WQMX
Encyclopedia
WQMX — branded FM 94.9 WQMX — is a commercial country
radio station serving to the Akron
, Ohio
metro area. It is licensed to nearby Medina, Ohio
and is owned by the Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. which also owns Akron's WAKR
and WONE-FM
.
format. Branded as The Quiet Island, WDBN was one of the early adopters of the beautiful music format that minimized announcements and included no vocal music. Jim Schulke, one of the early beautiful music format programmers, developed much of his programming philosophies at the station.
WDBN was also an early adopter of FM stereo, broadcasting in FM stereo by November 1961. When the FCC
limited stations in the area to a maximum ERP
of 50 kW, WDBN was "grandfathered" and allowed to maintain its 118 kW signal. As a result, the station blanketed the Cleveland
market and could be heard throughout Northeast Ohio and was frequently heard as far away as Flint, Michigan
, although its signal in the City of Cleveland was spotty due to the terrain between Cleveland and Medina.
With the popularity of beautiful music in the 1960s, WDBN became very successful. Soon other stations in the market flipped to beautiful music, including WQAL
, WDOK
, WKSW
, WAEZ
and WBEA
. WQAL soon began to dominate, and WDBN lost market share, despite utilizing some of the area's legendary broadcasters, including Jeff Baxter, Walt Henrich, David Mark,Tom Field, Gary Short and Jim Field. Henrich, Mark, and Jim Field were eventually heard on WKSW. Walt Henrich was also heard on WDOK while David Mark was popular on all of the aforementioned stations except WAEZ. Eventually the audience for beautiful music became older, and less desirable, and the format was changed to adult contemporary
in August 1988.
The station was sold to Gordon-Thomas Communications, Inc., headed by Thom Mandel, on June 2, 1988. It changed its callsign to WQMX on August 15, 1988 and became "Mix 94.9." It switched to a country
format on April 5, 1993. Gordon-Thomas Communications changed its name to Rubber City Radio Group on December 6, 1993, the same day that it purchased WAKR and WONE-FM.
Under Rubber City's direction, the station has targeted the Akron broadcast market ("Akron's Own Country"), though it is still heard in much of the Cleveland area.
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...
radio station serving to the Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
metro area. It is licensed to nearby Medina, Ohio
Medina, Ohio
In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males...
and is owned by the Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. which also owns Akron's WAKR
WAKR
WAKR — branded 1590 WAKR — is a commercial radio station in Akron, Ohio. It is owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. which also owns Akron's WONE-FM and WQMX...
and WONE-FM
WONE-FM
WONE-FM — branded 97.5 WONE — is a commercial album-oriented rock radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio that primarily serves the Akron radio market. Owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. which also owns Akron's WAKR and WQMX...
.
History
The station signed on the air as WDBN on October 17, 1960 and featured a beautiful musicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format. Branded as The Quiet Island, WDBN was one of the early adopters of the beautiful music format that minimized announcements and included no vocal music. Jim Schulke, one of the early beautiful music format programmers, developed much of his programming philosophies at the station.
WDBN was also an early adopter of FM stereo, broadcasting in FM stereo by November 1961. When the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
limited stations in the area to a maximum ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 50 kW, WDBN was "grandfathered" and allowed to maintain its 118 kW signal. As a result, the station blanketed the Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
market and could be heard throughout Northeast Ohio and was frequently heard as far away as Flint, Michigan
Flint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, although its signal in the City of Cleveland was spotty due to the terrain between Cleveland and Medina.
With the popularity of beautiful music in the 1960s, WDBN became very successful. Soon other stations in the market flipped to beautiful music, including WQAL
WQAL
WQAL — branded Q104 — is a commercial Adult Top 40 radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Studios are located at One Radio Lane along with CBS Radio sister station WDOK.-History:...
, WDOK
WDOK
WDOK — branded Soft Rock 102.1 WDOK — is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio. Studios are located at One Radio Lane along with CBS Radio sister station WQAL, and its transmitter is located in Parma on a tower that it shares with WQHS-TV channel 61...
, WKSW
WGAR-FM
WGAR-FM — branded 99.5 WGAR — is a commercial radio station in Cleveland, Ohio with a country music format. Studios are located at 6200 Oak Tree Boulevard off of Rockside Road in Independence, Ohio along with other local Clear Channel stations, and its transmitter is located in Parma.- WGAR:The...
, WAEZ
WONE-FM
WONE-FM — branded 97.5 WONE — is a commercial album-oriented rock radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio that primarily serves the Akron radio market. Owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. which also owns Akron's WAKR and WQMX...
and WBEA
WNWV
WNWV — branded V107.3 Cleveland — is a commercial radio station licensed to Elyria, Ohio broadcasting an adult album alternative format. The station serves the Cleveland radio market and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, and is one of the few remaining locally-owned stations in the entire...
. WQAL soon began to dominate, and WDBN lost market share, despite utilizing some of the area's legendary broadcasters, including Jeff Baxter, Walt Henrich, David Mark,Tom Field, Gary Short and Jim Field. Henrich, Mark, and Jim Field were eventually heard on WKSW. Walt Henrich was also heard on WDOK while David Mark was popular on all of the aforementioned stations except WAEZ. Eventually the audience for beautiful music became older, and less desirable, and the format was changed to adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
in August 1988.
The station was sold to Gordon-Thomas Communications, Inc., headed by Thom Mandel, on June 2, 1988. It changed its callsign to WQMX on August 15, 1988 and became "Mix 94.9." It switched to a 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 on April 5, 1993. Gordon-Thomas Communications changed its name to Rubber City Radio Group on December 6, 1993, the same day that it purchased WAKR and WONE-FM.
Under Rubber City's direction, the station has targeted the Akron broadcast market ("Akron's Own Country"), though it is still heard in much of the Cleveland area.