WZFT
| City | Baltimore, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Branding | Z104.3 |
| Slogan | Baltimore's #1 Hit Music Station |
| Frequency | 104.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) 104.3-HD2: The Beat! Hip-Hop and R&B |
| First air date | 1949 (as WITH-FM) |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| ERP | 13,000 watts |
| HAAT | 294 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 8684 |
| Callsign meaning | [W] Z 1-0 Four-Three |
| Former callsigns | WITH-FM (1949-1970s) WDJQ-FM (Early 1970s-1980) WBSB (1980-1/1993) WVRT (1/1993-02/01/1994) WSSF (02/01/1994-11/01/1994) WOCT (11/01/1994-10/10/2002) WFXB (10/10/2002-09/05/2003) WSMJ (09/05/2003-05/29/2008) WCHH (05/29/2008-11/20/2009) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WCAO, WPOC, WQSR |
| Webcast |
Listen Live HD2: Listen Live |
| Website | z1043.iheart.com |
WZFT (104.3 FM), known on-air as "Z104.3", is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located at The Rotunda shopping center in Baltimore, and the transmitter is based atop Television Hill in the city's Woodberry district.
104.3 signed on in 1949 as WITH-FM, the FM sister to WITH-AM 1230 (now WRBS). WITH-FM was Maryland's pioneer FM station, with local legend Jack Wells serving as its first announcer.
In the 1970s, WITH-FM became Top 40 WDJQ-FM "DJ-104". By the late 70s, DJ-104 made an attempt to do an all-Disco format, which failed in the ratings and the station went back to Top 40 at the end of 1979.
In June 1980, Scripps-Howard Broadcasting acquired WDJQ-FM and 104.3 became WBSB under the handle "B-104", but retaining the previous Top 40 format. B-104 was one of Baltimore's top-rated FM stations during the 80s and was home to "Brian and O'Brien" one of Baltimore's most notable morning drive time shows.
Radio & TV personalities Glenn Beck and Pat Gray hosted a show on B-104 for several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Other notable air personalities were: Ken Merson (The Merson Person), Willie B., Kris Earl Phillips, J.R. Russ, Lisa Kay and Brian Carter.
In the early 1990s, Top 40 radio suffered a decline in audience and revenue due to the rise of alternative rock and hip hop. Many stations around the country flipped to other formats; WBSB was one of those. On February 18, 1992, at 9 a.m., after playing a montage of station memories, the station flipped to "Variety 104.3", a Hot AC competitor to WWMX, which was a mainstream AC at the time. The first song on "Variety" was "Listen to the Music" by The Doobie Brothers. In January 1993, the station changed its call letters to WVRT. The station suffered from low ratings during this time. Ironically, Capitol Broadcasting, the owners of WWMX, bought the station from The E.W. Scripps Company in the Fall of 1993. On December 13, the station began stunting with a simulcast of WWMX. At Midnight on December 20, the stunting switched to a 5-song loop, as well as liners redirecting listeners to WWMX. The loop would change to 5 new songs on December 27 and January 3. Finally, on January 12, 1994, at 6 p.m., the station flipped to "Soft 104.3" WSSF, a soft AC competing with well-established WLIF. Capitol sold the station to American Radio Systems in 1994.
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