WRCJ-FM

WRCJ-FM
City Detroit, Michigan
Broadcast area Detroit, MI-Windsor, ON
Branding 90.9 WRCJ
Slogan Classical Days, Jazzy Nights
Frequency 90.9 MHz
First air date January 8, 1948
Format Classical/Jazz
Power 42,000 watts
HAAT 165 meters
Class B
Facility ID 6056
Transmitter coordinates 42°22′25″N 83°06′50″W / 42.37361°N 83.11389°W / 42.37361; -83.11389
Callsign meaning We are Classical & Jazz
Former callsigns WDTR-FM (10/7/82-7/1/04)
WDTR (1/8/48-10/7/82)
Owner Detroit Public Schools
(operated by Detroit Educational Television Foundation)
Webcast Listen Live
Website http://www.wrcjfm.org/

WRCJ-FM is a classical/jazz FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station operates on 90.9 MHz and is the only Classical Music station in Detroit. The Detroit Educational Television Foundation, owners of Detroit Public Television WTVS, operates the public radio station for license holder Detroit Public Schools.

History

WDTR

WRCJ went on the air for the first time on January 8, 1948 as WDTR, and was Michigan's first educational FM station. By the dawn of the 21st century, the station's programming consisted largely of urban contemporary music with public affairs programs concerning the school district and a variety of specialty shows, including the "Old 'n' Gold" rare oldies show, Safe and Secure Detroit-a show dedicated to Public Safety and Personal Security after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, and the Sunday big band/nostalgia showcase "Somewhere In Time". WDTR changed its call letters to WRCJ on July 1, 2004, and the station cut back its broadcast time to 8AM-5PM weekdays only. At the same time, the school district announced it would draft a contract with a third party to operate the station while the school district continued to own the frequency. Accordingly, they put out an RFP (Request for Proposal), stipulating the station's format change to classical and jazz, to which several area organizations responded, including WUOM and WTVS. In April 2005, the Detroit Public Schools announced that Detroit Public TV would take control of WRCJ in July. The change happened at noon on August 1, 2005.

90.9 WRCJ

The current format of classical and jazz music began August 1, 2005. The station plays Classical music from 5AM to 7PM and Jazz music from 7PM to 5AM, six days a week, with religious/gospel music on Sunday mornings.

The station is staffed by local presenters from 6AM-7PM. Morning and afternoon show host Dave Wagner was a longtime air personality on former commercial classical music station 105.1 WQRS. Midday host Chris Felcyn is a longtime public radio personality known for his show "The Listening Room," which is now heard Sunday mornings at 10AM on WRCJ. Former classical WQRS host and frequent fill in host for WRCJ, Jack Goggin hosts the Sunday evening show “Film Classics”, a show that aired for nine years on 105.1 WQRS. The award-winning Music Director for WRCJ is Jim Dantzer.

WRCJ's weeknight jazz programming consists of "PubJazz" with Tony Mowod from Pittsburgh and "Jazz Overnight" with Bob Parlocha, which is nationally syndicated by WFMT in Chicago. The station also carries WFMT's "Exploring Music" with Bill McGlaughlin, weekday mornings from 5-6AM. With the exceptions of "The Listening Room," "DSO and MOT Unmasked", "Film Classics", and Detroit Symphony Orchestra live broadcasts and "The Civic in Concert," WRCJ's classical-music programming on weekends is satellite-fed from the Classical 24 network. WRCJ also broadcasts three hours of programs each month produced by Detroit Public Schools students and staff. Those programs air 7pm the first two Wednesdays of each month and 7pm every other Sunday. John Penney hosts "JazzFest Detroit" every Saturday 7-9pm.

90.9 WRCJ currently ranks at #23 (1.3) in the Detroit market according to the January 2012 PPM Ratings release. Approximately 170,000 people listen to WRCJ-FM each week. The signal is streamed worldwide on http://www.wrcjfm.org

Airstaff

The current lineup (as of December 17, 2013): Starting out the day at 5am is Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin. Weekday mornings, (6a - 11a) it's Dave Wagner. Midday (11a - 4p) is The Well-Tempered Wireless with Chris Felcyn. On the ride home (4p - 7p) it's Dr. Dave’s Drive Time Elixir with Dave Wagner once again. Wrapping up the day on nights is PubJazz with Tony Mowod (until 11p), and Jazz Overnight with Bob Parlocha. John Penney, formerly of WDET-FM, hosts "JazzFest Detroit" Saturday nights 7 - 9p. Jack Goggin hosts "Film Classics" Sunday nights at 6p. Ron Nolan, Jack Goggin, Davis Gloff, Cecilia Sharpe and Judy Adams are occasional substitutes for Wagner and Felcyn. Jimmy Rhoades co-hosts "The Civic in Concert" broadcasts with high school students.

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.