The station was founded by NBC on December 6, 1948 as WTAM-FM, and it simulcast the programming of sister stationWTAM. Both radio stations were also paired with WNBK-TV, which signed on that same year. When NBC traded its radio and television holdings in Cleveland with Westinghouse Broadcasting's stations in Philadelphia on February 13, 1956, it became KYW-FM, taking the callsign of Westinghouse's radio station. When the NBC-Westinghouse trade was reversed on June 19, 1965, the station reverted to NBC ownership. The call letters were changed to WKYC-FM to match those of the AM station, which kept the popular "KY" slogan and identity Westinghouse brought into Cleveland. As WKYC-FM they had different DJs than WKYC 1100 kHz.
M105
NBC eventually sold off WKYC and WKYC-FM in 1972 to Ohio Communications, owned by Nick Mileti and Jim and Tom Embrescia. The station became WWWM, and broadcast a syndicated beautiful music format. In 1975 the format was changed to album-oriented rock and the station identified itself as "M105". The station used the slogan, "The Home of Continuous Music" and was programmed by former WIXY program director Eric Stevens, and competed aggressively with later-sister station WMMS for ratings. In 1980, M-105 began billing itself as "Cleveland's Classic Rock", playing a mix of rock music from the mid-1960s to the present.
Majic Radio
WWWM and WBBG were sold to Robinson Communications, headed by famed jeweler Larry "J.B." Robinson, in 1981. The station changed to an adult contemporary format as WMJI on June 14, 1982, branded "Majic Radio". The station was sold to Jacor Communications of Cincinnati along with AM station WBBG on September 19, 1984. John Lanigan began his morning show with former WHK newscaster John Webster on September 17, 1985, returning to Cleveland after a brief stint at WMGG in Tampa, Florida. He replaced husband-and-wife team Dan Deely and Kim Scott after they resigned, citing that the job had put strains on their marriage. When WBBG dumped its big band format on October 29, 1987, it simulcast WMJI's programming for a time - and took the WMJI calls - until it was sold off. Therefore, 105.7-FM technically was WMJI-FM for several months in 1988. When 1260 became WRDZ with a religious format, the FM station simply became WMJI. Jacor Communications soon LMA'ed WMJI to Legacy Broadcasting, headed by former Malrite executive Carl Hirsch in 1988, with Legacy buying WMJI outright in 1990.
Majic 105.7
By September 1990, the station adjusted their format to rock 'n rolloldies featuring much of the music made famous by Top 40 legends WHK and WIXY. WHK, which dropped the rock and roll format in the mid-1960s, had re-established itself as an oldies station in the 1980s, but had dropped that format by November 1988. WIXY was the previous identity of former sister station WBBG, and held the same studio space that WIXY once did. In addition, much of WMJI's music library already consisted of former WIXY tapes and jingles. John Gorman, formerly program director of legendary Cleveland rock station WMMS, was brought in to redesign WMJI as a 100% rock oldies format. Under his guidance, the station immediately posted major ratings increases and became one of the top performing stations in Cleveland. Gorman also reunited with former WMMS artist and co-creator of the station's "Buzzard" mascot, David Helton to create a new logo and early print ads and billboards for WMJI. The "Majic 105.7" font was chosen by Gorman as a tribute to the 1967-era logo for Boston's WRKO, which, under the direction of Program Director Mel Phillips, was an influence on Gorman's programming. WMJI owner Legacy Broadcasting was later renamed OmniAmerica in 1994, and sold the station to Nationwide Communications in 1997. By then, WMJI had established consistent ratings dominance in the Cleveland market under Program Director Denny Sanders, a market legend who replaced John Gorman. The station was led by its highly rated morning show featuring Lanigan, Webster, and local comedian Jimmy Malone. Webster left the station amid a health scare in 1997, while the "Lanigan & Malone Show" remained intact until Lanigan's retirement on March 31, 2014. During the period when Lanigan and Malone hosted mornings, WMJI achieved the highest total weekly listenership of any Cleveland radio station in the decade of the 1990s. It later became the FM flagship for Cleveland Browns broadcasts from 1999 to 2001. The popularity of WMJI in the late 1990s allowed Clear Channel to "franchise" WMJI's format and "Majic" nickname on several FM oldies stations and one AM station, mostly in the Midwest. These stations included, at its height: WYNT in Marion, WIMJ in Findlay, WMJK in Sandusky, WZOM in Defiance, WMKJ in Louisville and WKEQ in Somerset. Of those stations, only WYNT still uses the "Majic" name and shares a similar logo to WMJI, although they changed formats to adult contemporary. Early in November 2006, WTHZ-FM in Lexington, North Carolina, a station owned by "Davidson County Broadcasting", changed formats to "Majic 94.1" - replete with a similar logo to WMJI's. This continued until March 2010, when the station changed formats. In August 1998, Nationwide Communications merged operations with Jacor, reuniting WMJI with its former owner. This was followed in May 1999 by the $6.5 billion purchase of Jacor and its 454 stations by iHeartMedia, including WMJI. Denny Sanders departed WMJI in 2001 to join The Telos Alliance, a Cleveland-based international broadcast equipment design company. Under the oldies format, WMJI has been recognized at the NAB Marconi Radio Awards. The station has been named Large Market Station of the Year twice, and three times as Oldies Station of the Year. Longtime morning team John Lanigan and Jimmy Malone were also named Large Market Personality of the Year in 2005.
Current programming
WMJI's lineup features the Nolan, Malone, Kullik, and TraceyMorning Show hosted by longtime WMJI personalities Mark Nolan, Jimmy Malone, Chip Kullik, and Tracey Carroll. Other local DJs include Kat Jackson. WMJI also plays Christmas music throughout the holiday season. The HD2 digital subchannel aired oldies under the brand iHeart 50s until August, 2019. WMJI also airs Premium Choice content during weekday afternoons, evenings, overnights and weekend shifts. Additionally, American Top 40: 70s & 80s airs on Sundays, distributed by iHeartMedia subsidiary Premiere Networks.
