WMJI (105.7 FM, "Majic 105.7") is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States, featuring a classic hits format. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. WMJI's studios are located in downtown Cleveland's Gateway District at the Six Six Eight Building, while the transmitter is sited in Parma. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WMJI broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is also available online via iHeartRadio.
This station signed on as WTAM-FM in 1948, the FM extension of NBC-owned WTAM, and originally acted as an outright simulcast of the AM station. Both stations, along with WNBK (channel 3), were traded by NBC to Westinghouse Broadcasting in 1955 in exchange for Westinghouse's KYW and KYW-TV in Philadelphia; the KYW call signs were transferred to the Cleveland stations after the trade closed. Westinghouse began programming KYW-FM independently in 1958 with classical music and fine arts fare, but removed all local announcers one year later due to an absence of advertising revenue. After the Westinghouse-NBC trade was ordered to be reversed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), NBC retook control of the Cleveland stations in June 1965, rebadging them WKYC, WKYC-FM and WKYC-TV. WKYC-FM retained its classical format after WCLV, which had a classical format of their own, successfully lobbied NBC to retain the format. By 1971, WKYC-FM switched to an easy listening format.
NBC spun off WKYC and WKYC-FM to Nick Mileti in 1972, with WKYC becoming WWWE and WKYC-FM becoming WWWM. By 1975, WWWM was relaunched as album-oriented rock "M-105", competing intensely against crosstown WMMS for listeners, then transitioned to classic rock by the early 1980s. Mileti sold minority control of WWWM to brothers Tom and Jim Embrescia, who were also station executives; the Embrescias bought WBBG at the same time Mileti sold off WWWE. After both stations were sold to jeweler Larry Robinson, WWWM relaunched in June 1982 as adult contemporary "Majic" WMJI. Jacor bought both stations in 1984, spinning off WBBG in 1988 after it simulcast WMJI for several months. WMJI inherited the music library of WBBG predecessor WIXY and staged several "WIXY 1260" reunions in the late 1980s and again in 1997. John Lanigan became WMJI's morning host in 1985, a position he held for over 29 years. Lanigan's show was a ratings leader throughout his tenure, teamed initially with newscaster John Webster. Comedian Jimmy Malone joined Lanigan's show as a recurring guest with his weekly "Knucleheads in the News" feature, then by 1991 became Lanigan's co-host and remained with the station until 2021.
Former WMMS music director Denny Sanders joined WMJI in 1988 for an oldies-oriented evening program. Purchased by onetime Malrite Communications associate Carl Hirsch in 1991, WMJI was relaunched as a full-time oldies outlet under program director John Gorman. The station staged its first "Majic Moondog Coronation Ball" in 1992, a spiritual successor to the 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball, and continued to host them on an annual basis through 2017. When Hirsch sold WMJI and WMMS (the latter purchased by Hirsch in 1994) to Nationwide Communications in 1996, Sanders replaced Gorman as program director and remained in the role until 2001. Under Sanders, WMJI was the recipient of its first Marconi Award for oldies station of the year. Jacor repurchased WMJI in 1998 as part of their merger with Nationwide, then sold itself to Clear Channel Broadcasting (now iHeartMedia) the following year. From 1999 to 2001, WMJI was the FM flagship for the Cleveland Browns Radio Network after the team was reactivated. WMJI continues to lead local ratings despite multiple staff cutbacks and downsizing under Clear Channel/iHeartMedia ownership. Since 2011, WMJI has played Christmas music on an annual basis during the holiday season.
History Application and construction NBC, who had owned and operated Cleveland radio station WTAM since 1930 as part of their Red Network, filed paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 8, 1944, to construct an FM station at . Cleveland had one FM station in operation at the time—WBOE, the station of the Cleveland Public Schools—and the industry was expecting a boom in radio, led by FM, once World War II ended. NBC's application was one of ten in Cleveland alongside proposed FM stations in Elyria and Akron, prompting the FCC to place all of them through a combined competitive hearing in April 1946. The FCC approved all twelve permits on June 30, 1947; after several frequency changes, by March 11, 1948, NBC moved the proposed frequency to .
Construction began in the spring of 1948 on the WTAM transmitter tower in Brecksville for both WTAM-FM and television station WNBK, with NBC intending to sign on both at the same time. While WNBK took to the air on October 31, 1948, WTAM-FM did so on December 6, 1948, simulcasting WTAM's programming.
The NBC-Westinghouse swap Rumors began to emerge in November 1954 that NBC was planning to swap WTAM, WTAM-FM and WNBK to Westinghouse Broadcasting (WBC) in exchange for WBC's Philadelphia properties, KYW and WPTZ. By March 1955, reports suggested NBC was willing to pay WBC $3 million (equivalent to $ in ) to enable the trade. The asset swap between NBC and WBC was announced on May 17, 1955, as one of the largest transactions in American broadcasting at the time. No reason was given for the deal, but published reports suggested NBC desired an owned-station in Philadelphia, a larger market than Cleveland and closer to factories owned by RCA, NBC's parent. Cleveland was also not a stranger for Westinghouse: the company operated KDPM in the mid-1920s as an experimental shortwave relay for KDKA in Pittsburgh.
The five stations were valued at or around $25 million (equivalent to $ in ); with the $3 million cash payment, the deal was estimated to be near or at $30 million. As part of the deal, the Cleveland stations were slated to remain as NBC affiliates but WNBK's call sign was expected to be changed. The FCC approved the swap on December 28, 1955, by a 6–1 vote. Commissioner Robert T. Bartley dissented, saying the deal raised "disturbing and unanswered questions" and felt it deserved a full hearing. All executives and technical staff under contract to NBC were transferred to Philadelphia and replaced with WBC staff; this also included engineer Eddie Leonard, who helped build WTAM in 1923 for founding owner Willard Battery. The swap was finalized on January 23, 1956. Three weeks later, on February 13, the Cleveland stations were jointly renamed KYW, KYW-FM and KYW-TV, as WBC retained rights to the KYW call sign. The renaming took place alongside an extensive marketing effort while WBC was openly looking for new air talent for the radio stations.
A separate identity for KYW-FM KYW-FM continued to be as a total simulcast of KYW, but WBC began considering separate programming on the FM side as early as April 1957. On August 1, 1958, KYW-FM started carrying five hours of unique programming daily centered around classical music, light classical music and jazz. Continuing to simulcast KYW all other times, KYW-FM was regarded a "new" station and followed WDOK-FM, WERE-FM and WGAR-FM in originating programming different from their AM sisters. On the new format's first day, WDOK-FM encouraged their listeners to sample KYW-FM, and KYW encouraged their listeners to sample WDOK in return two weeks later. KYW-FM employed two announcers of their own, David Hawthorne and Myles Martin, and planned additional cultural programming along with stereophonic sound. The change also followed KYW-FM's transmitter moving from Brecksville to the tower in Parma used by KYW and KYW-TV. Program logs for KYW-FM were published in The Plain Dealer, becoming the first FM station to do so. A series of surveys conducted by WBC showed that by 1959, 35.7 percent of Cleveland households were now equipped with an FM receiver and 42 percent of those households were of a higher income bracket.
WBC considered KYW-FM "an experiment in Cleveland broadcasting" and did not sell or accept any advertising until it could get an understanding of the FM's audience. The format ultimately did not air any commercials throughout its first year and by October 1959, dismissed all local announcers in favor of taped music programmed by Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra director Marshall Turkin. KYW-FM was taken dark in December 1960 when all three stations moved from the Superior Building to 1405 East 6th Street (now the Calfee Building). When KYW-FM returned to air, it simulcast the AM outright; by the end of 1961, WBC acquired 60 hours per week of tapes for KYW-FM, KDKA-FM and WBZ-FM in a group deal. By 1963, KYW-FM programmed independently from noon to 6 p.m. daily.
Justice Department lawsuit, FCC scrutiny and swap back to NBC Almost immediately after the 1956 trade was approved, published reports claimed NBC engaged in coercion, drawing interest from the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ). During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in the spring of 1956, WBC president Donald McGannon testified NBC threatened to withdraw their affiliations from WBC's stations in Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh if the swap was not agreed to. The DOJ filed a civil lawsuit against NBC and RCA on December 5, 1956, on violating antitrust law with the swap; in reply, FCC chairman George McConnaughey wished to have seen the DOJ's letter before approving the deal, but his vote was unchanged. The lawsuit also accused the swap of being illegal and called for the Philadelphia licenses to be revoked. The FCC conditionally renewed the licenses for NBC's Philadelphia stations, WRCV and WRCV-TV, in July 1957 amid a $150 million lawsuit filed by Philco (equivalent to $ in ). One month later, Philco filed a protest against the renewals.
The DOJ's lawsuit was tried in the Eastern Pennsylvania District Court, which dismissed it on January 11, 1958. This was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and overturned in United States v. Radio Corporation of America, ruling the FCC's approval of the deal was not meant to prevent antitrust law enforcement. By September 1959, NBC and RCA entered a wide-ranging consent decree with the DOJ, which included the divesture of WRCV AM/TV in a three-year period. NBC and RCA agreed to swap them, along with WRC, WRC-FM and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., to RKO General in exchange for WNAC and WNAC-TV in Boston. Concurrently, NBC filed to purchase KTVU in San Francisco. This complicated series of transactions, all of which needed DOJ approval, fell apart by October 1961 when KTVU cancelled their sale. On October 22, 1962, the FCC began a hearing over WRCV and WRCV-TV's licenses amid a challenge to the TV license filed by Philco; this also included a review over the attempted RKO swap.