WKMI (1360 AM) 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

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

broadcasting a

news-talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. WKMI is an affiliate of the Grand Valley State Laker football radio network. WKMI, which began broadcasting in 1947, was a highly rated

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 ...

music station from the 1950s through the 1970s. The station moved to 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 ...

format to compete with WKZO during the early 1980s, and then switched to its current talk format in 1990 as the

Persian Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

created a boom for talk radio. An FM sister at 106.5 was added in 1964; WKMI-FM is now

WVFM WVFM, known simply as 106.5 Jack FM and formerly WQLR, is an adult hits outlet serving the Kalamazoo, Michigan radio market. The station's frequency is 106.5 MHz on the FM dial with an ERP of 33 kW. They are owned by Midwest Communicati ...

and no longer co-owned. 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 stations from

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 ...

, including WKMI, for $238 million. The deal was 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 were 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.

References

Michiguide.com - WKMI History

External links

KMI News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1964 Townsquare Media radio stations {{Michigan-radio-station-stub