WJAM

WJAM
City Selma, Alabama
Broadcast area Montgomery, Alabama
Branding AM 1340 and Jam 96.3
Frequency 1340 kHz
Translator(s) 96.3 W242BW (Selma)
First air date December 19, 1946[1]
Format Urban Adult Contemporary
Power 1,000 watts (unlimited)
Class C
Facility ID 947
Transmitter coordinates 32°25′31″N 86°59′47″W / 32.42528°N 86.99639°W / 32.42528; -86.99639
Former callsigns WGWC (1946-1968)
WAMA (1968-1975)
WMRK (1975-2009)[2][3]
Owner Scott Communications, Inc.
(Scott Communications, Inc.)
Sister stations WALX, WMRK-FM

WJAM (1340 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Selma, Alabama, USA. Originally launched in 1946, the station is currently owned by Scott Communications, Inc., and the WJAM broadcast license is held by Scott Communications, Inc.

Programming

WJAM broadcasts an urban adult contemporary music format.[4] Notable syndicated weeknight talk programming once included Larry King Live and The Jim Bohannon Show.[5][6]

WJAM has broadcast Sunday morning services of the First Presbyterian Church of Selma for more than 40 years.[7]

History

This station first began regular broadcast operations on December 19, 1946, as a full-time 250 watt station licensed to serve Selma, Alabama.[8] Original owner G.W. Covington Jr. had the station assigned the call letters WGWC after his own initials.[8] Covington died in 1949 and his estate transferred the license for WGWC to Dallas Broadcasters Inc., owned by Oscar Covington.[9]

Judge W.E. Farrar acquired Dallas Broadcasters Inc. on October 10, 1958.[10] This ownership change would prove short-lived as on August 1, 1961, WGWC was acquired by Robert J. Martin.[11]

In 1964 the station increased the strength of its daytime signal to 1,000 watts while maintaining a 250 watt nighttime signal.[12] The station took on a new call sign in 1968 with a change to WAMA.[13] The newly renamed WAMA changed hands again on February 1, 1969, when it was acquired by the Vogel-Hendrix Corporation.[14]

In 1975, WAMA was acquired by Thomas E. Alexander's Alexander Broadcasting Co., Inc.[1] Now a sister station to WALX, the station was assigned new call letters WMRK by the Federal Communications Commission.[2]

After the death of Thomas E. Alexander in April 1989, control of Alexander Broadcasting Co., Inc., was passed by his estate to his widow, Betty Hunt Alexander.[15] The transfer was approved by the FCC on June 9, 1989, and the transaction was completed on June 20, 1989.[16]

Betty Alexander hosted the morning show on WMRK from the time her husband acquired the station in 1975 until her death in November 2004.[17] In March 2005, the estate of Betty Alexander filed with the FCC to take control of Alexander Broadcasting Co., Inc. The transfer of control was approved by the FCC on April 20, 2005, and completed on April 26, 2005.[18] In November 2005, the estate applied to transfer control of the company to Paul Scott Alexander, a son of Betty Alexander. The transfer was approved by the FCC on December 30, 2005, and completed on January 3, 2006.[19]

In January 2006, Alexander Broadcasting Co., Inc., agreed to transfer the broadcast license for WMRK to Scott Communications, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 27, 2006, and the transaction was consummated on January 28, 2006.[20]

On March 23, 2009, WMRK swapped callsigns with FM sister station WJAM-FM to become WJAM and WMRK-FM, respectively.[2]

On March 27, 2009 WJAM changed their format from talk to urban adult contemporary.

References

  1. 1 2 "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-7.
  2. 1 2 3 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ↑ "AM History Profile: WMRK". Alabama Broadcast Media Page. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  5. ↑ "Station Listings for Larry King Live in the state of Alabama". Larry King Live. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Station Listings for Jim Bohannon Show in the state of Alabama". The Jim Bohannon Show. Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  7. ↑ Stone, Ron (January 19, 2008). "Winter Wonderland in Selma, Alabama?". First Presbyterian Church of Selma, Alabama.
  8. 1 2 "Directory of Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States". Broadcasting-Telecasting 1948 Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1948. p. 75.
  9. ↑ "Directory of AM, FM, and TV Stations of the United States". Broadcasting-Telecasting 1950 Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1950. p. 69.
  10. ↑ "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1960. p. A-109.
  11. ↑ "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1963 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1963. p. B-7.
  12. ↑ "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1965 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1965. p. B-7.
  13. ↑ "The Facilities of Radio". Broadcasting Yearbook 1969. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1969. p. B-8.
  14. ↑ "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1975. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1975. p. C-6.
  15. ↑ "Social Security Death Index Search Results". Ancestry.com. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Application Search Details (BAL-19890531HO)". FCC Media Bureau. June 20, 1989.
  17. ↑ "Longtime radio host dies at 83". Selma Times-Journal. November 26, 2004. In addition to being host of the "Betty Alexander Morning Show" for three decades, she also was chief executive officer of Alexander Broadcasting Co. She and her late husband, Tom, a retired Navy officer, started WALX-FM in 1974 and eventually added two other stations, WMRK-AM and WJAM-FM.
  18. ↑ "Application Search Details (BTC-20050325ANM)". FCC Media Bureau. April 26, 2005.
  19. ↑ "Application Search Details (BTC-20051110AFT)". FCC Media Bureau. January 3, 2006.
  20. ↑ "Application Search Details (BAL-20060111ACE)". FCC Media Bureau. January 28, 2006.
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