13, 2006, in a cost-cutting move by CBS Radio, the entire airstaff of WJMK-HD2 was laid off, though the oldies format continued to stream online without air talent. Since then, WLS-FM had added a lot of WJMK's former airstaff
With a format change on WCKG
WCFS
WCFS may refer to:* WCFS-FM, a radio station licensed to Elmwood Park, Illinois, United States* WCFS-LP, a low-power radio station licensed to Du Quoin, Illinois, United States...
from talk to adult contemporary, Steve Dahl
Steve Dahl
Steven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
and Buzz Kilman
Buzz Kilman
-Radio career:He started in radio as the public service director for WBUS-FM, "The Magic Bus" in Miami Beach, Florida. Kilman remained there until station management discovered many of his late night interviews were spoofs. In 1974, he was at WSHE-FM in Ft...
moved from there to WJMK to host mornings starting November 5, 2007, as the only live personalities on Jack FM. Dahl continued there until December 5, 2008. At that time, Jack FM reverted back to having no live personalities. The station's ratings continued to struggle more when Bonneville International
Bonneville International
Bonneville International Corporation is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation...
debuted "Rewind 100.3" (a mostly 80s-based format) on rival WILV
WILV
WILV is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Hits format. Licensed to Chicago, Illinois, USA, the station serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. The station is also broadcast on HD radio....
in June 2010
2010 in radio
The following events occurred in radio in 2010.-Events:*Date Unknown: CHOI/Quebec City flips from Alternative Rock to News/Talk.*January 4: KJCS/Lufkin, Texas goes silent....
.
K-Hits
On March 9, 2011, CBS announced that on March 14, beginning at 1:04 p.m., WJMK would switch to a classic hitsClassic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format without the "Jack FM" branding. Station management describes the format as "high energy, music intensive and locally driven". Chicago radio personalities Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon anchor the station's morning show with Gary Spears hosting mid-days, Bo Reynolds on afternoon drive, and George McFly for nights. The last song on Jack FM was "Goodbye to You
Goodbye to You (Scandal song)
"Goodbye to You" is a new wave single and song by the 1980s band Scandal.-Original release information:The song was written by band member Zack Smith. It appeared on Scandal's 1982 Scandal EP...
" by Scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
, before a montage of songs between 1966 and 1989 was played (similar to what WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
did in 2007 when it relaunched its classic hits format, and using the almost exact same montage that launched the oldies format of WOCL-FM/Orlando
Orlando
Orlando is a major city in the U.S. state of Florida.Orlando may also refer to-Places:* in Florida** Orlando, a major city** Greater Orlando, the 27th-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
). K-Hits' first song was "Beginnings
Beginnings (song)
"Beginnings" is a song written by Robert Lamm for the rock band Chicago and recorded for their debut album The Chicago Transit Authority, released in 1969. Lamm also provided lead vocals...
" by Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
.