WDTW (AM)

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WDTW
IATA airport code for the Detroit Metropolitan Airport
Technical information
Facility ID6593
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
42°15′50″N 83°15′16″W / 42.26389°N 83.25444°W / 42.26389; -83.25444
Translator(s)107.9 MHz W300DI (Dearborn)
Links
WebcastListen live
WebsiteLaZ1310.com

WDTW (1310

studios and offices are on Goddard Road in Taylor, Michigan
.

WDTW is powered at 5,000

FM translator W300DI at 107.9 MHz in Detroit.[2]

History

Early years

The station

daytime-only station broadcasting on 1540 AM. It added an FM station, WKMH-FM 100.3 (now WNIC
) in the same month. WKMH AM moved to its current 1310 frequency and began round-the-clock operations in 1948.

WKMH-AM-FM specialized in local news, information, sports, and mainly

R&B and early rock and roll artists like The Crows alongside mainstream pop stars like Patti Page. Seymour remained with the station as it became WKNR and later became the host of Swingin' Time, a popular local teenage dance show on CKLW-TV
.

WKMH garnered some notice through early 1960s Top 40 shows hosted by personalities such as Lee Alan "On the Horn" and Dave "Sangoo" Prince, but the station was generally considered an also-ran in the Detroit market and a weak competitor to

WJR
dropped its ties to CBS to add more local programming. Despite, or some might say because of, this unusual move, WKMH continued to flounder.

In 1962 the station shed its CBS affiliation (which WJR regained) and became "Flagship Radio," an early

adult contemporary
format featuring a mix of softer current pop hits and MOR album cuts, but this format, too, was not popular.

"Keener 13"

Despite the power of WJBK and WXYZ and the 50,000-watt signal of CKLW, consultant Mike Joseph (best known for developing the Hot Hits format in the late 1970s) was convinced there was room for a fourth Top 40 station in Detroit and that 1310 AM could easily climb ahead of the competition. With WKMH owner Nellie Knorr, he developed the formula that ultimately became a success.

Joseph instituted a shorter

full-service features
(especially on weekends).

WKNR officially launched on October 31, 1963, with the "Battle of the Giants," an attention-grabbing promotion that invited listeners to call in to vote for their favorite oldies. The station quickly gained momentum, and in an unprecedented "worst-to-first" move, three months later "Keener" was a solid across-the-board number one in the ratings. This happened despite a weak signal which missed most of the east side of the Detroit metro area, especially at night, although the station could be heard market-wide on its more powerful FM simulcast at 100.3. WKNR became the preeminent Top 40 radio station in the Motor City. Competitors WJBK and WXYZ were hurt in the ratings by their new competitor, and both stations eventually were driven out of Top 40 and into MOR formats. It has been reported that the legendary Henry Ford II himself was an avid Keener fan.

Keener featured popular personalities like

WKFR in Battle Creek, Michigan
, which was known as "Keener 14." Bob Green would later describe the Keener sound as being like "a 24-hour cartoon."

Keener 13's appeal to adult listeners as well as teens was cemented with the station's news commitment. "Contact News" aired at :15 and :45 past the hour every hour. WKNR's newscasts were straightforward and lacked the flash or sensationalism of CKLW's "blood-and-guts" 20/20 News but were highly regarded. The station released a "Year in Review" album each year which was made available to area schools.

WKNR's dominance was challenged when CKLW 800 AM got a makeover courtesy of consultants

WKNR-FM 100.3, which had previously simulcast the AM programming, switched to a more adventurous progressive rock format starting in 1969. But by 1971, WKNR-FM flipped to an easy listening "Stereo Island" format, switching its call sign to WNIC
.

The Keener 13 era is celebrated at Keener13.com, with an extensive history, an archive of air checks and a database of every WKNR Music Guide in addition to an online tribute webcast called WKNR Keener 13 dot com.

Easy Listening and Oldies

On April 25, 1972, "Keener 13" ended its Top 40 format. The final song was "

soft adult contemporary format in 1976. AM 1310 simulcast for a short time until the decision was made in 1977 to revive the "Keener 13" brand name on its original frequency with an adult-oriented Top 40 and Oldies mix and a new call sign, WWKR. (The WKNR call sign was unavailable after having been installed on the former WKFR, now WBFN
). The legendary "Keener 13" record survey, the "Keener Music Guide," was also brought back, but was published on a monthly rather than weekly basis. The second version of "Keener 13" did not have the success of the original, and by 1980, AM 1310 was back to simulcasting WNIC-FM.

Since late 1986, AM 1310 has tried several other different formats, none of which have attained lasting success, and has been in and out of simulcasting WNIC 100.3 between formats. Other formats heard on 1310 since 1986 include:

In 2005, 1310 became WDTW, owned by

Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media in the Ann Arbor and Canton, Ohio
markets. On September 15, 2006, the call sign were changed back to WDTW.

On January 21, 2010, WDTW's network,

Air America Media, filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and ceased live programming the same night. Reruns of Air America's programming continued to air until January 25 at 9 PM Eastern Time
. After that, WDTW had to find other programs.

Donation to Minority Media

On December 11, 2012, Clear Channel announced it would donate WDTW to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), as part of the Ownership Diversity Initiative between Clear Channel and the MMTC. The MMTC did not announce any specific plans for the station.[4]

On December 14, 2012, it was revealed that the MMTC donation applied only to the license of the station, as Clear Channel announced that WDTW would cease broadcasting at midnight on December 31, 2012. The station's antennas and transmitter facilities near the intersection of I-94 and Telegraph Road in Taylor were dismantled shortly afterward.

Spanish-language programming

First logo after WDTW's rebirth as a Spanish station

In 2014, the MMTC chose to resell WDTW to Pedro Zamora, who owns several Spanish-language radio stations and a promoter specializing in Spanish-language musicians, for $100,000. After the sale, WDTW reconstructed its broadcast facilities, a process that had an estimated cost of around $1 million. In April 2016, the station officially re-launched as La Mega Detroit 1310. Zamora entered into arrangements with

TSJ Media (which operates La Mega stations in other markets) to assist in WDTW's operations. The station was operated out of TSJ's facilities in Columbus, Ohio, while WDTW completed the build-out of its studio in Taylor, Michigan, and hired full-time staff members. TSJ's owner Josh Guttman stated that he also planned for WDTW to pursue Spanish-language broadcast rights to local professional sports teams, as TSJ had successfully done in Ohio.[5]

On July 21, 2017, WDTW activated a low-powered FM translator on 107.9 FM in Detroit, W300DI. That year, the station also dropped the La Mega brand in favor of La Z 1310.

See also

References

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WDTW
  2. ^ Radio-Locator.com/W300DI
  3. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 146, Broadcasting & Cable
  4. ^ All-Access: "Clear Channel Donates WDTW-A/Detroit To MMTC", December 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "New local Spanish-language station will seek Tigers, Lions". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved April 20, 2016.

External links

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