History WBCT

1 history

1.1 wjef-fm/the modern sound
1.2 mellow 93/joy fm/classic rock
1.3 b-93

history
wjef-fm/the modern sound

the station began operations in october 1951 wjef-fm, simulcasting sister station 1230 wjef (now wtkg). in 1960, wjef-fm broke away simulcast , began playing classical music. year, station increased power 500,000 watts. under ownership of john fetzer, owned wkzo-tv (now wwmt), wwtv-fm (now wjzq) in cadillac, michigan, , detroit tigers baseball team. wjef owned , operated muzak franchise on subcarrier.

in mid-1960s, station, known wjfm, switched mor/news/talk/sports format, , in 1967 became more music-intensive, adopting moniker modern sound, fetzer reportedly did away because felt station played rock , roll. point , through of 1970s, apart automated country format in 1971-1972, wjfm beautiful music station. despite strong signal, station hovered near bottom of ratings during time.

mellow 93/joy fm/classic rock

wjfm changed automated top 40 format in 1977 , adult contemporary music following year mellow 93 , picking format had been abandoned wmlw in switch wffx earlier year. mellow 93 proved moderate ratings success, station around fifth or sixth place.

the ac format lasted until station called in consultant, attempted contemporary hit radio (chr) format change in 1984. change on airwaves not included music selection, of staff either quitting or being let go. grand rapids area flooded chr stations @ time, wgrd, wsnx , wklq playing top 40 music, wjfm s chr format lasted 2 years before station went soft ac new joy fm. joy format proved failure, , in 1988 wjfm became classic hits station. ratings classic hits format dropped off, , in 1990 station evolved classic rock.

b-93

in 1992, john fetzer sold station. in june 1992, billboard magazine reported number of key wjfm staffers, including general manager joel schaaf, program director , midday host sean stevens, , morning man jeff france, had left station, , rumors began swirling effect classic rock station go country take on incumbent country powerhouse wcuz. sure enough, on july 24, 1992 classic rock format dropped country , wjfm became wbct b93 . lee cory original program director, , neal dionne , reese rickards original b-93 morning show hosts. b-93 became consistently top five-ranked station in grand rapids market. despite recent competition in format cumulus media s nash fm 94.5 wtnr, b93 remains consistently 1 of top-rated stations in west michigan.