WFMK (99.1 FM) is an
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
radio station licensed to
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
and serving the
Lansing
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...
radio market. The station is owned by
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
and broadcasts in HD radio.
WFMK is one of the United States' oldest adult contemporary stations, having programmed the format for almost four decades. The station signed on in 1959 as WSWM, and offered a
MOR format.
WSWM was purchased by Robert G. Liggett Jr. owner of
Liggett Communications in 1971. Liggett changed the station's call sign to WFMK, and initially programmed a mix of
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
music as "Stereo Island, WFMK 99" during the day (using the ''Stereo Island'' approach pioneered at
WKNR-FM
WNIC (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Dearborn, Michigan and serving the Metro Detroit media market. Owned by iHeartMedia, WNIC broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format. Each year, usually on the first Friday of Novem ...
in Detroit), and
Album Oriented Rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-oriente ...
overnight. The
AOR portion of the format was dropped in the mid-1970s, and the
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
format expanded to 24 hours a day, under the moniker ''Easy Rockin' FM 99''.
Over the years WFMK's adult contemporary format has evolved to the point that the station's current slogan is "A Variety From the '80s to Now." WFMK has long been one of the most popular and most highly rated stations in the Lansing area.
When
WHZZ
WHZZ (101.7 FM, "Mike FM") is a radio station licensed to Lansing, Michigan with a variety hits format.
History
The station has gone through many different formats over the years. After beginning as a simulcast of WILS 1320 AM as WILS-FM in 19 ...
in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...
abruptly changed format from
Contemporary Hit Radio
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
to
Adult Hits in 2005, WFMK, along with
WQHH
WQHH (96.5 FM), branded "Power 96.5" is a commercial FM radio station located in DeWitt, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan. The station broadcasts with 6,000 watts. The station plays hip hop as well as rhythm & blues (R&B) music.
WQHH began broadca ...
and
WJXQ
WJXQ (106.1 FM, "Q106") is a commercial radio station licensed to Charlotte, Michigan, and serving the Lansing radio market. WJXQ is owned by Midwest Communications and airs an active rock radio format. Studios and offices are located on Cedar ...
temporarily took advantage of the format switch, touting the many CHR artists on the station until WFMK's sister station,
WJIM-FM
WJIM-FM (97.5 FM, "975 Now FM") is a radio station in Lansing, Michigan, broadcasting an adult leaning Top 40 (CHR) format.
The station has had the WJIM-FM calls continuously since it signed on in 1960. For over three decades, WJIM-FM broadca ...
changed format from
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
to CHR a few days later.
In 2010, WFMK shifted to an all-
Christmas Music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...
format for the holiday season. It was the first time the station had ever gone all-Christmas around the clock. This move was most likely due to crosstown
WLMI
WLMI is a radio station licensed to Grand Ledge, Michigan, serving Lansing. Owned by Midwest Communications, it broadcasts a classic hits format branded as ''Cruisin 92.9''.
History
What is now WLMI began life as WCER-FM in Charlotte, Mic ...
going all-Christmas as well, just a few weeks before. After going all-Christmas in 2012, WFMK replaced its long-running Saturday Night Retro Show with ''
Backtrax USA ''Backtrax USA'' is a weekly two-hour radio program hosted by former WHTZ (Z100) disc jockey Kid Kelly that premiered in 1992. The original show highlights hit music from the 1980s. Since 2003, ''Backtrax USA'' has also offered a 1990s version of ...
'', which is syndicated by
Cumulus Media Networks
Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which w ...
and features hits of the 1980s and 1990s.
WFMK has had its jingle melody changed over the years. During the mid and late 1980s, WFMK's jingles were by
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 ...
and used the WENS melody. In the 1990s, WFMK's jingles, by
TM Century
Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...
, also used the WENS melody, which also was the call sign melody for WMXV. WFMK's jingle melody was changed again when the station began using the "Cuddle" jingle package from
Thompson Creative
Thompson Creative is an American radio jingle production company formerly based in Dallas, Texas.
History
In 1986, broadcasters Larry and Susan Thompson set up Thompson Creative with the idea of updating the "traditional" jingle sound. Utilizin ...
; this package remained for seven years. The most recent jingle melody change came in 2007 when WFMK began using Reelworld's 2007
WLIT
WLIT-FM (93.9 MHz, "93.9 Lite FM") is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex in the Chicago Loop, while the station trans ...
jingle package; WFMK has stayed with Reelworld and the WLIT melody ever since. Their current jingle package to this day is Reelworld One AC and the KVIL package, both using the same WLIT melody.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
would acquire 53
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
stations, including WFMK, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of
Dial Global
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...
; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by
Oaktree Capital Management
Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele.
The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...
.
The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.
Sources
Michiguide.com - WFMK History
External links
*
{{Townsquare Media
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
FMK
Townsquare Media radio stations
Radio stations established in 1959
1959 establishments in Michigan