WRCJ-FM (90.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a listener-supported,

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, broadcasting

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. The license is held by the Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio LLC, which is owned by the Stanley and Judith Frankel Family Foundation. The station is operated by Detroit Public Media, which owns

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

-member station

WTVS WTVS (channel 56) is a PBS member television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, owned by Detroit Public Media. Its main studios are located at the Riley Broadcast Center and HD Studios on Clover Court in Wixom, with an additional st ...

channel 56. It uses the slogan "Classical Days and Jazzy Nights." The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s are in the Detroit School of Arts and the offices are on Clover Court in Wixom, Michigan. WRCJ has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 22,500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. It transmits from a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT) near the corner of Eight Mile and Meyers roads in Oak Park, shared with other Detroit FM and TV stations, including WTVS,

WMYD WMYD (channel 20) is an independent television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV (channel 7). The two stations share studios at Broadcast House on 10 Mile Roa ...

, and

WWJ-TV WWJ-TV (channel 62) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division, alongside WKBD-TV (channel 50), an affiliate of The CW. The two ...

History

In , the station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

as WDTR.Broadcasting Yearbook 1960
page A-170,

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...

It was owned by

Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, ...

and was Michigan's first educational FM station. WDTR offered classroom instruction and educational programs by day, with music shows in the evening. It transmitted a with an effective radiated power of 2,000 watts, and heard mostly in Detroit and its nearest suburbs. By the early 2000s, the classroom instructional shows had ended. The station's programming consisted largely of

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

music with public affairs programs concerning the school district and a variety of specialty shows. The schedule included the "Old 'n' Gold" rare oldies show, "Safe and Secure Detroit," a show dedicated to public safety and the Sunday big band/nostalgia showcase "Somewhere In Time". WDTR changed its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

to WRCJ on July 1, 2004, and the station cut back its broadcast time to 8 AM to 5 PM weekdays only. At the same time, the school district announced it would draft a contract with a third party to operate the station while it continued to own the frequency. Accordingly, the district put out an RFP (Request for Proposal), stipulating the station's format change to classical and jazz. Several area organizations responded, including

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

’s NPR member station WUOM and Detroit's PBS member station

. In April 2005, Detroit Public Schools announced that Detroit Public TV (WTVS 56) would take control of WRCJ by summer. The change happened at noon on August 1, 2005. On January 11, 2017, the Detroit Public Schools announced it would sell the station's license to the non-profit Detroit Classical and Jazz Educational Radio LLC, an entity owned by the Stanley and Judith Frankel Family Foundation. The price tag was $6 million. The deal received FCC approval on March 1 of that year.

Airstaff

Regular program hosts include Dave Wagner, Peter Whorf, Haley Taylor, Christa Grix, Maxine Michaels, John Penney and Linda Yohn. Substitute and weekend hosts include Ron Nolan, Davis Gloff, Cecelia Sharpe, and Carl Grapentine, long time morning host at WFMT in Chicago.

References

External links

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FCC History Cards for WRCJ
{{Detroit Radio RCJ-FM Classical music radio stations in the United States Jazz radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948