WMOD
was just another in the long string of stations to fall
by the wayside in the wake of powerhouse
WPGC. During
the Summer of 1977 it gasped its last dying breath and re-emerged
as Country WMZQ. Though there were several suburban outlets
doing Country around Washington, none had the big time presence
that 98 'MZQ had.
For
three years or so it ran away with the Country audience
until Metroplex debuted KIX
106, coinciding with the Urban
Cowboy craze of 1980. A fierce ratings battle ensued over
the next few years, with KIX
106 positioning
itself as a younger, hipper, more current based station
as WMZQ evolved into an adult driven sound with a greater
reliance on Gold titles.
In 1985 the format we know today as
Classic Rock emerged. Washington was never considered to
be a hard core Country market and KIX
106,
tired of endless skirmishes with WMZQ
dropped the format to become WCXR. As such, WMZQ had virtual
format exclusivity for the first time in five years and
predictably, shot straight to the top of the ratings heap.
Though it made little difference in the ratings, Viacom
which owned WMZQ-FM also acquired the old WEAM on 1390 and
converted it to WMZQ-AM. Both stations were simulcast. I
would sometimes put the studio monitor on the AM just to
hear all that audio compression!
After
the sale of
66 WNBC in
New York had been announced and it became clear the entire
staff other than Imus in the Morning would be let go, I
returned to Washington in 1987. Program Director, Bob McNeill
hired me as the utility fill in guy, a role in which I did
every conceivable shift imaginable as the need arose. (Simultaneously,
I also began doing air work in Baltimore at B104.
It too was the #1 station in its market,
allowing me to make the claim of working at the #1 stations
in two top 15 markets at the simultaneously!). Many
times I would get off the air at one station and an hour
later be on the other station!
I
continued this way for about a year or so until my search
for a programming position in California came to fruition
at
Q94. Thus,
WMZQ became the last station I ever worked at in the East
in 1988.
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