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WGPR
WGPR (107.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting an urban contemporary radio format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, its studios and offices are on East Jefferson Avenue on Detroit's lower eastside.
WGPR has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts. The station's transmitter is atop the Maccabees Building on the campus of Wayne State University, on Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
The station signed on the air on December 6, 1961, making it the first radio station in Michigan to broadcast in stereo. It was founded by broadcaster Ross Mulholland, who had worked at WJR and several other area stations. The original construction permit for the station bore the call sign WQTI, similar to Mulholland's easy listening-formatted AM station, WQTE (560 AM, now WRDT), but the station was never on the air with those call letters. Upon signing on, the call letters were WGPR.
Initially, WGPR featured easy listening music 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 Dr. William V. Banks, who served as president and general manager of WGPR until his death in 1985.
It is reported that the station's call sign meant "Where God's Presence Radiates", but the original meaning was "Grosse Pointe Radio." The station was originally based at a studio on 20233 Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods when it went on the air. The original building still stands and houses a real estate agent. The current studios are located on East Jefferson in Detroit.
An independent television station focusing on shows aimed at African-American viewers was added in 1975, WGPR-TV. On September 29, 1975, Amyre Porter, Doug Morrison and Sharon Crews became the nation's first African-American primetime news team. WGPR-TV became a CBS network affiliate in 1994 following WJBK's switch from CBS to Fox. WGPR-TV was sold to CBS in 1995, taking the call sign WWJ-TV.
Under the ownership of the Masons, WGPR transitioned to African-American-oriented programming, including Urban Contemporary, R&B, Soul Music and Urban Gospel. Some brokered ethnic programs in Spanish, Italian, Greek and other languages, were on the schedule into the 1990s.
The disc jockey known as Electrifyin' Mojo was heard evenings on WGPR during the early 1980s. In 1982, during Mojo's tenure at WGPR, the station scored its highest ratings, landing in the Top 10 on several occasions. By the mid-1980s, the station had once again fallen into the lower echelons of the ratings and remained there for the next quarter-century. WGPR was, by October 2011, the lowest-rated of Detroit's three urban AC stations, trailing WMXD and WDMK. Nevertheless, the station had a devoted audience. Its ratings were not adversely affected by Detroit's switching from Arbitron's diary system to Portable People Meters (PPM).
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WGPR
WGPR (107.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting an urban contemporary radio format. Owned by the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, its studios and offices are on East Jefferson Avenue on Detroit's lower eastside.
WGPR has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts. The station's transmitter is atop the Maccabees Building on the campus of Wayne State University, on Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
The station signed on the air on December 6, 1961, making it the first radio station in Michigan to broadcast in stereo. It was founded by broadcaster Ross Mulholland, who had worked at WJR and several other area stations. The original construction permit for the station bore the call sign WQTI, similar to Mulholland's easy listening-formatted AM station, WQTE (560 AM, now WRDT), but the station was never on the air with those call letters. Upon signing on, the call letters were WGPR.
Initially, WGPR featured easy listening music 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 Dr. William V. Banks, who served as president and general manager of WGPR until his death in 1985.
It is reported that the station's call sign meant "Where God's Presence Radiates", but the original meaning was "Grosse Pointe Radio." The station was originally based at a studio on 20233 Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods when it went on the air. The original building still stands and houses a real estate agent. The current studios are located on East Jefferson in Detroit.
An independent television station focusing on shows aimed at African-American viewers was added in 1975, WGPR-TV. On September 29, 1975, Amyre Porter, Doug Morrison and Sharon Crews became the nation's first African-American primetime news team. WGPR-TV became a CBS network affiliate in 1994 following WJBK's switch from CBS to Fox. WGPR-TV was sold to CBS in 1995, taking the call sign WWJ-TV.
Under the ownership of the Masons, WGPR transitioned to African-American-oriented programming, including Urban Contemporary, R&B, Soul Music and Urban Gospel. Some brokered ethnic programs in Spanish, Italian, Greek and other languages, were on the schedule into the 1990s.
The disc jockey known as Electrifyin' Mojo was heard evenings on WGPR during the early 1980s. In 1982, during Mojo's tenure at WGPR, the station scored its highest ratings, landing in the Top 10 on several occasions. By the mid-1980s, the station had once again fallen into the lower echelons of the ratings and remained there for the next quarter-century. WGPR was, by October 2011, the lowest-rated of Detroit's three urban AC stations, trailing WMXD and WDMK. Nevertheless, the station had a devoted audience. Its ratings were not adversely affected by Detroit's switching from Arbitron's diary system to Portable People Meters (PPM).