History WMUZ (AM)

1 history

1.1 1440 wchb
1.2 1200 wchb
1.3 newstalk 1200 wchb
1.4 gospel goes full time on 1200
1.5 return of newstalk 1200

history

am 1440 wchb

the wchb call letters date 1956, when station signed on 1,000-watt daytimer @ 1440 on dial licensed inkster, michigan. call letters stood dr. wendell cox , dr. haley bell, owned , operated station under bell broadcasting banner.

wchb 1 of earliest radio station in united states built ground black owners, , r&b format, became visible presence in detroit s black community. on, wchb aimed all-purpose full-service station detroit s african-american community, featuring not r&b hits, gospel music, jazz, talk shows, , tweeny time show two-to-six-year-olds. late 1960s, however, popularity of motown sound, in addition competition wjlb (then station @ 1400 on dial, wdtk) , fm upstart wgpr, led wchb adopt more top 40-style presentation soul format. locally owned many years bell broadcasting, wchb signed on fm sister, 105.9 wchd, in 1960, later changed calls wjzz , became detroit s popular jazz station. 105.9 still co-owned station radio 1 wdmk.

wchb experimented disco-based format time during late 1970s , 1980s. however, wchb saw ratings sink during 1980s fm urban contemporary stations wjlb (which moved format fm dial in 1980) , wdrq grabbed of audience. station returned roots of being full-service voice african-american community.

am 1200 wchb

the wchb calls moved current home @ 1200 khz in february 1990 new station metro detroit area , owned bell broadcasting. 1440 moved gospel format wmkm.

in 1998, bell broadcasting sold wchb , wchb-fm (formerly wjzz, later wdtj , wdmk) radio one. radio 1 set process of upgrading wchb s signal, involved taking station off air several months in august 1998 upgrade equipment , purchasing wknx in frankenmuth (at 1210 am) , moving kingsley, near traverse city in northern michigan (see wldr , wjml), allow 1200 signal upgrade. occurrence played role nighttime reduction in power of co-channel wowo in ft. wayne, indiana (at 1190 am). wowo directionalized nighttime signal towards west , became class b station (formerly class a, clear channel nighttime coverage of metro detroit). change of wowo signal @ least partially allowed wchb increase nighttime power 15,000 watts 700 watts.

wchb resurfaced in march 1999 new 50,000-watt daytime/15,000-watt nighttime signal , format of gospel music, morning talk show, inside detroit, hosted outspoken detroit personality , former wjlb newscaster mildred gaddis.

newstalk 1200 wchb

in april 2005, wchb cut gospel programming 9 p.m. 6 a.m. weekdays , around clock on weekends make way radio 1 s syndicated lineup.

beginning on january 30, 2006, radio 1 debuted syndication one, joint venture of radio 1 , reach media featured urban talk show hosts reverend al sharpton, michael eric dyson , doug & ryan stewart – 2 live stews sports show. mildred gaddis inside detroit remains part of schedule , airs 6-10 a.m. weekdays. local show, voice angelo henderson, hosted wall street journal columnist angelo henderson airs weekdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

the shows simultaneously placed on other radio 1 stations, including wild 1090 in boston, wol 1450 in washington, dc., wvcg 1080 in miami, 1300 in cleveland , wrou 1240 in richmond, virginia. cox radio s birmingham station, wpsb 1320, picked each of shows.

in march 2007, michael eric dyson left show , syndication one. replaced warren ballentine show, hosted attorney warren ballentine, refers himself people’s attorney , radio truth fighter.

on april 30, 2007, wchb welcomed parker & man weekly line-up. show, hosted sports journalist rob parker , broadcaster mark wilson. parker columnist detroit news , regular contributor on espn2 s first take. wilson former associated press , michigan association of broadcasters michigan sportscaster of year. parker & man, heard on detroit fm station live 97.1 wkrk, ran 9 p.m-12 a.m. consistently among top shows men 25-54 while @ wkrk, known 97.1 ticket.

in fall of 2007, after 2 live stews syndication deal not renewed syndication one, parker & man shifted 4-7 p.m.

in june 2008, parker , man dropped station.

gospel goes full time on 1200

on june 9, 2008, @ 10 a.m., news-talk 1200 flipped formats full-time gospel music station. of news-talk line-up, morning host mildred gaddis remained station, continuing morning drive show. live host on station; after show, station became automated. wchb known 1200 wchb, mildred in morning , inspiration day.

return of newstalk 1200

in 2009, wchb reimaged news/talk station again after failing attract listeners gospel format (the format later relaunched in october 2011, time on sister station whtd). gaddis remained in mornings, followed henderson, syndicated shapton, ramona prater s f club radio show (a program geared towards female audience), , gayle king. both gaddis , sharpton s shows repeated after 8pm on weekdays.

on october 15, 2011, wchb moved fm repeater station, w206bi, 89.1 99.9 fm (becoming w260cb) , began testing on frequency. w206bi/w260cb translator of toledo s national public radio affiliate, wgte-fm, owned bell broadcasting company (owned haley bell, former co-owner of wchb), , licensed hamtramck @ 89.1 fm, application move 99.9 , repeat wdmk-fm. w260cb on air permanently; technically, station repeats wdmk-hd2 105.9 fm, delayed simulcast of wchb. w260cb broadcasts power of 250 watts , antenna of 245 meters.

during summer of 2012, wchb added smooth jazz programming during late evening , overnight hours, restoring format detroit area on part-time basis. programming broadcast architecture s smooth jazz network.

on april 12, 2017, radio 1 announced wchb sold crawford broadcasting. @ same time, company stated of wchb s programming move wpzr. sale, translator w260cb retained radio one, , simulcasts wdmk s hd2 sub-channel airing classic soul format soul 99.9.

as of june 23, 2017, music portion of wchb s programming consists of motown , classic soul music.

on august 3, 2017, wchb went silent after sale of station crawford completed. on october 1, 2017, wchb changed call letters wmuz (the wchb calls moved 1340 am, formerly wexl).

according crawford broadcasting engineering newsletter, wchb undergoing upgrades , return air november 1, 2017.