WJRZ-FM (100.1
FM, "100.1 WJRZ") is a commercial
FM radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed to serve
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Manahawkin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. . The station is owned by
Beasley Broadcast Group
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name.
History
The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC, and broadcasts a
classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...
format. The station's studios are located on Beach Avenue in Stafford Township and its broadcast tower is located in
Waretown, New Jersey
Waretown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Ocean Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. at ().
History
WJRZ began broadcasting on July 4, 1976 from
Manahawkin, New Jersey
Manahawkin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Stafford Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. with a
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
format that also played a lot of recurrents, and the first song played was "More More More by Andera true Connection. The original city of license was
Ship Bottom, later changed to Manahawkin, and used the ID "Manahawkin-Toms River". Some of the early slogans used were ''"Stereo 100 WJRZ"'', ''"FM 100 WJRZ"'', and as ''"HitRadio Power 100 WJRZ"''. The station was originally licensed to the Jersey Shore Broadcasting Corporation, which was incorporated in New Jersey in 1974, with Joseph J. Knox Jr., as president and Brent McNally VP and founders. The station signed on as an affiliate of the
ABC Radio Network
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 later switched to
AP Radio
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
. From its sign-on the station grew its listenership very quickly. WJRZ has had a long history of talented music hosts and newscasters. They include (1970s) Jason "Big Jay" Sorensen, Jay Lurie, Brent McNally, Bob Sorrentino, Terry Barnes, Joe Stephens, Ron Stevens, Lance DeBock, Mike Brophy, A.J. Brooks, Arthur Sarnovsky, Chuck Flamini, Karyn Westhoven, Chris VanZant, Spyder McGuire and many others.
The station maintained studios and a tower on on Beach Avenue in Manahawkin, next to
AT&T High Seas Radio Station WOO. The transmitter was later moved to a tower on off Route 9 in
Waretown.
The CHR/Hot AC format continued until November 1991, when WJRZ moved to a classic hits format, but went back to CHR by the middle of 1992. In December 1998, WJRZ dropped Hot AC in favor of country as "Jersey Shore Country." The country format had a mixed reaction from area listeners and failed to attract a significant number of listeners.
In June 2000, they switched to oldies and rebranded as "Oldies 100," and in 2002 ownership changed to
Greater Media
Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The compa ...
.
WJRZ-FM started broadcasting using
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
in November 2007. WJRZ-FM's HD2 subchannel was to be "Classic Oldies," however a launch date had not been established at that time.
WJRZ-FM re-branded as "100.1 WJRZ - The Greatest Hits Of the '60s & '70s" in early 2008, simply using "Jersey's Greatest Hits" and dropping all pre-Beatles music except for Sunday nights. The station dropped one of its signature programs- Jukebox Saturday Night with Joe Stephens in June 2009.
For Christmas 2009, WJRZ-FM flipped to an all-Christmas playlist on Friday, November 6, 2009.
On December 14, 2009, most of the on-air personnel at WJRZ-FM were dismissed and on December 15, WJRZ-FM started airing commercials between the Christmas songs announcing their new format. In each of the commercials, they were playing the type of songs typically heard in that type of format. On December 26, 2009, 100.1 WJRZ-FM became Magic 100.1 "Today's Best Variety" similar to Greater Media's sister station WMGQ; an adult contemporary format from New Brunswick, NJ which is also programmed by WJRZ-FM's OM/PD Jeff Rafter. It was not, however, a direct simulcast. The stations shared similar personalities who voicetracked their shows on the WJRZ-FM signal (mornings with Chris McCoy and mid-days with Debbie Mazella).
In 2010, Jeff Rafter was relieved of his duties at WJRZ-FM. He remained OM/PD at WMGQ for a time before heading over to competitor Press Comm 107.1 The Boss. Glenn Kalina overtook the OM/PD role and became host of the station's new local morning show.
On April 22, 2013, at 6 a.m., after his last song played on Magic 100.1 was
"We Are Never Getting Back Together" By
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
, WJRZ-FM flipped back to their classic hits format carried from 2000–09 as WJRZ 100.1: Jersey's Greatest Hits. The new station launched with "
Here Comes the Sun
"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. It was written by George Harrison and is one of his best-known compositions. Harrison wrote the song in early 1969 at the country house o ...
" by the
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...
followed by "
The Boys are Back in Town
"The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album '' Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it ...
" by
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...
.
On January 6, 2015, longtime Program Director/Afternoon host Glenn Kalina announced his resignation of the positions and retirement from full-time radio. Assistant Program Director Matt Knight was elevated to Program Director/Afternoons while TJ Bryan fills the Assistant Program Director/Mornings role. Glenn continued to host "The Beatles: From Us To You" on Sunday mornings with Beatles authority Richie V.
On July 19, 2016,
Beasley Media Group
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name.
History
The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations (including WJRZ) for $240 million. The FCC approved the sale on October 6, and the sale closed on November 1.
Beasley Closes on Greater Media Purchase; Makes Multiple Staff Moves
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Translators
References
External links
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{{Coord, 39.798, N, 74.202, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
JRZ
JRZ
Radio stations established in 1976
American Basketball Association flagship radio stations
1976 establishments in New Jersey