WGPR

"WGPR" redirects here. For the Detroit, Michigan station that used this call sign from 1975-1995, see WWJ-TV.

WGPR

Detroit, Michigan
Broadcast area	[1]
Frequency	107.5 MHz
Branding	The New 107-5 WGPR
Programming
Format	Urban Adult Contemporary
Ownership
Owner	International Free and Accepted Modern Masons (WGPR, Inc.)
History
First air date	December 6, 1961
Call sign meaning	Grosse Pointe Radio Where God's Presence Radiates
Technical information
Facility ID	70512
Class	B
Power	50,000 watts
HAAT	123.5 meters
Transmitter coordinates	42°21′28″N 83°03′55″W
Links
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wgprdetroit.com

WGPR ("The New 107-5 WGPR") is a FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, the station operates on 107.5 MHz.

WGPR has a broadcasting range from the north to Flint and Lapeer, and as far west as Fowlerville (60 miles).

History

Early History

WGPR was founded on December 6, 1961 by broadcaster Ross Mulholland, who had worked at WJR and several other area stations. The original construction permit for the station bore the call letters WQTI (similar to Mulholland's easy listening-formatted AM station, 560 WQTE (now WRDT), but the station was never on the air with those calls. Initially WGPR featured programming similar to that of WQTE. The station was purchased in 1964 by its current owner, the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons (d/b/a WGPR, Inc.), led by William V. Banks, who would serve as president and general manager of WGPR and its sister TV station (founded in 1975) until his death in 1985. Under the ownership of the Masons, WGPR would transition to chiefly African-American-oriented programming, with some ethnic programs in Spanish, Italian, Greek, and other languages, which would remain a part of the station's broadcast schedule into the 1990s.

The station has featured some variation of R&B format for over 40 years, and was the first independently programmed FM urban/R&B station in the market. It is reported that the station's callsign meant, Where God's Presence Radiates, but the original meaning was Grosse Pointe Radio, as the station was originally based out of a studio on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods when it went on the air in 1961 (the original building still stands and houses a real estate agent). The current studios are located on East Jefferson in Detroit.

The Electrifyin' Mojo was heard on WGPR-FM during the early 1980s.

Once a top 10-rated station in the Detroit market, WGPR has suffered from diminished ratings over the past 20 years, largely due to the 1989 debut of Mix 92.3 WMXD. Nevertheless, the station has a loyal and devoted audience.

The station was co-owned with WGPR-TV channel 62, which the Freemason group established in 1975. On September 29, 1975, Amyre Porter, Doug Morrison and Sharon Crews became the nation's first African-American primetime news team. This station, which would adopt the CBS affiliation in 1994 following WJBK's switch from CBS to Fox, was sold to CBS in 1995 and re-called WWJ-TV.

The New 107.5 WGPR Today

Today WGPR features a mix of Urban Adult Contemporary hits and Urban Oldies. Before June 2008 the station was known as "The Rhythm 107-5" or "The Jazzy 107-5", and for several years featured Smooth Jazz mixed in with its current format. In June 2008, the station reverted to the straight Urban AC format it had aired prior to the introduction of the R&B/jazz hybrid in the early 2000s.

Former Logo of WGPR as "The Rhythm"

Saturdays are "Old School" Saturdays, featuring a wide variety of R&B, soul and dance-oriented oldies. Saturdays are called Old School Saturdays which is more ambiguous than the typical schedule. Genres played on OSS include disco, funk, 1980s electronic music, dance music, Motown Sound, urban oldies, and 1970s R&B. This program has been prone to technical errors. These errors include skipping CDs, varying volume levels between tracks, a song ending midway through and sometimes accidental but simultaneous mix-in of multiple song tracks. Sundays are devoted mostly to gospel programming.

The New 107.5 WGPR currently ranks at #16 (3.2) in the Detroit market according to the November 2010 PPM Ratings release. The station has, uncharacteristically for urban-formatted stations, achieved higher ratings in the PPM system than under the old diary method, though part of that may be due to the popularity of John Mason's morning show.

Airstaff

The current lineup (as of February 2009) Starting the day from 5am-10am its Mason Radio In The Morning with John Mason. Mid-days from 10am-3pm its Sylvia Simone. On the ride home from 3pm-7pm is Mike Allen. Wrapping up the lineup from 8pm-12am is Tony Rankin, and from 12am-5am Cliff Coleman and Dallas Keith alternate.

Weekend's/Fill-ins include DJ Base, Karen Dumas, Rene Hurts and Jeff Lowe

Sources

• Michiguide.com - WGPR History

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID WGPR ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database