WDTW 1310: История и эволюция радиостанции в Детройте

WDTW (1310 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Dearborn, Michigan, and serving the Detroit metropolitan area. Owned by Pedro Zamora, the station broadcasts a Spanish language radio format branded as La Z 1310. It features Regional Mexican, Spanish language Contemporary Hits and Mexican Pop. The studios and offices are on Goddard Road in Taylor, Michigan. WDTW is powered at 5,000 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a six tower array. The transmitter is on Monroe Boulevard near Interstate 94 in Taylor. Programming is also heard on 85 watt FM translator W300DI at 107.9 MHz in Detroit.

The station signed on the air on 1946 12 29. The original call sign was WKMH. The owner was Fred A. Knorr, who served as president and General Manager. It was originally a daytime only station broadcasting on 1540 AM. It added an FM station, WKMH FM 100.3 (now WNIC) in the same month. WKMH AM moved to its current 1310 frequency and began round the clock operations in 1948. WKMH AM FM specialized in local news, information, sports, and mainly middle of the road (MOR) music. WKMH's most popular personality was Robin Seymour, a pioneering rock and roll disk jockey. Seymour's "Bobbin' with Robin" show featured a music mix that foreshadowed the birth of the Top 40 radio format in playing R&B and early rock and roll artists like The Crows alongside mainstream pop stars like Patti Page. Seymour remained with the station as it became WKNR and later became the host of Swingin' Time, a popular local teenage dance show on CKLW TV. WKMH garnered some notice through early 1960s Top 40 shows hosted by personalities such as Lee Alan "On the Horn" and Dave "Sangoo" Prince, but the station was generally considered an also ran in the Detroit market and a weak competitor to WJBK and WXYZ, which were Detroit's dominant Top 40 stations. At night, the station featured a jazz show hosted by Jim Rockwell (later of WABX). In addition, WKMH was briefly Detroit's CBS Radio network affiliate in 1960, after WJR dropped its ties to CBS to add more local programming. Despite, or some might say because of, this unusual move, WKMH continued to flounder. In 1962 the station shed its CBS affiliation (which WJR regained) and became "Flagship Radio," an early adult contemporary format featuring a mix of softer current pop hits and MOR album cuts, but this format, too, was not popular.

Despite the power of WJBK and WXYZ and the 50,000 watt signal of CKLW, consultant Mike Joseph (best known for developing the Hot Hits format in the late 1970s) was convinced there was room for a fourth Top 40 station in Detroit and that 1310 AM could easily climb ahead of the competition. With WKMH owner Nellie Knorr, he developed the formula that ultimately became a success. Joseph instituted a shorter playlist of only 31 records plus one "key song" of the week and a liberal sprinkling of oldies. Most Top 40 stations of that era played many more current records. WJBK, WXYZ and CKLW all had very long playlists at the time, stretching to 80 to 100 songs at times. WKNR's shorter playlist ensured the station played more hits and fewer "stiffs" and that listeners would hear one of the top hits whenever they tuned in. WKNR also played the hits 24 hours a day, as opposed to the other hit stations in Detroit which were loaded with non music full service features (especially on weekends). WKNR officially launched on October 31, 1963, with the "Battle of the Giants," an attention grabbing promotion that invited listeners to call in to vote for their favorite oldies. The station quickly gained momentum, and in an unprecedented "worst to first" move, three months later "Keener" was a solid across the board number one in the ratings. This happened despite a weak signal which missed most of the east side of the Detroit metro area, especially at night, although the station could be heard market wide on its more powerful FM simulcast at 100.3. WKNR became the preeminent Top 40 radio station in the Motor City. Competitors WJBK and WXYZ were hurt in the ratings by their new competitor, and both stations eventually were driven out of Top 40 and into MOR formats. It has been reported that the legendary Henry Ford II himself was an avid Keener fan. Keener featured popular personalities like Dick Purtan, Bob Green, Gary Stevens (later of New York's legendary WMCA), J. Michael Wilson, Scott Regen, Ted Clark and Jim Jeffries. It played a mix of music that included a number of local acts featuring many of Detroit's Motown superstars. Scott Regen's "Motown Monday" features included live concerts from the Roostertail supper club, featuring Motown legends such as the Supremes and The Four Tops Dick Purtan honed the wry, sardonic sense of humor that made him a fixture on the Motor City airwaves for four decades, first on WKNR. The station's promotions, imaging, and jingles were noted for their wacky, offbeat sound and were imitated frequently by other stations across the country, including sister station WKFR in Battle Creek, Michigan, which was known as "Keener 14." Bob Green would later describe the Keener sound as being like "a 24 hour cartoon." Keener 13's appeal to adult listeners as well as teens was cemented with the station's news commitment. "Contact News" aired at :15 and :45 past the hour every hour. WKNR's newscasts were straightforward and lacked the flash or sensationalism of CKLW's "blood and guts" 20/20 News but were highly regarded. The station released a "Year in Review" album each year which was made available to area schools. WKNR's dominance was challenged when CKLW 800 AM got a makeover courtesy of consultants Bill Drake and Paul Drew in April 1967. With 50,000 watts behind it and a lightning fast pace based on Drake's "Boss Radio" model, The Big 8 became the number one Top 40 station in the region. Some of Keener's top DJs, including Dick Purtan and Scott Regen, eventually moved over to CKLW. However, WKNR did not go down without a fight, continuing to battle the Big 8 for five more years despite dropping ratings. During this time, the station attempted to distinguish itself from CKLW by playing less bubblegum pop and more album rock cuts. It promoted itself as "Rock and Roll The American Way," a jab at CKLW's location in Windsor, Ontario, and Canadian Radio television and Telecommunications Commission mandated "Canadian content" regulations imposed at the start of 1971. Sister station WKNR FM 100.3, which had previously simulcast the AM programming, switched to a more adventurous progressive rock format starting in 1969. But by 1971, WKNR FM flipped to an easy listening "Stereo Island" format, switching its call sign to WNIC. The Keener 13 era is celebrated at Keener13. com, with an extensive history, an archive of air checks and a database of every WKNR Music Guide in addition to an online tribute webcast called WKNR Keener 13 dot com.

On December 11, 2012, Clear Channel announced it would donate WDTW to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), as part of the Ownership Diversity Initiative between Clear Channel and the MMTC. The MMTC did not announce any specific plans for the station. On December 14, 2012, it was revealed that the MMTC donation applied only to the license of the station, as Clear Channel announced that WDTW would cease broadcasting at midnight on December 31, 2012. The station's antennas and transmitter facilities near the intersection of I 94 and Telegraph Road in Taylor were dismantled shortly afterward.

In 2014, the MMTC chose to resell WDTW to Pedro Zamora, who owns several Spanish language radio stations and a promoter specializing in Spanish language musicians, for $100,000. After the sale, WDTW reconstructed its broadcast facilities, a process that had an estimated cost of around $1 million. In April 2016, the station officially re launched as La Mega Detroit 1310. Zamora entered into arrangements with TSJ Media (which operates La Mega stations in other markets) to assist in WDTW's operations. The station was operated out of TSJ's facilities in Columbus, Ohio, while WDTW completed the build out of its studio in Taylor, Michigan, and hired full time staff members. TSJ's owner Josh Guttman stated that he also planned for WDTW to pursue Spanish language broadcast rights to local professional sports teams, as TSJ had successfully done in Ohio. On July 21, 2017, WDTW activated a low powered FM translator on 107.9 FM in Detroit, W300DI. That year, the station also dropped the La Mega brand in favor of La Z 1310.