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WJMN (FM)
Encyclopedia
WJMN is a successful Rhythmic Top 40 radio station licensed
to Boston, Massachusetts, USA
, under the ownership of Clear Channel Communications
. Its current slogan is "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music!" and can be heard as far north as the White Mountains under good conditions, and in portions of Maine
, Rhode Island
, eastern Connecticut
and southeastern Vermont
. Boston is the largest market without an Urban Radio formatted station; heritage R&B AM daytimer WILD
, which served the area's African-American community since its debut in 1973, became a Chinese-language outlet in June 2011, and its one-time Hip Hop sister station WBOT (which later became Urban AC WILD-FM), has been defunct since the summer of 2006 when Radio One (which owned both stations) sold it. The station has recently tweaked its sound and playlist to become more Rhythmic and less Urban
sounding, and it has also changed its on-air slogan to "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music", however its website has not yet reflected the slogan change.
. In 1965, to comply with an Federal Communications Commission
regulation limiting simulcasting between commonly-owned AM
and FM
stations in the same city, WHDH-FM began separate programming with an automated "beautiful music" format in Stereo. In late 1967, WHDH-FM changed its format to automated Progressive Rock (pre-dating future FM rocker WBCN/104.1 by several months), but by late 1969, the station returned to automated "beautiful music" after a little "intervention", allegedly from WHDH Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer, Harold J. Clancy (who did not particularly approve of putting rock and roll on "MY FM station!"). Although this format remained until 1975, it was not particularly successful, despite a 1973 attempt to establish a separate identity by changing the call letters
to WCOZ (as in "Cozy").
In the summer of 1975, WCOZ announced that it would change its format to album-oriented rock
, which it did on August 15 of that year. Although automated at first, a team of live announcers was hired, led by Ken Shelton and program director Clark Smidt. By the end of 1975, WCOZ had live announcers around the clock that also included George Taylor Morris, Leslie Palmiter, Lisa Karlin, Marc Parenteau and Robert Desiderio. WCOZ's format was tightened significantly in 1978, when new Program Director Tommy Hadges arrived from arch rival WBCN. Marc Parenteau simultaneously defected to WBCN, at that point.
In 1980, another new program director John Sebastian arrived and made some changes. WCOZ was still a rock station, but its focus was tightened to loud, hard rock (or "Kick-Ass Rock 'N Roll", according to the station's slogan) with minimal announcer talk and short play list. It was extremely successful, peaking with a phenomenal 13.1 in the ratings, in 1982, but with the changes in rock music during the 1980s, the station's success did not last; its rival WBCN moved past it in the ratings. By late 1983, WCOZ had changed formats to a short lived Adult Contemporary format.
format on May 11, 1993.
s. Even after its sale to Chancellor in 1996, station management decided not to tamper with the format as they see WJMN as part of a winning combination with Top 40/CHR sister station WXKS
, a formula that continues to the present day. When it debuted, the direction had a balanced mix of R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic Pop, and Dance product. However, by the end of 1999, it began to play a variety of music that was along the lines of Urban Contemporary
Hits, heavy on the hip-hop to the extent of not playing non rap rhythmic tracks. This would last until the beginning of 2009, when WJMN began tweaking their musical selection to once again include Rhythmic/Pop-charting artists like Britney Spears
, Justin Bieber
, Kesha
, Katy Perry
, David Guetta
, Edward Maya
& Vika Jigulina
, Adele
and Lady GaGa
. This tweaking has sparked a lot of talk on radio message boards and follows a pattern among Rhythmic-format stations that have scaled back on the heavy amount of Hip-Hop in favor of a more balanced approach. Because of this, several music trades (like Mediabase
) and Arbitron
have listed WJMN as Rhythmic because the audience it targets is racially mixed and the region's African-American population is not that large, and with the losses of WILD and WBOT, WJMN serves as the de facto outlet for the latter segment of that audience despite the reduction of the Hip-Hop content at the station.
The station's morning show was hosted for several years by Balthazar and Pebbles
. Balthazar has since moved on, giving way to the current Ramiro and Pebbles morning show.
WJMN also has an HD2
digital feed specializing in old-school hip-hop
music; it is available as an Internet broadcast
as well and went on the air January 27, 2006.
WJMN radio is unrelated to WJMN-TV
, a CBS affiliate in Escanaba, Michigan
.
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Boston, Massachusetts, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, under the ownership of Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. Its current slogan is "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music!" and can be heard as far north as the White Mountains under good conditions, and in portions of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, eastern Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and southeastern Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
. Boston is the largest market without an Urban Radio formatted station; heritage R&B AM daytimer WILD
WILD (AM)
WILD 1090 AM is a radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. It broadcasts on 1090 kHz and airs programming from China Radio International under a lease agreement...
, which served the area's African-American community since its debut in 1973, became a Chinese-language outlet in June 2011, and its one-time Hip Hop sister station WBOT (which later became Urban AC WILD-FM), has been defunct since the summer of 2006 when Radio One (which owned both stations) sold it. The station has recently tweaked its sound and playlist to become more Rhythmic and less Urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
sounding, and it has also changed its on-air slogan to "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music", however its website has not yet reflected the slogan change.
History
WJMN was originally WHDH-FM: a sister station to, and simulcast of, WHDH (AM)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...
. In 1965, to comply with an Federal Communications Commission
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...
regulation limiting simulcasting between commonly-owned 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...
and 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"...
stations in the same city, WHDH-FM began separate programming with an automated "beautiful music" format in Stereo. In late 1967, WHDH-FM changed its format to automated Progressive Rock (pre-dating future FM rocker WBCN/104.1 by several months), but by late 1969, the station returned to automated "beautiful music" after a little "intervention", allegedly from WHDH Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer, Harold J. Clancy (who did not particularly approve of putting rock and roll on "MY FM station!"). Although this format remained until 1975, it was not particularly successful, despite a 1973 attempt to establish a separate identity by changing the call letters
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
to WCOZ (as in "Cozy").
WCOZ
Originally owned by Herald-Traveler Corp., parent of the Boston Herald-Traveler newspaper, the station was sold to Blair Radio in 1972, and in the 1980s to Sconnix. Several ownership changes followed which eventually resulted in Clear Channel acquiring WJMN.In the summer of 1975, WCOZ announced that it would change its format to album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
, which it did on August 15 of that year. Although automated at first, a team of live announcers was hired, led by Ken Shelton and program director Clark Smidt. By the end of 1975, WCOZ had live announcers around the clock that also included George Taylor Morris, Leslie Palmiter, Lisa Karlin, Marc Parenteau and Robert Desiderio. WCOZ's format was tightened significantly in 1978, when new Program Director Tommy Hadges arrived from arch rival WBCN. Marc Parenteau simultaneously defected to WBCN, at that point.
In 1980, another new program director John Sebastian arrived and made some changes. WCOZ was still a rock station, but its focus was tightened to loud, hard rock (or "Kick-Ass Rock 'N Roll", according to the station's slogan) with minimal announcer talk and short play list. It was extremely successful, peaking with a phenomenal 13.1 in the ratings, in 1982, but with the changes in rock music during the 1980s, the station's success did not last; its rival WBCN moved past it in the ratings. By late 1983, WCOZ had changed formats to a short lived Adult Contemporary format.
WZOU
In 1984, the station's call letters were changed to WZOU. P.D. Harry Nelson had success with a top 40 format including personalities J.J.McKay, Tom Jeffries, Karen Blake, Brian Pierce, Bob Campbell, Dan Justin, Clarence Barnes. Z-94 continued in that format until adopting its current Rhythmic Contemporary HitsRhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
format on May 11, 1993.
WJMN
Since its inception in 1993, Jam'n 94.5 has become one of Boston's most successful radio stationRadio 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...
s. Even after its sale to Chancellor in 1996, station management decided not to tamper with the format as they see WJMN as part of a winning combination with Top 40/CHR sister station WXKS
WXKS-FM
WXKS-FM, better known as Kiss 108, is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, licensed to nearby Medford broadcasting a Top 40 format...
, a formula that continues to the present day. When it debuted, the direction had a balanced mix of R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic Pop, and Dance product. However, by the end of 1999, it began to play a variety of music that was along the lines of Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
Hits, heavy on the hip-hop to the extent of not playing non rap rhythmic tracks. This would last until the beginning of 2009, when WJMN began tweaking their musical selection to once again include Rhythmic/Pop-charting artists like Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
, Kesha
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
, Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
, Edward Maya
Edward Maya
Eduard Marian Ilie , better known as Edward Maya, is a Romanian musician, producer, performer, and composer...
& Vika Jigulina
Vika Jigulina
Vika Jigulina is a Romanian music producer, singer, and DJ. She was born in Moldova to a Russian father and a Romanian mother and graduated from the Rachmaninov School of Music. In 2000, she moved to Timişoara, Romania, where she still lives, and continued her studies there...
, Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
and Lady GaGa
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
. This tweaking has sparked a lot of talk on radio message boards and follows a pattern among Rhythmic-format stations that have scaled back on the heavy amount of Hip-Hop in favor of a more balanced approach. Because of this, several music trades (like Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
) and Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
have listed WJMN as Rhythmic because the audience it targets is racially mixed and the region's African-American population is not that large, and with the losses of WILD and WBOT, WJMN serves as the de facto outlet for the latter segment of that audience despite the reduction of the Hip-Hop content at the station.
The station's morning show was hosted for several years by Balthazar and Pebbles
Pebbles (Radio Personality)
Susan Lynne Semedo is a radio presenter, personality, and voice-over artist in the Boston, Massachusetts area.- Early life and education :Pebbles, born in May 1964, is Cape Verdean and a native of Wareham, Massachusetts...
. Balthazar has since moved on, giving way to the current Ramiro and Pebbles morning show.
WJMN also has an HD2
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...
digital feed specializing in old-school hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
music; it is available as an Internet broadcast
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
as well and went on the air January 27, 2006.
WJMN radio is unrelated to WJMN-TV
WJMN-TV
WJMN-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Michigan's Central Upper Peninsula licensed to Escanaba. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 48 from a transmitter in unincorporated Northern Delta County south of the Alger County line. The station can also be seen on...
, a CBS affiliate in Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba, Michigan
Escanaba is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in the banana belt on the state's Upper Peninsula. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 13,140, making it the third-largest city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie...
.
Current on-air staff
- PebblesPebbles (Radio Personality)Susan Lynne Semedo is a radio presenter, personality, and voice-over artist in the Boston, Massachusetts area.- Early life and education :Pebbles, born in May 1964, is Cape Verdean and a native of Wareham, Massachusetts...
- Ramiro "The Freakin' Puerto Rican"Ramiro TorresRamiro Torres is a Boston, Massachusetts area radio personality also known as "The Freakin' Puerto Rican".Born in Everett, Massachusetts, to Luz Maria and Ramiro Torres Sr., Ramiro started at Clear Channel Communications as an intern while attending the New England Institute of Art in 1994...
- Melissa
- Deja-Vu
- Krazy Kulo
- DJ Pup DawgDJ Pup DawgKarim Karamali is a Boston, Massachusetts area radio DJ, personality, and music director known as "DJ Pup Dawg".Born in Pakistan, DJ Pup Dawg moved to Los Angeles at a very young age where he began his career as a DJ. Early on in his career Pup would DJ at house parties, and was known to bring in...
- DJ ON&ON
- Statik SelektahStatik SelektahPatrick Baril better known as Statik Selektah, is an East Coast-based DJ, Producer and CEO of Showoff Records.-Biography:...
- DJ Lus
- Bobby Blaze
- Maverick
- Hustle Simmons
- Geespin
- Ellen Prince
Past on-air staff
- J.R. in the morning
- Baltazar
- Chuck Dogg
- Chris Tyler (now on sister station WXKS-FMWXKS-FMWXKS-FM, better known as Kiss 108, is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, licensed to nearby Medford broadcasting a Top 40 format...
) - Kid Valentine
- Artie the One Man Party
- Deirdre Dagata
- Fast Freddy
- Frat Boy Neil
- Kobe
- Marc Anthony
- Lady D "The Real Diana Steele"
- Problem Child (now on 98.5 The Sports Hub) WBZ-FMWBZ-FMWBZ-FM is a sports radio station known as "98.5 The Sports Hub" and broadcasting on 98.5 MHz in Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by CBS Radio, the current WBZ-FM began on August 13, 2009 and competes with AM sports talk stations WEEI and competed with the ESPN Radio pair of WAMG and WLLH before their...
- Romeo (now on sister station WXKS-FMWXKS-FMWXKS-FM, better known as Kiss 108, is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, licensed to nearby Medford broadcasting a Top 40 format...
, still does commercial reads for the station) - AkrobatikAkrobatikAkrobatik is a rapper from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He has collaborated numerous times with many fellow Boston rappers , and recently formed a hip hop collective named The Perceptionists with Mr. Lif and DJ Fakts One....
- DJ Roy Barboza
Current programming
- Ramiro and Pebbles 6-10 A.M. - Monday-Friday
- Back In The Day Buffet noon-12:30 P.M. - Monday-Friday
- 5 O'clock Traffic Jam 5-5:30 P.M. - Monday-Friday
- Sexy 7 at 7 7-7:30 P.M. - Monday-Friday
- The Launchpad with DJ ON&ON 10pm-midnight - Sunday
Syndicated programming
- The Weekend Top 30 with Ramiro (Flagship Station) - Saturday Mornings
- Smashtime Radio with Clinton SparksClinton SparksClinton Sparks is a Boston-based radio, mixtape & Club DJ as well as a recording artist, writer, producer and TV personality.-Biography:...
(Flagship Station) - Saturday Evenings - Baka Boyz Hip Hop Master Mix - Sunday Nights
- The Backspin with Spinderalla of Salt N Pepa - Sunday Nights
- The Launchpad with DJ ON&ON (Flagship Station)- Sunday Nights