WTJZ (AM)

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For other stations that have had this call sign, see WTJZ.
WTJZ
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency1110 AM kHz
BrandingPraise 104.9
Programming
FormatUrban Gospel[1]
Ownership
OwnerDelmarva Educational Association
History
First air date
May 6, 1976; 48 years ago (1976-05-06)[2]
Former call signs
WZAM (1973–1995)
WCKO (1995–2004)
WYRM (2004–2014)
WKQA (2014–2022)[3]
Call sign meaning
"Tidewater Jazz" (historic call sign first used on AM 1270 in 1979)
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID29597
ClassD
Power50,000 watts days only
Transmitter coordinates
36°56′34.0″N 76°31′56.0″W / 36.942778°N 76.532222°W / 36.942778; -76.532222
Translator(s)92.5 W223CT (Norfolk)
104.9 W285FM (Hampton)
Links
Public license information
Webcastradio webstream
WebsitePraise1049.com

WTJZ (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and serving Hampton Roads.[1] The station is owned and operated by Delmarva Educational Association.[5] Branded as "Praise 104.9", it airs an urban gospel radio format.

WTJZ is a daytimer station, which operates with a power at 50,000 watts, the maximum allowed for U.S. AM stations. 1110 AM is a clear channel frequency, with protected nighttime coverage for Class A stations WBT Charlotte and KFAB Omaha, so WTJZ must go off the air at night. Programming is carried around the clock on two FM translators: W285FM in Hampton on 104.9 MHz, and W223CT in Norfolk on 92.5 MHz.

History

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On May 25, 1966, James River Broadcasting Corporation applied to the Federal Communications Commission to start a new radio station licensed to Norfolk on 1110 kHz. It would be a daytimer, transmitting with 50,000 watts.[6] It was not granted until 1972 because it competed with applications for two daytime-only stations at Williamsburg and Suffolk.[7] It would be nearly four more years before the station began broadcasting as WZAM on April 6, 1976.[2] The original owner was the Benns family, which also started WMYK (94.1 FM) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The two stations shared some programming—the AM simulcast the FM in drive time, essentially as a promotional tool.[8]

When the pair offered to pay listeners for recording listenership in their Arbitron diaries in 1981, the ratings agency responded by delisting WZAM, WMYK, and a Benns-owned station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that conducted the same practice from the ratings books; it was the first time Arbitron had delisted stations from ratings surveys in two years.[9]

After being rock stations since their launch, the Benns flipped both stations to urban contemporary in 1984, citing "disastrous" ratings.[10]

In 1988, the station was acquired by Nova Broadcasting, which retained the gospel format but sought to give it "FM standards" and be more competitive.[11] The shareholders in Nova, Steven Brisker and Randy Gurekis, split ways in 1989, with Brisker retaining WZAM and WCTG in Columbia, South Carolina.[12] The FCC fined WZAM $7,900 in 1991 for a litany of technical violations, most notably broadcasting after sunset and causing interference to other stations on the frequency.[13]

J4 Broadcasting Company acquired WZAM in 1994; at that time, it was not broadcasting.[14] However, the station had briefly returned to air in mid-1994 with gospel after a two-year absence.[15] WZAM became WCKO in 1995 and adopted a classic oldies format syndicated from another station also owned by John Thomas, WCIN in Cincinnati.[16] By the time it was sold to Metropolitan Radio Group in 1998, however, WZAM was off the air again.[17]

In 2004, the call sign was changed to WYRM when the station was sold to Word Broadcasting Network of Louisville, Kentucky.[18] Word retained the station until 2014, when it changed the call sign to WKQA and sold it to Booth-Cobb Media.[19] Under Booth-Cobb, the station was known as "Freedom 1110" and mixed conservative talk and religious programming.[20]

The station went silent on March 27, 2022, after its four-tower array southeast of Smithfield was dismantled to make way for redevelopment of the site.[21] Booth-Cobb applied for Special Temporary Authority for WKQA to use a 100-watt longwire antenna located at the site of WHKT (1010 AM), and to sell itself to the Delmarva Educational Association, a non-profit entity affiliated with WHKT's owner, for $10,000.[22]

In August 2022, WTJZ on 1650 AM dropped its religious format,[23] which resulted in the transfer of the primary source for the "Praise 104.9" format to WKQA. The sale to Delmarva Educational Association was consummated on August 10, 2022.

On November 2, 2022, WKQA's call sign was changed to WTJZ,[3] derived from "Tidewater Jazz", which had been adopted at AM 1270 in 1979.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-568. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTJZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "WTJZ Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  6. ^ FCC History Cards for WTJZ
  7. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 10, 1972. pp. 50, 51. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  8. ^ Gelb, Jeff (April 4, 1980). "AM AOR: "All We Want Is A Piece Of The Action"" (PDF). Radio & Records. p. 38. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2022-04-10 – via World Radio History.
  9. ^ "Arbitron Delists Norfolk, Chattanooga Stations" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 8, 1982. pp. 1, 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-10 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ "WMYK & WZAM Go Urban" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 27, 1984. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-10 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ Warden, Billy (July 22, 1988). "Gospel on the go". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. Splash! 14. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. December 1, 1989. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-10 – via World Radio History.
  13. ^ "FCC fines Norfolk radio station". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. January 12, 1991. p. 21. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 12, 1994. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-05. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  15. ^ Nicholson, David (April 2, 1994). "Viewers react to WHRO show on menopause". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Nicholson, David (July 22, 1995). "WOWI named award finalist for 4th year". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. D1. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 16, 1998. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2022-04-10 – via World Radio History.
  18. ^ Bonko, Larry (July 11, 2004). "Max Media ropes another piece of Montana". The Virginian-Pilot. p. E1.
  19. ^ "FCC Database Quiet With Four Silent STA Filings". All Access. July 8, 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  20. ^ "Program Schedule". wkqaradio.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "WKQA (AM), Norfolk, Virginia (Facility ID No. 29597) Request for Special Temporary Authority" (correspondence from Larry Cobb, Manager, Booth-Cobb Media, LLC), May 31, 2022 (FCC.gov)
  22. ^ Venta, Lance (June 10, 2022). "Station Sales Week Of 6/10". RadioInsight.
  23. ^ "The John Fredericks Media Network Announces Launch of New AM Radio Talker in Hampton Roads, VA" by WJFN 100.5 FM, August 4, 2022 (wjfnradio.com)
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