WSBX (94.5 FM) is a

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 ...

based in

Mackinaw City, Michigan Mackinaw City ( ) is a village at the northernmost point of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Divided between Cheboygan and Emmet counties, Mackinaw City is located at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge, which carries Inter ...

History

The station's original call sign was WSSW (for the station's founder, Sonora S. Wray), which was first issued in October 1986. WSSW first signed on at 94.3 on September 6, 1989, with an automated MOR format, but went dark not long after that. The station, while at 94.3, was a Class A station with an ERP of 3,000 watts, which made the station all but unlistenable outside of the Mackinaw City-St. Ignace area, a seasonal, tourist-driven market barely able to sustain the competing radio stations that were already on the air and firmly established. WSSW's management thought that perhaps packing the station with tourist-related information for the local area would help reverse its fortunes. The station did improve, but not enough. Wray sold the station to Robert A. Naismith in February 1992. Naismith returned the station to the air in 1993 with a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format as WFGE,WLJZ FM 94.5 Mackinaw City
Michiguide.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018. known as "Fudgie 94" (as in

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

's famous

fudge ''Fudge'' is a generic role-playing game system for use in freeform role-playing games. The name "''FUDGE''" was once an acronym for ''Freeform Universal Donated'' (later, ''Do-it-yourself'') ''Gaming Engine'' and, though the acronym has since b ...

). In 1994, the station adopted

Jones Radio Networks Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio su ...

' satellite-fed

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

format as "Coast FM". In 1995, the station changed its call sign to WLJZ and changed its frequency to 94.5 with an increase in power to 18,500 watts ERP, which increased its broadcast area substantially to include most of the northern tip of the lower peninsula, bringing a better signal to Petoskey, Gaylord, and

Rogers City Rogers City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of and largest city in Presque Isle County. The city had a population of 2,850 at the 2020 census, a slight increase from 2,827 at the 2010 census. The city is located ...

and reaching almost as far north as

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

(though the station did, and still does, suffer from interference from co-channel WCEN-FM in the southern fringes of its listening area). In 1997, WJZJ 95.5 in

Glen Arbor, Michigan Glen Arbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Glen Arbor Township, Leelanau County, Michigan, United States. A small tourist town, Glen Arbor lies on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Glen Lake. It is adjacent t ...

and

WAVC AVC may refer to: Organizations * Asian Volleyball Confederation, the continental governing body for the sport of volleyball in Asia * Asia Vital Components, computer fan manufacturer * Advanced Video Communications, a company specializing in i ...

93.9 FM in

Mio, Michigan Mio ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Oscoda County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Oscoda County. The population of the CDP was 1,690 at the 2020 census. Mio is situated along the ...

began simulcasting WLJZ. In 1998, the smooth jazz "Coast FM" format was dropped in favor of a

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

format as "The Zone." In March 2001, WAVC dropped out of the "Zone" simulcast, and began simulcasting country sister

WMKC WMKC (102.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Indian River, Michigan. It airs a country music format called Big Country 102.9. The station is owned by Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC. History: A Dentist's Dream Beginnings WMKC ("MacKin ...

. In 2006, WLJZ also abandoned the "Zone" simulcast in favor of a standalone

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

format using

Waitt Radio Networks Dial Global Local (formerly Waitt Radio Networks) was a radio network, national radio network based in Omaha, Nebraska, formerly owned by NRG Media and purchased in April 2008 by Triton Radio Networks. As a subsidiary of Dial Global, they speci ...

AC Active AC Active was a United States 24-hour music format produced by Dial Global Local (formerly Waitt Radio Networks). Its playlist was composed of hot adult contemporary music released from the 1980s to when it stopped broadcasting from artists such ...

package, taking the name "Star 94.5". This left WJZJ as the only remaining "Zone" station. On April 1, 2008, WLJZ changed its format to classic country, branded "Big Country Gold". The classic country package complemented the "Big Country Hits" contemporary-country format on sister stations

and

. In April 2010, WLJZ announced on-air that its classic country format would be moving to AM sister station

WCBY WCBY (1240 AM and W264CF 100.7 FM) is a radio station in Cheboygan, Michigan, broadcasting a classic country format delivered by Westwood One "Big Country Gold" is the slogan, which plays off sister country FM WMKC 102.9 known as "Big Country - ...

AM 1240, displacing the

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format formerly heard there. WLJZ adopted a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

format, simulcasting "The Bear" format originating on 98.1

WGFN WGFN (98.1 FM) is a radio station in Northern Michigan that airs a classic rock format under the branding of "The Bear", and is currently owned by Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC. WGFN is based out of Glen Arbor, Michigan, airing at 98.1 ...

Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, Michigan, Grand Traverse County, although it partly extends into Leelanau County, Michigan, Leelanau County. The city's population was 15, ...

. On December 5, 2012, WLJZ changed its call sign to WOEZ. On May 1, 2013, WOEZ changed its call sign to WJZJ. On May 10, 2013, WJZJ changed its call sign to WYPV. This coincided with a planned station swap between Northern Star Broadcasting and Michigan Broadcasters, LLC involving 94.5 FM Mackinaw City and 106.3 FM

Onaway, Michigan Onaway () is a city in Presque Isle County, just east of the Cheboygan–Presque Isle county line in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 890 at the 2020 census. Onaway is the Sturgeon Capital of Michigan, and there is a lake sturgeon ...

. 94.5 FM picked up the "Patriot Voice" talk format formerly heard on 106.3, and 106.3 went to Northern Star to become WOEZ, relaying WQEZ 95.5 FM in the Traverse City area. At the same time, the "Bear" classic rock format moved to 97.7 WCHY licensed to

Cheboygan, Michigan Cheboygan ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and largest settlement of Cheboygan County. At the 2020 census, Cheboygan had a population of 4,770. Cheboygan is situated on Lake Huron at the mouth of the Chebo ...

. Effective November 9, 2018, Michigan Broadcasters sold WYPV to John Yob's Mitten News LLC for $200,000. On November 7, 2019, WYPV changed its format from talk to adult contemporary, branded as "94.5 & 106.3 North FM". On June 22, 2020, WYPV changed its format from adult contemporary to a simulcast of album-oriented rock-formatted

WQON WQON (100.3 FM, "Q 100.3") is a radio station broadcasting an album-oriented rock (AOR) format. Licensed to Grayling, Michigan, the seat of government in Crawford County, it first began broadcasting in 1978. The station brands itself as ''Q-10 ...

100.3 FM Grayling. On March 31, 2023, WYPV went silent, due to the end of an LMA between Blarney Stone Broadcasting and Mitten News. Effective July 31, 2023, Mitten News sold WYPV to Billy Sours' Whiskey Sours Broadcasting and Productions, LLC for $140,000. On August 2, the station changed its call sign to WSBX. On August 4, 2023, WSBX returned to the air with a classic rock/classic hits hybrid format. On April 30, 2024, WSBX switched to a simulcast of WUPN 95.1 FM Paradise, rebranding as "94.5/95.1 The Bridge".WSBX & WUPN Bridge Together
Radioinsight - April 30, 2024

References

External links

* {{coord, 45.667, N, 84.635, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title

SBX sbX is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service in San Bernardino and Loma Linda, California, United States. It is operated by Omnitrans, a public transportation agency in southwestern San Bernardino County. The route is internally named by ...

Radio stations established in 1994 1994 establishments in Michigan Classic hits radio stations in the United States