CBS Radio’s Classic Rock-leaning Jack-FM WJMK-FM in the Windy City will become 104.3 FM, K-HITS Monday, March 14 (1:04PM). The new station will sport a refined Classic Hits format focusing on Chicago’s greatest hit music of the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s with personalities that are synonymous with the Windy City including Eddie and JoBo, Gary Spears and Bo Reynolds, among others.
Showcased on the station will be a The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rod Stewart, Chicago, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, U2, REO Speedwagon and John Mellencamp.
Eddie and JoBo will debut a humorous morning show 5:30-10:00AM. They were were the morning duo for CBS Radio’s B96 (WBBM-FM) in that market. Joe Bohannon first appeared on at B96 in 1984, hosting an evening show as “JoBo in Chicago”. Ed Volkman started at B96 in 1986, hosting morning drive, along with Karen Hand and Mike Elston. When Elston left B96 in 1988, Bohannon was moved to mornings along with Volkman and Hand. In 2001, B96 switched to Urban/CHR. However, Eddie & JoBo stayed on as morning hosts after this format change until 2008 when they were let go. In 2010, Eddie and JoBo were hired by Citadel Media’s WLS-AM as Saturday night hosts.
Gary Spears, one of the original B96 Hot Hits jocks from 1982-84, follows as host of middays (10:00AM-3:00PM). Spears also could be heard on B96 from 1990-94. Afternoon drive (3:00-8:00PM) will be presented by Bo Reynolds, a Chicago radio veteran who had a successful run on B96 from 1987-90. Evening and weekend talent will be announced at a later date. In the meantime, various guest hosts familiar to Chicago audiences will fill-in during these timeperiods.
“This is one of the most exciting days in our long history in Chicago radio,” enthused Eddie and JoBo. “To be rookies again, starting on a brand new radio station in our hometown is, well who said ‘you can’t go home’?
They added, “We knew when we walked out of the building in 2008 we weren’t done. We weren’t sure where we’d land but we’re excited to have this opportunity to reinvent ourselves. Waking up Chicago once again is going to be great.”
The station’s new website is www.khitschicago.com.
RBR-TVBR observation: Jack-FM’s ratings struggled more when Bonneville debuted Rewind 100.3 (Adult Hits/AC) on cross-town WILV-FM (3.0 latest book) in June 2010. For the last three books, WJMK hovered between a 1.6 and 2.1. Bonneville also has WDRV (“The Drive”) in that market, which is a deeper Classic Rock format (scored a 3.8 in the latest book) dubbed “Timeless Rock,” so there’s a lot of competition for the Classic Hits and Classic Rock format’s listeners there.
