KMJ-FM

KMJ-FM
City Fresno, California
Broadcast area Fresno, California
Branding KMJ Now
Frequency 105.9 (MHz)
First air date 1979
Format News/Talk
ERP 2,400 watts
HAAT 597 meters
Class B
Facility ID 26933
Transmitter coordinates 37°4′23″N 119°25′51″W / 37.07306°N 119.43083°W / 37.07306; -119.43083
Owner Cumulus Media
(Cumulus Licensing LLC)
Webcast Listen Live
Website kmjnow.com

KMJ-FM (105.9 FM, "KMJ Now") is a commercial radio station located in Fresno, California. The station, owned by Cumulus Media simulcasts the News/Talk format of its sister station, 580 KMJ. Its studios are located at the Radio City building on Shaw Avenue in North Fresno and its transmitter is near Auberry, California.

When 105.9 first became a talk station, it sometimes aired programs that were different than 580. But now, both stations' programming and ratings are combined, regardless of whether the listener tunes in 580 or 105.9. The station focuses primarily on locally produced News/Talk programming in the daytime and runs several nationally-syndicated programs at night, including Mark Levin, John Batchelor and Red Eye Radio from Westwood One, a radio syndication company owned by Cumulus Media, the parent company of KMJ-AM-FM.

History

In the late 1970s, 105.9 was an album rock station known as "106 KKDJ." (The KKDJ call letters were previously used in Los Angeles). KKDJ was the premiere rock station in Fresno throughout the 1980s, largely due to the popularity of its morning show, the Dean and Don Breakfast Club. Dean was also known as Bobby Volare and Don as "Donnie Rotten." The Breakfast Club had an avid following in Fresno during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It also brought 1980s concert acts such as The Knack, Huey Lewis and the News, the Motels, the Baby's and many others to the Star Palace and Warner's Theatre.

In 1980, Dean and Don recruited the KKDJ Cheerleaders; they were composed of eight girls and one man. The applicants had to submit a written essay of why they wanted to become a KKDJ Cheerleader. The hip and sexy 1980s cheer team was recruited to promote concerts and other events, hosted by the Breakfast Club. Some of the team members included; Susan Johnson (aka Sexy Susan), Becky Perryman (aka Becky Baby), Mayer Daher (aka Mary Maybe), Julie Contreras aka (Jules), Susan Riley aka (Sassy Sue), Cecelia (aka Lusty Lolita), Jim Micheals and others. Other DJs at the station during this time included Jeffrey "D" Reidel and Mike Wild (the Wild Kingdom) and "Dead Air" Dave Sozinho. Dean's show was called Dean Opperman's Off-Ramp to Nowhere

KKDJ's dominance as a rocker was compromised when KMGX changed format from top-40 to rock in 1989. In 1991, KKDJ changed format from album rock to alternative under the nickname "105.9 The Edge". This format lasted until January 1994, and KKDJ once again made a go at competing with KRZR, but that was also short lived. Note: not to be confused with another radio station KBFP-FM, formerly KKDJ, based in Delano in Kern County, California.

When Henry Broadcasting acquired KKDJ, it was relocated from its studios on Shaw Avenue to a small trailer in the KSKS/KMJ parking lot (that trailer was previously used by sister station KDON-FM for live remotes). Henry Broadcasting also changed the format of KKDJ to Classic Rock, to compete with KJFX. In 1996, KKDJ's format changed to a soft Spanish ballads format as KRNC, "Romance 106." That evolved into a more uptempo Spanish popular music format as "Viva 106," which was replaced in 2005 by a hot talk format known as "The Edge," with the callsign KKDG. The talk format barely made a dent in the ratings, and "Viva 106," with the syndicated Howard Stern show in the morning, was temporarily revived.

In September 2005, the format was changed again to a Jack FM affiliate, rebranding itself as "105.9 Jack FM," and changing its callsign to KFJK. The radio station was among the highest-rated stations in the Central Valley for several years, due to its large playlist, consisting of a variety of rock and popular hits from the past and present, as well as its own unique system of playing these songs at random, hence the slogan, "Playing What We Want." In addition, Jack had no DJs, which was heavily promoted. One such bumper stated, "You don't hear someone talk in between songs on a CD, so why would you hear someone talk in between songs on the radio?" In response to the success of KFJK, KWYE (a sister station to KFJK) changed its format, which had previously been Top 40-oriented—to one similar to that of Jack's in December 2006.

Jack FM's popularity declined by 2009, eventually ranking 15th (out of 38),[1] and on March 26, 2009, KFJK changed its format to news/talk, branded as "KMJ Now," in tandem with KMJ 580 AM. On March 27, 2009 KFJK changed its call letters to KMJ-FM. The station's switch to talk created the region's fifth such format. At first KMJ-AM and FM shared only some programs but today the two stations are simulcast. The ratings for both stations are combined, so it does not matter whether a listener tunes in 580 or 105.9.

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would purchase Peak Broadcasting, and then immediately swap Peak's Fresno stations, including KMJ-FM, to Cumulus Media in exchange for Cumulus' stations in Dubuque, Iowa and Poughkeepsie, New York. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Peak, Townsquare, and Dial Global are all controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.[2][3] The sale to Cumulus was completed on November 14, 2013.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Talk radio format takes over KFJK - TV - fresnobee.com
  2. ↑ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Cumulus Makes Dial Global And Townsquare Deals Official". RadioInsight. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Cumulus-Townsquare-Peak Deal Closes". All Access. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.

External links

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