WMJO (97.3 FM, "Joe FM") is a

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

Essexville, Michigan Essexville is a city in Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population at 3,478 at the 2010 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Essexville is part of the Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area. History Essexville is nam ...

and broadcasting at 97.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

of 3,000 watts. Known on the air as ''Joe-FM'', WMJO has a variety hits format targeted to

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

, Bay City, and Midland. The station is one of four locally owned

MacDonald Broadcasting MacDonald Broadcasting is a privately held radio broadcasting company in Michigan owned by Kenneth MacDonald, Jr. The family-owned broadcasting group is headquartered in Saginaw and owns eight radio stations across Mid-Michigan, including stati ...

radio stations. It first began broadcasting in 1991 under the WIXC call sign (now used by a sports radio station in

Titusville, Florida Titusville is a city in eastern Florida and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States. The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census. Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and ...

). The station switched from

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

when it was purchased by MacDonald in 1998. Since MacDonald owned then competitor

WKCQ WKCQ (98.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan, and broadcasting on 98.1 mHz with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. The station has broadcast a popular country music format since 1968 (the country format began under the ...

, the station's format was flipped to

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

and was known as ''Eagle 97.3'' with the call sign WEEG. In 2004, the station became ''Joe-FM'', a variety hits format modeled after

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits format, in most cases not using DJs. Format characteristics Stations ...

, and changed its call signs once again to WMJO. The station originally had the same playlist and shared personalities with sister station

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 ...

101.7 FM ''Mike FM'' 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 ...

. WMJO eventually evolved into a more gold-based

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 and is considered a hybrid Adult and Classic Hits station rather than a true variety hits station like WHZZ. However both stations continue to use the same imaging. WMJO 97.3 was the exclusive radio broadcaster of the OHL's

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the Major Junior leagues of the Canadian Hockey League ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team. Spirit games are now broadcast on WSGW (100.5).

References

Sources

Michiguide.com - WMJO History

External links

* MJO-FM Radio stations established in 1991 {{Michigan-radio-station-stub