JZ 94.5 Celebrates 20 Years on Air on the Coast

It’s been 20 years since radio station, JZ 94.5, first began broadcasting across the Gulf Coast. Rip Daniels has been tearing up the Coast airwaves for 20 years.

Daniels is the local, sometimes controversial radio talk show host and owner of WJZD in Gulfport. Daniels says, “A lot of challenges, but it’s been excellent. We have an audience that’s been so loyal.”

Daniels started the station with his two sons, Michael and Tabari. Michael was just a boy the first day the station went live. His job was to push the button to put his father on air. Michael says, “So there was the glass that separated the two rooms, and so I could see my father talking. You couldn’t hear good, but you could see him signing, and everyone’s getting ready. I push the button and we’re on air.”

Now that Michael and his older brother are grown, they have taken on bigger responsibilities at the station. Michael handles the station’s finances, sales, and promotions. Tabari is responsible for the station’s programming, production, and even has his own daily show. Tabari says, “Family is the most important thing, and not just your immediate family, the community is your family as well.”

Throughout the years, the Daniels have been involved in a number of local controversies, including the protest of the flag display on Gulfport Beach and standing up to the Ku Klux Klan in Biloxi. Rip Daniels closes, “To me, it’s not a matter of getting involved in controversy as much as it’s is acknowledging there are aspects of our lives that are not very helpful and have not promoted the Coast in a very good light.”

The radio station will be celebrating its 20 year anniversary with a weekend full of events at the Island View Casino in Gulfport. Then on Monday, nationally syndicated radio show host, Tom Joiner, will broadcast from WJZD.