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WMMS (100.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, commonly identified as "The Buzzard". Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout its history, the station has also drawn controversy for unusually aggressive tactics both on and off the air. Owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasting a mix of active rock and hot talk, WMMS is currently the flagship station for Rover's Morning Glory, the FM flagship for the Cavaliers AudioVerse and Cleveland Guardians Radio Network, the Cleveland affiliate for The House of Hair with Dee Snider and the home of radio personality Alan Cox.
Signing on in 1946 as the FM adjunct to WHK, the WMMS call letters were affixed in 1968 under Metromedia ownership, having stood for "MetroMedia Stereo" and meant as a compliment to the newly established progressive rock format, but have since taken on a variety of other meanings. Created in April 1974 as "an ironic twist on Cleveland's down-and-out reputation as a decaying Rust Belt city," the station's longtime promotional mascot has been an anthropomorphic "Buzzard" cartoon character. In 1981, Radio & Records identified "the malevolent feathered figure" as "the best-known station symbol in the country." "De-emphasized" in the fall of 2007, the scavenger was revived the following spring to coincide with the station's 40th anniversary and with the arrival of morning personality Rover.Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, WMMS had a stable of personalities that remained fundamentally unchanged, attained a dominant market share in the local ratings and posted market record-high figures "never duplicated by any other Cleveland radio station since." WMMS played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S., including David Bowie, Rush, and Bruce Springsteen. Station employees went on to take director and executive-level positions in the recording industry, namely with labels RCA, Mercury, and Columbia. Considered "a true radio legend," WMMS DJ Kid Leo was chosen for Rolling Stone's "Heavy Hundred: The High and Mighty of the Music Industry" (1980) and named "The Best Disc Jockey in the Country" in a special 1987 issue of *******. Noted filmmakers, including Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) and Paul Schrader (Light of Day), have called on both The Buzzard and its personnel while preparing for various rock-themed productions. WMMS was also a major driving force behind the successful campaign to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.Rolling Stone named WMMS "Best Radio Station" (Large Market) nine straight years (1979–87) as part of the magazine's annual Readers' Poll, but the station admitted to stuffing the 1987 ballot following a February 1988 front-page story in The Plain Dealer exposing manipulation. Seven years later, members of the station's staff and management pleaded guilty to disrupting a national broadcast of The Howard Stern Show that originated via the local Stern affiliate, cross-town rival WNCX. A federal offense, the act nearly cost WMMS its broadcasting license. Owned by Malrite Communications from 1972 to 1993, subsequent consolidation in the radio industry saw WMMS change ownership five times in seven years, and has been in iHeartMedia's portfolio (originally under the Clear Channel name) since 1999.
WMMS's studios are located at the Six Six Eight Building in downtown Cleveland's Gateway District; the station transmitter resides in neighboring Seven Hills. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WMMS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is available online via iHeartRadio. WMMS-HD2, which relays its signal over low-power FM translator W256BT (99.1 FM), is the Cleveland affiliate for iHeart's all-news oriented Black Information Network.
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Signing on in 1946 as the FM adjunct to WHK, the WMMS call letters were affixed in 1968 under Metromedia ownership, having stood for "MetroMedia Stereo" and meant as a compliment to the newly established progressive rock format, but have since taken on a variety of other meanings. Created in April 1974 as "an ironic twist on Cleveland's down-and-out reputation as a decaying Rust Belt city," the station's longtime promotional mascot has been an anthropomorphic "Buzzard" cartoon character. In 1981, Radio & Records identified "the malevolent feathered figure" as "the best-known station symbol in the country." "De-emphasized" in the fall of 2007, the scavenger was revived the following spring to coincide with the station's 40th anniversary and with the arrival of morning personality Rover.Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, WMMS had a stable of personalities that remained fundamentally unchanged, attained a dominant market share in the local ratings and posted market record-high figures "never duplicated by any other Cleveland radio station since." WMMS played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S., including David Bowie, Rush, and Bruce Springsteen. Station employees went on to take director and executive-level positions in the recording industry, namely with labels RCA, Mercury, and Columbia. Considered "a true radio legend," WMMS DJ Kid Leo was chosen for Rolling Stone's "Heavy Hundred: The High and Mighty of the Music Industry" (1980) and named "The Best Disc Jockey in the Country" in a special 1987 issue of *******. Noted filmmakers, including Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) and Paul Schrader (Light of Day), have called on both The Buzzard and its personnel while preparing for various rock-themed productions. WMMS was also a major driving force behind the successful campaign to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.Rolling Stone named WMMS "Best Radio Station" (Large Market) nine straight years (1979–87) as part of the magazine's annual Readers' Poll, but the station admitted to stuffing the 1987 ballot following a February 1988 front-page story in The Plain Dealer exposing manipulation. Seven years later, members of the station's staff and management pleaded guilty to disrupting a national broadcast of The Howard Stern Show that originated via the local Stern affiliate, cross-town rival WNCX. A federal offense, the act nearly cost WMMS its broadcasting license. Owned by Malrite Communications from 1972 to 1993, subsequent consolidation in the radio industry saw WMMS change ownership five times in seven years, and has been in iHeartMedia's portfolio (originally under the Clear Channel name) since 1999.
WMMS's studios are located at the Six Six Eight Building in downtown Cleveland's Gateway District; the station transmitter resides in neighboring Seven Hills. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WMMS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is available online via iHeartRadio. WMMS-HD2, which relays its signal over low-power FM translator W256BT (99.1 FM), is the Cleveland affiliate for iHeart's all-news oriented Black Information Network.
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