Shirk became the General Manager and a DJ at WXLW in Indianapolis in 1972 and then became the owner in 1974 and in 1991 added WHHH-FM, Hot 96.3 as owner and DJ.
Officially, it is the first Radio One-owned station (along with Dallas/Fort Worth's KBFB, Philadelphia's WPHI-FM, which has changed to urban contemporary in 2011 & Indianapolis' WHHH) to be a rhythmic since the sale of former sister station WDHT in Dayton, OH and KTWN-FM in Minneapolis.