WENZ

WENZ (107.9 FM) is a commercial mainstream urban radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Owned by Urban One since 1999, its studios are located along the Euclid Avenue Corridor in Cleveland's eastside, while the station transmitter resides in Russell Township in Geauga County. Besides a standard analog transmission, WENZ broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online.[1]

WENZ
CityCleveland, Ohio
Broadcast areaGreater Cleveland
Northeast Ohio
Frequency107.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingZ 107.9
SloganCleveland's Blazin' Hip Hop and R&B
Programming
FormatMainstream urban
SubchannelsHD2: Urban gospel (WJMO)
Ownership
OwnerUrban One
WERE, WJMO, WZAK
History
First air date
April 5, 1958 (1958-04-05)
Former call signs
WNOB (1958–70)
WELW-FM (1970–75)
WDMT (1975–87)
WPHR (1987–92)
Call sign meaning
former "The ENd" branding
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID2685
ClassB
ERP16,000 watts (horizontal)
15,000 watts (vertical)
HAAT272 meters (892 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°27′54.00″N 81°17′13.00″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Webcast
Websitezhiphopcleveland.com

History

Early years

The station debuted on April 5, 1958 as WNOB; it was started by Northern Ohio Broadcasting, whose principals were several people from WNEW in New York. When the companion AM license was not granted, the station found itself in a precarious position, because standalone FM stations in the 1950s did not make money.

In 1961, the station filed for bankruptcy. A machine operator, Phillip Kerwin, purchased WNOB for $16,000. In 1963, WNOB became one of the first FM stations in the US to broadcast in stereo. In 1968 the signal was upgraded; the station purchased a new transmitter and antenna system. Two years later, in 1970, Multicom Inc. (owner of WELW AM 1330 in Willoughby, Ohio) purchased the station for $330,000. The call letters were then changed to WELW-FM. WELW played a top 40 Drake type format for almost two years, then switched to country music.

Disco 108/WDMT

In 1975, Beasley Broadcast Group purchased the station from Multicom for $550,000, and changed the call letters to WDMT, short for "We're DynoMite" ("Dynomite!" being a well known catchphrase by comic and actor Jimmie Walker on the popular sitcom Good Times). In 1976, the station switched to the then popular disco format and took the moniker "Disco 108 WDMT". This is where the urban influence started, and in 1978 the station switched to an CHR/Urban Contemporary (also known as "CHUrban", which would be the forerunner to what is now known as the rhythmic contemporary" format) as "FM 108 WDMT, Your Power Station". WDMT was Cleveland's first ever CHUrban radio station of all time. It is during this WDMT era was the popular show entitled FM 108 WDMT's Club Style the station was initiated as street jocks from Cleveland got the chance to mix live on the air. Caroline Ford, Freddie James, Brenda & Michael Love, Matthew Morgan, Lady Skill, Hot Rod See, with Dean Rufus, and the Ghoul were popular WDMT jocks during this period. In 1985, the entire WDMT air staff appeared with Arsenio Hall on the first 'Urban Music Awards' show.

The station's early disco and 80s CHUrban format can now be heard online at www.fm108wdmt.com which is a tribute to the station's heritage from 1975 to 1986. Many of the former disc jockeys have cut liners for the online station.

Power 108 FM
Power 108 logo

On April 9, 1987, the call letters were changed to WPHR, and the station rebranded itself as "Power 108 FM" with a shift to a CHR/Top 40 format.[2] In 1988, the station was sold to Ardman Broadcasting for $2.8 million. Personalities during this period included Program Director and DJ Steven "Big Steve" Kelly, Calvin Hicks, Jimmy Bosh, Maria Farina, Elizabeth "Liz" Luke, WLS/WLS-FM's John Records Landecker, Gina St. John, Cat Thomas, Steven "Little Stevie Z" Szabo, Ricky Michaels, Cathy Cruise, Scott James, Mark Allen, Edward "Downtown Eddie" Brown, with James "Jammin' Jimmy" Hart, and KMEL/WQHT alum Sonny Joe Fox, among others. WPHR moved its studios to Playhouse Square in late 1988.

107.9 The End
107.9 The End logo

On May 12, 1992, the station changed its callsign to WENZ and flipped its format to alternative rock, branding itself as "107.9 The End".[3] Both the branding and callsign reflected the station's position on the FM dial. In March 1996, Ardman would sell the station to Clear Channel Communications. Both the inception and the demise of The End were stunted: with both format changes, the station broadcast a 24-hour loop of R.E.M.'s song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". A documentary film made about The End, entitled The End of the World As We Knew It, was released in 2009 and featured many of the former staffers and jocks.[4]

On February 25, 2020, 107.9 The End re-launched as an internet radio station under the management of former station producer, Dan Binder.[5]

Z 107.9

On January 15, 1999, WENZ was purchased by Radio One (now named Urban One as of May 2018), a company that owns and operates radio stations, most of which target African American communities. On May 14, 1999, the station relaunched as "Kiss 107.9", with a Mainstream Urban format featuring hip-hop and R&B.[6] However, legal action from Clear Channel Communications – which claimed exclusive rights to the "Kiss" brand in the state of Ohio through CHR station WAKS (104.9 FM) – forced Radio One to drop the "Kiss" brand; that September 1, WENZ renamed itself "Z 107.9".[7][8]

Current programming

WENZ is the Cleveland affiliate of the nationally syndicated Morning Hustle with HeadKrack (via Syndication One).[9] The rest of the day features local programs - including "The Break Room" with Matty Willz middays, "The Day Party" with Rochelle "Ro Digga" Frazier and DJ Ryan Wolfe afternoons, and Urban One syndicated "Incognito" evenings.[10][11]

References
  1. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=70 Archived 2015-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Cleveland HD Radio Guide
  2. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1987/RR-1987-04-10.pdf
  3. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1992/RR-1992-05-15.pdf
  4. The End of the World as We Knew It, retrieved 2020-01-02
  5. https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/02/25/1079-the-end-relaunches-as-an-internet-radio-station
  6. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1999/RR-1999-05-21.pdf
  7. Feran, Tom (May 26, 1999). "One station may have to kiss name goodbye". The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 1E - Entertainment.
  8. Feran, Tom (September 25, 1999). "Swoboda backs to news as anchor on TV-5 at 11". The Plain Dealer. The Plain Dealer Publishing Co. p. 6E - Entertainment.
  9. WENZ announces new 2020 lineup
  10. "Show Schedules | Z 107.9". Zhiphopcleveland.com. Retrieved 2013-04-10.
  11. "Rickey Smiley Morning Show debuts in Cleveland". Radio-Info.com. June 7, 2010. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2011.
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