KZJK (104.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting the Top 40 "Jack FM" format in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota. The current format took to the air on the morning of April 21, 2005, following more than four years of a 1980s-centered playlist, starting in November 2000. The station is owned by Viacom through the radio subsidiary Infinity Broadcasting.
104.1 first gained notoriety in the mid-'80s as the modern rock KJJO-FM, simulcast with 950 AM, though that format gave way to alternative rock as the 1990s dawned. It switched to country a few years later, and has since seen a number of format changes. A smooth jazz playlist was introduced in April 1995, and the call sign soon changed to KMJZ. WXPT became the name in 1998 when the station returned to an alternative format as "104.1 The Point" for two years. With the '80s format that started in 2000, the station took the tagline "Mix 104.1". On May 10, 2005, three weeks after the format change to "Jack FM", the call letters were officially changed to KZJK.
The flip to "Jack" is believed by some to be in response to the launch of Minnesota Public Radio's eclectic station, KCMP ("89.3 The Current"), in late January 2005. The main similarity is a larger playlist than average stations, which commonly have 200–400 songs in rotation. The Jack format brings that up to about 1,200 songs, reducing repetition. However, KCMP hopes to eventually a 50,000 album library. WXPT also dropped disc jockeys with the format, while KCMP is very DJ-driven.
The station's main transmitter is rated at 89,000 watts effective radiated power and located on KMSP-TV's tower in the suburb of Shoreview, though the city of license is St. Louis Park. An auxiliary transmission facility is located atop the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis. 950 AM is now operated as a separate station, KTNF, which is an Air America Radio affiliate as of 2005.
External links
References
- Amy Carlson Gustafson (April 22, 2005). Goodbye, '80s; hello, Jack. St. Paul Pioneer Press.