WMOM

WMOM (102.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR).

WMOM
CityPentwater, Michigan
Broadcast areaLudington, Michigan
BrandingWMOM 102.7
SloganAlways Listen to Your Mom
Frequency102.7 MHz
First air dateSeptember 26, 1999
FormatTop 40 (CHR)
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT100 meters
ClassA
Facility ID76507
Call sign meaningMason, Oceana, and Manistee Counties, the station's primary service area
AffiliationsMichigan Radio Network
OwnerHit Radio Media
WebcastListen Live
Website1027wmom.com

Licensed to Pentwater, Michigan, it serves the Ludington, Michigan area. It first began broadcasting in 1999. [1]

History

WMOM is owned by Bay View Broadcasting, Inc. The station broadcast live from a storefront window at 206 Ludington Avenue in the historic section of Ludington, Michigan. Patrick Lopeman was the founder and principal owner of Bay View. Mr. Lopeman, as he prefers to be called by his employees, is a broadcast industry veteran who was also known as Pat 'man on the move' Martin. Bay View also developed WXYQ 101.5 in Manistee, Michigan in 1994. Today WXYQ is known as WMTE-FM Classic Hits Kool 101.5. Mr. Lopeman was also a founding member of Europa Communications which developed WPHD in Elmira, New York.

WMOM was twice nominated at the NAB Marconi CHR station of the year in 2003 and 2004. WMOM was also honored with numerous local and statewide broadcast awards.

Every year WMOM had sponsored the annual "Lake Jump", a fundraiser that has contributed $175,768.70 to charities and building projects in western Michigan. This was later given to a board as the station was unable to handle the complete responsibilities of the event. In 2009, a website was established to document the history of the WMOM Lake Jump which started in 2000.

The station evolved from a Top 40 (CHR) to a Top 40 (CHR)/Alternative hybrid mix by 2007. The formula, according to the station owner, was "two-thirds Top 40 and one-third Alternative."[2] WMOM also played unreleased demos of local and regional artists.

On April 1, 2019, WMOM abruptly went silent, with equipment removed from the studios. According to a Facebook post on the WMOM Sports Team page, station owner Patrick Lopeman had recently been involved in a serious auto accident, which made him re-evaluate his activities in managing the business. With his 70th birthday approaching, he realized he was long past retirement age and couldn't keep up with the schedule required to operate the radio station, therefore he immediately ceased operation without any advanced notice. Given the timing of the station going off the air, many thought it was an April Fool's Day prank.[3]

On March 25, 2020, Bay View Broadcasting brought WMOM-FM back on the air with a temporary Christmas Music format.[4]

On April 6, 2020, it was announced on-air that there was new ownership of the station. An entity called Hit Radio Media LLC has entered an agreement to purchase the station, with the sale closing by late May 2020. At this time, another temporary format was unveiled, focusing on 1980s music. It is expected that the permanent format would debut upon the closing of the sale.[5]

References
  1. "WMOM FM 102.7 Pentwater/Ludington". Michiguide.com. May 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  2. Ross, Sean (September 22, 2010). "Fresh Listen: Pat Lopeman's WMOM Ludington, Mich". 25 Plus. Radio-Info.com.
  3. "WMOM off the air". MasonCountyPress.com. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  4. https://radioinsight.com/headlines/185550/wmom-returns-with-christmas-music/
  5. https://www.rbr.com/mom-returns-to-michigan-with-a-new-owner


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