WOMC
Encyclopedia
WOMC is a Classic Hits
radio station
broadcasting in the Detroit, Michigan
, USA area. WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights (9½ Mile Rd). near Interstate 75
in Ferndale, Michigan
. WOMC broadcasts with an effective radiated power
of 190,000 watts from an antenna height of 361 feet. It is the flagship station of the Michigan Wolverines Football Network
WOMC's FM signal has been heard as far north as Marlette, Michigan
, as far West as Jackson, Michigan
, as far South as Petersburg, Ohio
, and as far East as London, Ontario
.
, Oakland
and Macomb
Counties") a few years later. WOMC programmed a Beautiful Music
format for many years but was typically mired toward the bottom of the local ratings until 1973, when it was purchased by Metromedia. Metromedia retooled WOMC's easy listening format to include brighter and more uptempo material, an approach modeled after the successful WQLR-FM "Clear 106" in Kalamazoo.
According to Bill Wertz of WQLR's former owner Fairfield Broadcasting (the station is now WVFM owned by Midwest Communications), WOMC's sales manager at the time, Bob Reinhardt, was impressed with WQLR's sound, especially when he learned that the station was programmed in-house and not using a syndicated service, and requested that WQLR's programmers create a similar format for WOMC. WOMC's revised beautiful music format was an instant success, lifting the station from twenty-eighth place in the Detroit Arbitron ratings into the top three (1). This marked the beginning of the beautiful-music syndication service known as KalaMusic.
, 94.7 WMJC
and 93.1 WLTI
among other stations, and WOMC differentiated itself from its competitors by emphasizing Oldies
.
, 93.9 CKLW-FM
, and 560 WHND-AM
), eventually came to dominate as the most popular choice for oldies in the market.
WOMC has also had many memorable slogans, like "WOM-SEE" and "Detroit's Big O", and when the call letters are said, they're said with emphasis on the O ("W Ohhh M C").
In 2006, under the leadership of Steve Alan, the station removed the word "Oldies" from all station imaging and jingles and re-branded as "The Motor City's 104.3" While quite successful in growing the ratings, in early 2007, under the guidance of Detroit based programming consultant, Gary Berkowitz, the station started using the word "Oldies" again in jingles and imaging, but the heritage WOMC call letters are only used for the top of the hour legal ID.
Berkowitz's switch back to Oldies
was successful for the station. They used Randy Reeves as the station voice, and Gary used a combination of "Do It Again", "Home of the Hits" and selected PAMS jingle packages from JAM Creative Productions
. Gary Berkowitz and management then brought in Scott Walker
, as program director.
In August 2007, WOMC-FM had begun airing brief jingles and "retromercials" that formerly aired on CKLW during its famous tenure as the "Big 8", especially with much of the same music being played on WOMC-FM today as on CKLW
in the 1960s to the 1980s.
In April 2009, under the leadership of Tom Bigby, and Tom Sleeker, WOMC once again dropped the "Oldies" branding from the station. Once Tim Roberts was named Operations Manager and Program Director, the transition to "Classic Hits" from "Oldies" continued. During that time WOMC replaced voiceover guy Charlie Van Dyke for Jeff Davis. The station changed to "104.3 WOMC, Detroit's Greatest Hits."
operations and has a multicast channel on WOMC-HD2. Originally, this station featured hits of the 50s and 60s. Gradually, the format began to evolve into pop hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s. WOMC had changed its station voice twice, and at one time, all three station voices could be heard doing liners for WOMC-HD2. In January 2008, WOMC-HD2's format changed back to the hits of the 50s and 60s. Every day, beginning at 1:00 p.m., the station plays an hour of Elvis music. Also, the station will occasionally play a retro PAMS
jingle.
In November 2008, WOMC was apparently re-creating the sound of Top-40 legend WKNR Keener 13
for its HD2 stream. On November 8, 2008, a Keener Radio logo appeared on WOMC'S website. However, the program director of the HD2 Channel, Ted Richards, has since been fired; and WOMC's program director has also moved to a different station; meaning that the Keener Radio HD2 idea is dead.
WOMC HD2 has picked up the "Oldies 104.3" branding that was dropped from the HD1 channel.
WOMC also added an HD3 channel in February 2010 known as "The Sky," featuring psychic talk and readings.
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...
broadcasting in the Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, USA area. WOMC's transmitter and studios are located on Woodward Heights (9½ Mile Rd). near Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
in Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is adjacent to the cities of Detroit to the south, Oak Park to the west, Hazel Park to the east, Pleasant Ridge to the north, Royal Oak Township to the southwest, and Royal Oak to the north....
. WOMC broadcasts with an effective radiated power
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 190,000 watts from an antenna height of 361 feet. It is the flagship station of the Michigan Wolverines Football Network
WOMC's FM signal has been heard as far north as Marlette, Michigan
Marlette, Michigan
Marlette is a city in Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2006 US Census population estimate was 2,053. The city is located within Marlette Township, but is politically autonomous....
, as far West as Jackson, Michigan
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
, as far South as Petersburg, Ohio
Petersburg, Ohio
Petersburg is a small unincorporated community in southeastern Springfield Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, and as far East as London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
.
WEXL-FM/WOMC
The station began operations on March 5, 1948 as WEXL-FM. The calls changed to WOMC ("WayneWayne County, Michigan
-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...
, Oakland
Oakland County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...
and Macomb
Macomb County, Michigan
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 788,149 people, 309,203 households, and 210,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,640 people per square mile . There were 320,276 housing units at an average density of 667 per square mile...
Counties") a few years later. WOMC programmed a Beautiful Music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format for many years but was typically mired toward the bottom of the local ratings until 1973, when it was purchased by Metromedia. Metromedia retooled WOMC's easy listening format to include brighter and more uptempo material, an approach modeled after the successful WQLR-FM "Clear 106" in Kalamazoo.
According to Bill Wertz of WQLR's former owner Fairfield Broadcasting (the station is now WVFM owned by Midwest Communications), WOMC's sales manager at the time, Bob Reinhardt, was impressed with WQLR's sound, especially when he learned that the station was programmed in-house and not using a syndicated service, and requested that WQLR's programmers create a similar format for WOMC. WOMC's revised beautiful music format was an instant success, lifting the station from twenty-eighth place in the Detroit Arbitron ratings into the top three (1). This marked the beginning of the beautiful-music syndication service known as KalaMusic.
104 WOMC
During the late 1970s WOMC enlisted the help of program director Dave Shafer and well known Detroit radio personalities Marc Avery, Tom Dean and Nick Arama. By 1980, WOMC had evolved its format from easy listening to a soft, gold-based Adult Contemporary sound, with which it continued to be quite successful. The adult-contemporary format field in Detroit was rather crowded during the 1980s, with WOMC competing against 100.3 WNICWNIC
WNIC is an American radio station based in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting at 100.3 MHz FM. WNIC's studios and offices are located in Farmington Hills, MI. WNIC's transmitter is located near Schoolcraft and Livernois Avenue in the City of Detroit on the near west side. WNIC broadcasts with an...
, 94.7 WMJC
WCSX
WCSX is a Detroit-based FM radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. WCSX's transmitter is located in suburban Oakland County in Royal Oak Township near the intersection of 8 Mile Rd. and Wyoming Avenue. WCSX transmits its signal from an antenna 951 feet in height with an effective radiated...
and 93.1 WLTI
WDRQ
WDRQ is an FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station is branded as 93.1 Doug FM. Doug FM broadcasts from the Fisher Building just north of downtown Detroit and transmits its signal from an antenna 669 feet in length located at the intersection of Ten Mile and Greenfield Roads in suburban...
among other stations, and WOMC differentiated itself from its competitors by emphasizing 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....
.
104.3 WOMC
By 1990, WOMC had become almost exclusively an oldies station, and, despite the fact that Detroit had several other oldies stations at the time (including 102.7 WKSG-FMWHTD
WPZR is an urban gospel formatted radio station licensed to Mount Clemens, Michigan, and serving the Detroit metropolitan area...
, 93.9 CKLW-FM
CIDR-FM
CIDR-FM is the callsign for a radio station, broadcasting at 93.9 FM in Windsor, Ontario. The station broadcasts a adult album alternative format using the brand name 93-9 The River. It is owned and operated by Bell Media. It is one of the few commercial adult album alternative stations in Canada...
, and 560 WHND-AM
WRDT
WRDT, known on the air as "The Word AM 560, Detroit's Christian Talk", is a radio station licensed to Monroe, Michigan, serving the Detroit metropolitan area. The station broadcasts in HD Radio with 500 Watts daytime power from a transmitter located in South Monroe, MI, and 14 Watts nighttime...
), eventually came to dominate as the most popular choice for oldies in the market.
WOMC has also had many memorable slogans, like "WOM-SEE" and "Detroit's Big O", and when the call letters are said, they're said with emphasis on the O ("W Ohhh M C").
In 2006, under the leadership of Steve Alan, the station removed the word "Oldies" from all station imaging and jingles and re-branded as "The Motor City's 104.3" While quite successful in growing the ratings, in early 2007, under the guidance of Detroit based programming consultant, Gary Berkowitz, the station started using the word "Oldies" again in jingles and imaging, but the heritage WOMC call letters are only used for the top of the hour legal ID.
Berkowitz's switch back to 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....
was successful for the station. They used Randy Reeves as the station voice, and Gary used a combination of "Do It Again", "Home of the Hits" and selected PAMS jingle packages from JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American pop culture....
. Gary Berkowitz and management then brought in Scott Walker
Scott Walker
Scott Walker may refer to:*Scott Walker , Governor of Wisconsin, and former county executive of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin*Scott Walker , boxer...
, as program director.
In August 2007, WOMC-FM had begun airing brief jingles and "retromercials" that formerly aired on CKLW during its famous tenure as the "Big 8", especially with much of the same music being played on WOMC-FM today as on CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
in the 1960s to the 1980s.
In April 2009, under the leadership of Tom Bigby, and Tom Sleeker, WOMC once again dropped the "Oldies" branding from the station. Once Tim Roberts was named Operations Manager and Program Director, the transition to "Classic Hits" from "Oldies" continued. During that time WOMC replaced voiceover guy Charlie Van Dyke for Jeff Davis. The station changed to "104.3 WOMC, Detroit's Greatest Hits."
HD Radio
WOMC is licensed for HD RadioHD 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...
operations and has a multicast channel on WOMC-HD2. Originally, this station featured hits of the 50s and 60s. Gradually, the format began to evolve into pop hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s. WOMC had changed its station voice twice, and at one time, all three station voices could be heard doing liners for WOMC-HD2. In January 2008, WOMC-HD2's format changed back to the hits of the 50s and 60s. Every day, beginning at 1:00 p.m., the station plays an hour of Elvis music. Also, the station will occasionally play a retro PAMS
PAMS
PAMS , based in Dallas, Texas, was the most famous jingle production company in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stations around the world, as well as some commercial music.-History:The company was founded by William B. Meeks, Jr. PAMS (an acronym for Production,...
jingle.
In November 2008, WOMC was apparently re-creating the sound of Top-40 legend WKNR Keener 13
WDTW (AM)
WDTW is a Detroit-area radio station, operating at 1310 kHz with 5,000 watts. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and airs mostly syndicated progressive talk radio programs....
for its HD2 stream. On November 8, 2008, a Keener Radio logo appeared on WOMC'S website. However, the program director of the HD2 Channel, Ted Richards, has since been fired; and WOMC's program director has also moved to a different station; meaning that the Keener Radio HD2 idea is dead.
WOMC HD2 has picked up the "Oldies 104.3" branding that was dropped from the HD1 channel.
WOMC also added an HD3 channel in February 2010 known as "The Sky," featuring psychic talk and readings.
Airstaff
The current lineup (as of August 15, 2011) is as follows- Morning Show (5am-10am): The Bobby Mitchell Show - Bobby Mitchell, Chuck Gadica, Stacy DuFord & Bob Schuman
- Mid-Days (10am-3pm): Jim "JJ" Johnson
- Afternoon Drive (3pm-7pm): Beau Daniels
- Nighttime (7pm-12am): Dave Fuller
- Weekend's/Fill-ins: Fred “Boogie” Bryan, Tom Force, Scott Moore, Mike Shannon and Steve Wiseman.
- Program Director: Tim Roberts
- Station Voice: Jeff Davis