WDMK

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**WDMK**
City of license	Detroit
Broadcast area	Detroit
Branding	"105.9 Kiss-FM"
Frequency	105.9 (MHz)
Format	Urban Adult Contemporary
ERP	20,000 watts
Callsign meaning	W Detroit Michigan Kiss
Owner	Radio One

WDMK is a radio station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting at 105.9 FM, owned by Radio One. The station is positioned as 105.9 Kiss FM, Detroit's R&B Leader, with a very Oldies-heavy Urban Adult Contemporary format, and is also the Detroit affiliate for the syndicated Tom Joyner morning show. The station broadcasts with 20,000 watts of power from a transmitter located in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park. WDMK adopted its current format on June 25, 2005, with the format moving from sister station 102.7 FM (now WHTD); previous to that, the station had broadcast a Mainstream Urban/Hip Hop format as WDTJ, "105.9 Jamz."

[edit] History

105.9 FM went on the air on May 26, 1960, as WCHD. Originally WCHD simulcast the R&B format of WCHB, Detroit's first Black-owned-and-operated radio station (then at 1440 AM, now at 1200 AM). By the late 1960s, WCHD had programmed itself separately from its AM sister and was playing Jazz. Early jazz announcers on WCHD included Ken Bradley, Jo Ray, and Ed Love (who now hosts the long-running weeknight jazz program on public radio station WDET).

Eventually, WCHD changed its call letters to WJZZ to emphasize its musical format. WJZZ remained a traditional Jazz station until around 1989, when the station changed direction and began playing more mainstream contemporary jazz (the genre of music that would eventually be known as Smooth Jazz) and New Age material, adding artists such as Sade, Luther Vandross and Al Jarreau to its playlist. Although jazz purists decried the format tweak, WJZZ's ratings improved. By this time, WJZZ and WCHB were owned by Bell Broadcasting.

By 1996, WJZZ had gained a competitor in "Smooth Jazz" V98.7, WVMV, the former rocker WLLZ which had changed format to Smooth Jazz shortly before Christmas 1995. With WVMV rapidly growing in popularity, Bell Broadcasting decided to take WJZZ in a different direction. On August 23, 1996, WJZZ shifted its format to Mainstream Urban and took the WCHB-FM calls and the slogan "105.9 The Beat," in an attempt to go after longtime urban leader WJLB. Radio One acquired WCHB-AM/FM in July 1998, and the following month, WCHB-FM became WDTJ, "105.9 Jamz." WDTJ aired the Russ Parr morning show syndicated from sister station WKYS in Washington, DC. "105.9 Jamz" did respectably in the ratings, but not respectably enough to beat WJLB.

On June 26, 2005, Radio One made a major change in its Detroit cluster. The company moved the "Old School" Rhythmic Oldies format of WDMK-FM 102.7 "Kiss-FM" to 105.9. 105.9 took on the WDMK calls and the "Kiss-FM" moniker, as the "Kiss" format was updated to a gold-based Urban AC. Detroit Pistons announcer John Mason (formerly of WJLB), who had done mornings at 102.7, was relegated to afternoon drive to accommodate the Tom Joyner morning show, previously heard on Clear Channel-owned WMXD, on the new "105.9 Kiss-FM." The "105.9 Jamz" mainstream urban/hip-hop format moved to 102.7, which took on the new calls WHTD and the moniker "Hot 102-7."

WDMK's ratings remain respectable with its current format, although the station has been unable to unseat WMXD, which is still frequently the #1 station 12+ in the Detroit market. In addition, the syndicated Steve Harvey morning show on WMXD regularly outperforms Tom Joyner on WDMK (although Joyner remains one of Detroit's top ten morning shows as rated by Arbitron).

John Mason, WDMK's former afternoon drive personality, left the station in September 2006 and shortly afterward announced that he would be looking to syndicate his own morning show, most likely based at independently-owned Detroit urban AC outlet WGPR. Radio One successfully took Mason to court to uphold a non-compete clause, and thus it will likely be several months before his voice is heard over WGPR's airwaves. In the meantime, Mason was able to secure a deal to begin broadcasting on WOWE (98.9 FM) in the Flint market.

Mason was replaced in the afternoon drive slot on WDMK by Wendy Williams, syndicated from WBLS in New York.