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WMMS
Broadcast area	Greater Cleveland
Branding	The Buzzard
Slogan	Cleveland's Rock Station
First air date	September 28, 1968 (1948 as WHK-FM)
Frequency	100.7 (MHz) 100.7 HD-2 for Classic Alternative
Format	Active rock
ERP	34,000 watts
Class	B
Callsign meaning	MetroMedia Stereo
Former callsigns	WHK-FM (1948-1968) WHKX (1947-1948) W8XUB (August 1946)
Owner	Clear Channel
Website	www.wmms.com

WMMS 100.7 is a commercial FM radio station in Cleveland, Ohio with a rich history. It had a quite dominant market share in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Progressive rock radio years 1.3 Achievements 1.4 Airstaff 1.5 Other Achievements 1.6 Later Years 2 Morning Show 3 On-air schedule 3.1 Weekdays 3.2 Weekends 4 Reference 5 External links

In August 1946 WHK received one of the earliest experimental FM licenses, under the call W8XUB, broadcasting at 107.1 MHz. Upon receipt of a commercial license, the station became WHKX at 100.7 MHz, and eventually WHK-FM.

In 1968, the FCC mandated that FM sister stations could no longer duplicate their AM sister's programming, and WHK-FM adopted a new progressive rock radio format, one of a handful of commercial stations in the country to try that format. The callsign of WHK-FM was changed to WMMS on September 28, 1968.

Even though Metromedia found major success with progressive rock on sister stations KMET in Los Angeles, KSAN-FM in San Francisco, WNEW in New York and WMMR in Philadelphia, the format went away from WMMS on July of 1969. Low ratings and revenue made Metromedia turn to the Drake-Chenault "Hit Parade '69", an automated tape system that was heavily oriented towards pop and Top 40 fare.

WMMS reverted to progressive rock less than a year later, but ended up briefly battling with Nationwide Communications' WNCR-FM for listeners, as WNCR had filled the void caused by WMMS' inital absence in the rock scene. It was a battle that didn't last long, as some key WNCR personnel - including former WMMS personalities Martin Perlich ("The Perlich Project") and Billy Bass - abruptly quit that station one day, then hired by WMMS the next, taking most of their audience with them.

In November 1972, both WHK and WMMS were sold to Malrite Communications, a Michigan-based firm that relocated to Cleveland upon purchase. Under Malrite ownership, WMMS would become a rock stalwart much in the same vein as its former Metromedia progressive rock siblings.

WMMS helped break many new rock artists nationally, including Rush, David Bowie, Roxy Music, and others. Of special note was their early support of Bruce Springsteen by disc jockeys Kid Leo and others, from even before Born to Run came out. In 1978 WMMS live broadcast a Springsteen concert at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom; heavily bootlegged, it further cemented the relationship between the two in fans' minds, and well into the 2000s Cleveland remains one of Springsteen's strongest bases.

With its rock and roll format and its popular "Buzzard Morning Zoo" morning show with Jeff Kinzbach and Ed "Flash" Ferenc - WMMS' copying of the "morning zoo" concept from then-sister station WHTZ in New York was one of the first in the country to do so - WMMS was long the top-rated station in Cleveland. (It also should be noted that Kinzbach and Ferenc had already been a morning team--with sidekicks--for many years prior to becoming the "morning zoo", so the basic "zoo" structure was already in place). In the station's heyday, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, the station was one of the highest rated major market rock stations in the country, often achieving 13 and 14 share ratings in the overall 12+ total listenership category.

A major contributor to the ratings success was that the airstaff remained fundamentally unchanged for much of the period featuring -- along with Kid Leo and Jeff and Flash -- Matt the Cat, Denny Sanders, Betty Korvan, Bill "BLF Bash" Freeman, Len "Boom" Goldberg, Ruby Cheeks, and Dia Stein.

John Gorman served as the program director from 1973 to 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996.

Start	Finish	Personality	Tenure at Shift
6 a.m.	10 a.m.	Jeff Kinsbach and Ed "Flash" Ferenc (titled The Buzzard Morning Zoo in 1983)	1977-1994
10 a.m.	2 p.m.	"Matt the Cat" Lapczynski	1974-1988 1990-1992
2 p.m.	6 p.m.	"Kid Leo" Traviligante	1974-1988
6 p.m.	10 p.m.	Denny Sanders	1971-1986
10 p.m.	2 a.m.	Steve Lushbaugh	1973-1976
10 p.m.	2 a.m.	Betty Korvan	1976-1983
2 a.m.	6 a.m.	Bill "BLF Bash" Freeman	1976-1998

Of all the personalities that worked at WMMS, Len "Boom" Goldberg was there the longest. He joined the station in early 1972 before its' sale to Malrite, and stayed in different capacities until 2004. He was best known as the voice for the station's top of the hour IDs, music seques and sweepers, and commercials for WMMS, and was also a member of the "morning zoo" in the mid 80's. He died on December 27, 2006.

WMMS, at the time, was also broadcasting a remarkable amount of live concert broadcasts, many of which originated in Cleveland and were produced by WMMS itself. The station's Coffee Break Concert was a weekly music-interview show broadcast live from the station's studio (and later with an audience at The Agora Ballroom). Warren Zevon, John Mellencamp, Lou Reed, Peter Frampton, and a host of others performed on the program, recordings of which are widely available as bootlegs.

In the mid-1980s, WMMS was an important contributor in organizing a campaign (along with author-deejay Norm N. Nite) which brought the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland. The station was named in Rolling Stone's reader poll as best station several consecutive years, until 1988, when it was revealed that they were stuffing the ballot box over the previous two years. The "ballot box stuffing" revelation is still controversial, with some upset with the deception, while others claim that all stations in every city did their share of "stuffing".

By the late 80's, most of the original staff members had departed, and a series of different program directors came in and out of the station with various programming philosophies and varying levels of success. The station segued permanently out of a CHR/AOR mix in late 1989 to focus exclusively on AOR. However, there were promising moments. Some noteworthy deejay additions like Rocco the Rock Dog (a.k.a. long-time engineer Ric Bennett), music director Brad "Scooter" Hanson, and Bull (Sean Robertson) happened during this period. Ratings increased around the time of the first Gulf War.

By 1993, the station had declined significantly in popularity due to numerous factors. Erratic format modifications after the departure of many of the station's long-running staff members and ownership changes contributed to the decline. WMMS and sister station WHK were sold by Malrite to Shamrock Broadcasting (Roy Disney's family-owned broadcasting firm) in 1992, then to the locally-held OmniAmerica (owned by former Malrite executive Carl Hirsch) in April 1994.

Howard Stern was then picked up by WNCX in the fall of 1992. His ratings exploded and this, along with a continuious urgence by ownership and management not to compete (or mention) with Howard on the air, not to mention a potential mismatch with the new format, forced Jeff and Flash to leave WMMS when OmniAmerica took over. They reunited on WWWE in 1994 under the banner "Rock 'n Roll Talk Radio," and separated for good in September 1997.

Under OmniAmerica ownership, John Gorman returned as program director from new sister station WMJI, and redesigned WMMS as an alternative station for a brief time in the mid-90s. The station was even re-billed as "The Buzzard: The Next Generation" in this period to emphasize the change in programming. While this alienated many longtime listeners who switched to WNCX and their fulltime classic rock format, the station's ratings were boosted for the first time in years, and obtained the highest post-classic WMMS ratings to this point.

Yet, despite these promising moments, WMMS and WMJI was sold again to Nationwide Communications in 1996. WHK was then sold by OmniAmerica three days later to Salem Communications months later - marking the first time in fifty years that WMMS and WHK weren't under common ownership. John Gorman departed for CBS Radio/Detroit, and the new management reverted back to old programming formulas, which by then had become dated and ineffective. Nationwide was bought out by Jacor Communications in 1998. Upon Jacor's takover, WMMS had a "death of the Buzzard" month-long stunt in October 1998 that hinted at a format change, but was instead revealed to be a change in programming philosophy.

Today, WMMS is still a rock station, playing a mix of old and new. Its longtime (and current) mascot has been the Buzzard. Its call letters have been used as an initialism 'Where Music Means Something' (last used on air during the station's alternative rock period during the 1990s). It is owned by Clear Channel and—along with WTAM—is the flagship station for the Cleveland Browns.

At this point, the station has not again achieved the #1 total listenership audience spot which they held continuously, more or less, from 1975 to 1991. Regardless, WMMS remains one of the most important rock stations in the history of FM broadcasting.

On June 26, 2006, WMMS first aired the syndicated Bob and Tom Show as their morning drive offering. This is the first time since becoming a rock station that WMMS does not have a locally based morning show, though in two different instances, the host originated from his former station before coming to Cleveland.

Since the dismissal of longtime morning duo Jeff Kinsbach and Ed "Flash" Ferenc in 1994 after a successful run of nearly twenty years, WMMS has been beset by a roster of twelve different morning shows in as many years. One of them, Brian & Joe, is the current morning duo at sister station WMVX. Cristi Cantle, now known on the air is 'Cristi,' ironically now does weekends on competitor 92.3 K-Rock owned by CBS Radio. Cantle, who was part of the last local morning show on WMMS "Sean, Cristi, and Hunter," was a direct competitor to K-Rock's Rover's Morning Glory. She has stated on her MySpace blog that the "Very tight-knit... staff welcomed me with open arms."

• 6AM to 10AM - The Bob & Tom Show
• 10AM to 3PM - Maria (Big Hair Wednesdays at Noon)
• 3PM to 7PM - The Maxwell Show
• 7PM to 12PM - Big Rig
• 12AM to 6AM - Seth the Barbarian

• Best of the Bob and Tom Show (Saturdays at 6AM)
• The House of Hair w/Dee Snider (Sundays at 10PM)
• Saturday Sanitarium (Saturdays at 10PM)
• Scratch and Sniff (Saturdays at 11PM)
• Various Shifts - Corey Rotic
• Various Shifts - Maxwell (Best of Maxwell - Sundays at 6AM)
• Various Shifts - Stansbury
• Various Shifts - Miles
• Various Shifts - The King of Jazz
• Various Shifts - Rockabilly

• Olszewski, Mike (2003). Radio Daze: Stories from the Front in Cleveland's FM Air Wars. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-773-2. 

• WMMS Web Site
• WMMS Timeline from Cleveland Broadcast Radio Archives
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WMMS

FM Radio Stations in the Cleveland, Ohio Market (Arbitron #26) By Frequency: 88.3 | 88.7 | 89.1 | 89.3 | 89.7 | 90.3 | 91.1 | 91.5 | 92.3 | 93.1 | 95.5 | 96.1 | 96.5 | 97.1 | 98.5 | 99.5 | 100.7 | 102.1 | 103.3 | 104.1 | 104.7 | 104.9 | 105.7 | 106.5 | 107.3 | 107.9 By Callsign: WAKS | WBWC | WCLV | WCPN | WCRF | WCSB | WDOK | WENZ | WFHM | WGAR | WJCU | WKFM | WKHR | WKKY | WKSU/WKSV | WMJI | WMMS | WMVX | WNCX | WNWV | WNZN | WQAL | WREO | WRUW | WXRK | WZAK See also: Cleveland (FM) (AM) Ohio Radio Markets Akron (FM) (AM) | Cincinnati (FM) (AM) | Cleveland (FM) (AM) | Columbus (FM) (AM) | Dayton (FM) (AM) | Canton (FM) (AM) | Lima | Marietta | Sandusky (FM) (AM) | Toledo | Youngstown (FM) (AM) See also: List of radio stations in Ohio and List of United States radio markets