WJML
Encyclopedia
WJML consists of AM
stations WJML 1110 in Petoskey, Michigan
and WJNL 1210 in Kingsley, Michigan
. Both stations are owned by Rick Stone
, and both stations have simulcast the same programming, with a mixture of liberal talk format
and conservative talk.
During the 1970s and 1980s, WJML was one of the most successful AM
/FM
radio combos in northern Michigan
. The FM station has long since been sold off, but WJML/WJNL remains one of the most-popular talk stations in northern Michigan.
broadcaster who named his station after his three children, John, Michael and Linda. It was one of northern Michigan's first-ever FM stations, and since many folks didn't have an FM radio at the time, an AM station, WJML-AM 1110 was born on December 6, 1966. WJML-AM was at the time the strongest AM station in northern Michigan during the daytime at 10 kW. However, the station was daytime only.
. In 1977, WJML flipped from MOR to Top 40, becoming a success in the ratings. The station also adopted an easily-remembered slogan: "The Music Station." American Top 40
aired on this station starting in 1979.
JML was the first highly structured station in northern Michigan, heavily formatted using liner cards, strict positioning statements, tight playlists, 'big city' sound with Lyle Dean (WLS) and Del Hull doing liners and "Time Bomb" legal ID's: "It's 12noon at The Music Station(sung or spoken)... WJML-FM/AM Petoskey." From '77 until 1980 JML used jingles from Gwinsound of Dallas (Series 23), later switching to JAM Creative Production's Class Action (WLS) package.
The station had influences from WBBM-Chicago in the news presentation with the standard liner between local news and ABC News: "Tempurature 50, that's 10 Celsius, JML NewsTime 11:56."
If WJML was to be remembered on a national level, it would be the fact that it was the first station ever to pair up Bob Kevoian
and Tom Griswold
for mornings, aka Bob and Tom. The two met at a Petoskey bar in the late 70's and have been friends since. However, in 1983, Indianapolis
radio station WFBQ
lured them away, where they landed in sydication years later.
and WKLT
, WJML flipped to adult contemporary. Some of their DJs would answer the phone saying "WJML, The MUZAK
Station!". This AC format featured spoken legal ID's and Tuesday Production's "Whisper" jingles. The jingles made the station sound as if it were embarrassed to say who it was. Several format alterations included a "Light Rock 99" phase. In 1989, the final nail was nailed as WJML was sold to Langer Gokey, the North Dakota
n Dr Pepper
bottler who also owned WKLT. Gokey's plan was to boost WKLT's power many folds over by moving its signal from 97.7 to 97.5 and have 100 kW WJML-FM, now WKLZ, simulcast WKLT's signal. Gokey, however, was not interested in AM radio at all, so he donated Kalkaska
's WKLT 1420 to Kalkaska Schools (the station has since been silenced) and WJML was silenced and put up for sale.
However, shortly after WJML was silenced, local broadcaster Rick Stone (originally started WAIR, was first GM/VP for WMKC) bought the station and flipped it to talk. The rebirthed station was an early success. Stone also upgraded the station's power to 10 watts overnight - barely enough power to cover Petoskey.
In 1999, Petoskey lost its oldies station, WAIR 92.5 FM (now WFDX, a simulcast of classic hits WFCX
), when the station, owned by Langer Gokey, flipped unsuccessfully to country
"The Bee". In response, WJML played oldies on the weekends and aired talk during the week, which would continue until its sister station WWKK signed on the following year.
outlet. Kool 750 allowed WJML to segue back toward a talk format (though WJML still featured some oldies programming on weekends only for a short time before going back to all talk). Eventually, Petoskey got oldies again on the FM dial as Ross Biederman's WCCW-FM
/107.5 Traverse City
started simulcasting on WCZW/107.9 in nearby Charlevoix
. This allowed WWKK to flip to talk as well, being a liberal talker while WJML became conservative talk.
Recently, Stone traded WWKK in exchange for Roy Henderson's WLDR 1210 in Traverse City, MI, which allows WJML to have a stronger signal in the Cherry Capital. In preparation for the change, WJML asked listeners what shows they wanted to keep, since both WJML and WWKK could no longer co-exist. The former WWKK is now WARD 750, simulcasting the country
format of WLDR-FM/101.9 in Traverse City.
's Michael Patrick Shiels morning program, as well as Neal Boortz
, Glenn Beck
, Ed Schultz
, Lou Dobbs
and Michael Savage
as well as libertarian talk show Free Talk Live
. WJML has also moved into the newspaper business with its weekly publication of "TALK of the NORTH" Shopping and Entertainment Guide distributed free in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties.
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
stations WJML 1110 in Petoskey, Michigan
Petoskey, Michigan
Petoskey is a city and coastal resort community in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,080. It is the county seat of Emmet County....
and WJNL 1210 in Kingsley, Michigan
Kingsley, Michigan
Kingsley is a village in Paradise Township, Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,517 as of 2009.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all land...
. Both stations are owned by Rick Stone
Rick Stone
Rick Stone is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett at the Newcastle Knights of the National Rugby League....
, and both stations have simulcast the same programming, with a mixture of liberal talk format
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
and conservative talk.
During the 1970s and 1980s, WJML was one of the most successful AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
/FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio combos in northern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The FM station has long since been sold off, but WJML/WJNL remains one of the most-popular talk stations in northern Michigan.
Early history
In somewhat of a rarity, WJML-FM 98.9 started first, on December 7, 1965, since in most situations, the AM station is usually the first to sign on. In the beginning, the station was an automated MOR format, with one live DJ, Bill Supernaw, in the morning (Supernaw is now the owner of the Cinema III movie theatre in Charlevoix). The station was owned by a ChicagoChicago
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...
broadcaster who named his station after his three children, John, Michael and Linda. It was one of northern Michigan's first-ever FM stations, and since many folks didn't have an FM radio at the time, an AM station, WJML-AM 1110 was born on December 6, 1966. WJML-AM was at the time the strongest AM station in northern Michigan during the daytime at 10 kW. However, the station was daytime only.
The Music Station
The 1970s saw several changes for WJML-FM/AM as the Harrington family sold the station to the Achterhoff family of Muskegon, the owners of WMUSWMUS
This article is about the current WOOD-FM in Muskegon, Michigan. For the station that bore the WOOD-FM call letters from 1962 to 2010, see WSRW-FM....
. In 1977, WJML flipped from MOR to Top 40, becoming a success in the ratings. The station also adopted an easily-remembered slogan: "The Music Station." 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...
aired on this station starting in 1979.
JML was the first highly structured station in northern Michigan, heavily formatted using liner cards, strict positioning statements, tight playlists, 'big city' sound with Lyle Dean (WLS) and Del Hull doing liners and "Time Bomb" legal ID's: "It's 12noon at The Music Station(sung or spoken)... WJML-FM/AM Petoskey." From '77 until 1980 JML used jingles from Gwinsound of Dallas (Series 23), later switching to JAM Creative Production's Class Action (WLS) package.
The station had influences from WBBM-Chicago in the news presentation with the standard liner between local news and ABC News: "Tempurature 50, that's 10 Celsius, JML NewsTime 11:56."
If WJML was to be remembered on a national level, it would be the fact that it was the first station ever to pair up Bob Kevoian
Bob Kevoian
Robert James "Bob" Kevoian is an American radio host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Bob & Tom Show together with his partner, Tom Griswold. The show is broadcast from WFBQ's studios in Indianapolis, Indiana....
and Tom Griswold
Tom Griswold
Thomas Bruce "Tom" Griswold co-hosts the radio show The Bob & Tom Show together with Bob Kevoian, Kristi Lee, and Chick McGee. This comedy-based early morning program is among the highest rated in American radio and has been nationally syndicated since 1995...
for mornings, aka Bob and Tom. The two met at a Petoskey bar in the late 70's and have been friends since. However, in 1983, Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
radio station WFBQ
WFBQ
WFBQ is a radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, owned by Clear Channel Communications. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 94.7 MHz, FM channel 234. The studios are located at 6161 Fall Creek Road on the northeast side of Indianapolis. The transmitter and antenna are...
lured them away, where they landed in sydication years later.
The '80s Bring Changes
In 1983, due to increased competition from upstart rivals WKHQWKHQ
WKHQ-FM is a 100,000-watt radio station licensed to Charlevoix, Michigan, with studios located on U.S. 131 South Petoskey, Michigan and 8th Street in Traverse City, Michigan...
and WKLT
WKLT
WKLT 97.5 Kalkaska and WKLZ-FM 98.9 Petoskey are mainstream rock stations simulcasting as "KLT The Rock Station". The station serves the Traverse City-Petoskey radio market. It can Be Heard as far North as Sault Ste Marie, Ontario...
, WJML flipped to adult contemporary. Some of their DJs would answer the phone saying "WJML, The MUZAK
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
Station!". This AC format featured spoken legal ID's and Tuesday Production's "Whisper" jingles. The jingles made the station sound as if it were embarrassed to say who it was. Several format alterations included a "Light Rock 99" phase. In 1989, the final nail was nailed as WJML was sold to Langer Gokey, the North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
n Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper
Dr Pepper is a soft drink, marketed as having a unique flavor. The drink was created in the 1880s by Charles Alderton of Waco, Texas and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904 and is now also sold in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico, Australia ...
bottler who also owned WKLT. Gokey's plan was to boost WKLT's power many folds over by moving its signal from 97.7 to 97.5 and have 100 kW WJML-FM, now WKLZ, simulcast WKLT's signal. Gokey, however, was not interested in AM radio at all, so he donated Kalkaska
Kalkaska, Michigan
Kalkaska is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 2,226. It is the county seat of Kalkaska County.-Geography:...
's WKLT 1420 to Kalkaska Schools (the station has since been silenced) and WJML was silenced and put up for sale.
However, shortly after WJML was silenced, local broadcaster Rick Stone (originally started WAIR, was first GM/VP for WMKC) bought the station and flipped it to talk. The rebirthed station was an early success. Stone also upgraded the station's power to 10 watts overnight - barely enough power to cover Petoskey.
In 1999, Petoskey lost its oldies station, WAIR 92.5 FM (now WFDX, a simulcast of classic hits WFCX
WFCX
WFCX 94.3 Leland, Michigan, and WFDX 92.5 Atlanta, Michigan, are Northern Radio-owned stations that simulcast a classic hits format branded as Music Radio, The Fox FM...
), when the station, owned by Langer Gokey, flipped unsuccessfully to 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...
"The Bee". In response, WJML played oldies on the weekends and aired talk during the week, which would continue until its sister station WWKK signed on the following year.
Into the 21st Century
In 2000, Stone decided to start a second AM in Petoskey giving WJML a sister. That station was WWKK "Kool 750", and at first, it was 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....
outlet. Kool 750 allowed WJML to segue back toward a talk format (though WJML still featured some oldies programming on weekends only for a short time before going back to all talk). Eventually, Petoskey got oldies again on the FM dial as Ross Biederman's WCCW-FM
WCCW-FM
WCCW-FM is an FM combination in Traverse City, Michigan, United States, consisting of WCCW-FM in Traverse City and relaying station WCZW in Charlevoix...
/107.5 Traverse City
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
started simulcasting on WCZW/107.9 in nearby Charlevoix
Charlevoix, Michigan
Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 2,994. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County....
. This allowed WWKK to flip to talk as well, being a liberal talker while WJML became conservative talk.
Recently, Stone traded WWKK in exchange for Roy Henderson's WLDR 1210 in Traverse City, MI, which allows WJML to have a stronger signal in the Cherry Capital. In preparation for the change, WJML asked listeners what shows they wanted to keep, since both WJML and WWKK could no longer co-exist. The former WWKK is now WARD 750, simulcasting the 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 of WLDR-FM/101.9 in Traverse City.
WJML Today
Today, WJML/WJNL airs mostly syndicated programs but does carry some weekly local shows such as BJ Mogg's "Bits of Life" show and "The WJML Shopping Spree," which airs on Saturday mornings. The stations' lineup includes CitadelCitadel 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...
's Michael Patrick Shiels morning program, as well as Neal Boortz
Neal Boortz
Neal A. Boortz, Jr. is an American Libertarian radio host, author, and political commentator. His nationally syndicated talk show, The Neal Boortz Show, airs throughout the United States on Dial Global . It is ranked seventh in overall listeners, with 4.25+ million per week...
, Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
, Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz
Edward Andrew "Ed" Schultz Is an American television and radio host and a liberal political commentator . He is the host of The Ed Show, a daily news talk program on MSNBC, and The Ed Schultz Show, a talk radio show, nationally syndicated by Dial Global, promising "straight talk."-Early...
, Lou Dobbs
Lou Dobbs
Louis Carl "Lou" Dobbs is an American journalist, radio host, television host on the Fox Business Network, and author. He anchored CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight until November 2009 when he announced on the air that he would leave the 24-hour cable news television network.He was born in Texas and lived...
and Michael Savage
Michael Savage (commentator)
Michael Savage is a conservative American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
as well as libertarian talk show Free Talk Live
Free Talk Live
Free Talk Live is an American call-in radio talk show heard seven nights a week. The program is hosted by Ian Freeman and Mark Edge on Tuesday through Saturday, Mark Edge and Stephanie Murphy on Sunday, and Ian Freeman and Dale Everett on Monday. It is a chiefly libertarian political talk show and...
. WJML has also moved into the newspaper business with its weekly publication of "TALK of the NORTH" Shopping and Entertainment Guide distributed free in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, Grand Traverse, and Leelanau counties.