WJBC (AM)

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WJBC
WJBC stationLogo.png
City of license Bloomington, Illinois
Broadcast area Bloomington-Normal
Slogan The Voice of Central Illinois
Frequency 1230 kHz
Repeaters 93.7 WJBC-FM
First air date May 1925 (1925-05)[1]
Format News/Talk
Power 1000 watts
Class C
Facility ID 5876
Transmitter coordinates 40°27′1.1″N 89°0′42.3″W / 40.450306°N 89.01175°W / 40.450306; -89.01175Coordinates: 40°27′1.1″N 89°0′42.3″W / 40.450306°N 89.01175°W / 40.450306; -89.01175 (NAD83)
Callsign meaning "Where Jazz Becomes Classic" (old mnemonic for sequentially assigned callsign)
Former frequencies 1200 kHz (LaSalle/Normal, 1928–1941)
1320 kHz (LaSalle, 1927–1928)
1280 kHz (LaSalle, 1925–1927)[2]
Affiliations CBS Radio Network
NBC Blue/ABC (former)
Owner Townsquare Media
(Townsquare Media of Bloomington, Inc.)
Sister stations WBNQ, WBWN, WJBC-FM, WJEZ
Webcast Web player
Website www.wjbc.com

WJBC (1230 kHz) is an AM radio station based in the twin cities of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

In 2006, Janae Jontry, the station manager, said a focus on localism differentiated WJBC from most of the competition. Part of a five-station cluster owned by Regent Communications, WJBC was the only AM station of the group. It had five full-time news people and an agribusiness director.[3] The station continues to be owned by what is now Townsquare Media.

The station calls itself "The Voice of McLean County".

WJBC has been the longtime home to the Illinois State Redbirds, as well as local high school sports and the St. Louis Cardinals. WJBC is the home station for the Normal CornBelters, although their games are usually streamed online only due to the Cardinals broadcasts.

WJBC has been known for many years as a station that broadcasts all-local talk programs. This fact has consistently made WJBC one of the top radio stations in the Bloomington area. During the high school football season, the station airs the WJBC High School Football Extravaganza, where reporters call in with game summaries until 11:00 p.m.

WJBC carries The Dave Ramsey Show and The Alan Colmes Show at night, in addition to its local shows.

Contents

[edit] History

The station began broadcasting from La Salle, Illinois in May 1925 with 1000 watts on 1280 kHz. Its call letters were apparently assigned arbitrarily during the AM radio expansion era of the 1920s. The station was initially music-oriented, and for a while it adopted the mnemonic slogan "Where Jazz Becomes Classic".[1] The station was originally at the Hummer Furniture Store, then at the Kaskaskia Hotel. During the years in LaSalle, it moved to 1320 kHz, then 1200 kHz. The Great Depression eventually closed both the companies backing the station in LaSalle, and the owner of Hummer Furniture owner moved the station to Bloomington-Normal.[2]

On 11 September 1934, WJBC began transmitting from its new facilities, making it the first radio station in Bloomington-Normal. The transmitter was in Normal and its main studio was at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington; other studios were at Illinois State Normal School and the Illinois Farm Bureau.[2] At first it was only on the air a few hours a day, with eight daily newscasts, weather twice a day, and the Western Union time announced at the top of each hour.[2][3]

On the morning of August 25, 1971, the station broadcast the last radio program of the Reverend R.J. Zehr, who died later that morning. Zehr's first broadcast on the station was on a Sunday in October 1934; shortly thereafter, he was given a daily slot, which he continued - without missing a day - until the mid-1960s. Almost all of Zehr’s broadcasts were live, not prerecorded. In 1949, he began doing the program from his house, via telephone. His program’s time slot varied over the years, but normally aired between 5:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., and lasted 15 to 30 minutes.[4]

In 2005, the station won the Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters for Best Small Market Radio Station in the United States.[5]

WJBC has won several Edward R. Murrow Awards for its local news coverage, as well as several Illinois Silver Dome Awards.

[edit] Personalities

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2010)

[edit] Current

  • Steve Fast
  • Greg Halbleib
  • Scott Laughlin
  • R.C. McBride
  • Carrie Muehling
  • Colleen Reynolds
  • Ron Ross
  • Eric Stock
  • Beth Whisman
  • Dick Luedke
  • Mike Matthews
  • Zach Parcell
  • Jim Fitzpatrick
  • Stephanie Pawlowski

[edit] Former

  • Denny Adkins
  • Bob Arya
  • Bones Bach
  • Ken Behrens
  • Nancy Blair
  • Mike Bradd
  • Dara Brockmeier
  • Jim Browne
  • Adam "Cha-Cha" Chandler
  • Elizabeth Estes Cooper
  • Sarah Curtis
  • L.A. Decker
  • Mark Dennis
  • Paul Dunn
  • Jim Durham
  • Karen Erks
  • John Fitzgerald
  • Lee Hall
  • Cameron D. James
  • Mark Johnson
  • Willis Kern
  • Art Kimball
  • Gene Lyle
  • Don Munson
  • Lori Nelson
  • Don Newberg
  • Royal Norman
  • Don Norton
  • Howard Packowitz
  • L.P. Phillips
  • Scott Robbins
  • Daune Robinson
  • Scott Ross
  • Stew Salowitz
  • Art Sechrest
  • Alan Sender
  • Harvey J. Steele
  • Dan Swaney
  • Dick Templeton
  • Steve Vogel
  • Bill Walberg
  • Larry Whittaker
  • Jim Cheney
  • Amy Meyer

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Highlights in WJBC History". Bloomington, Illinois: WJBC (AM). http://www.wjbc.com/WJBCHistory/tabid/6859/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  2. ^ a b c d Higgins, Valerie (Summer 2007). "WJBC Radio Collection". Bloomington, Illinois: McLean County Museum of History. http://www.mchistory.org/WJBC_Collection_Finding_Aid.html. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  3. ^ a b R., Ken (2006-05-24). "Bloomington's WJBC: Life Begins at 80". Radio World (online) (New York City: NewBay Media). http://www.rwonline.com/article/2552. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  4. ^ Bill Kemp, "Pastor's voice was heard loudly on WJBC", The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL), July 21, 2007
  5. ^ "2005 Marconi Radio Award Winners", National Association of Broadcasters, retrieved April 14, 2008

[edit] External links

Radio stations in the Bloomington, Illinois market
By FM frequency
88.1 • 88.3 • 89.1 • 89.5 • 92.9 • 93.7 • 94.7 • 94.9 • 95.1 • 96.7 • 97.9 • 98.9 Bloomington • 98.9 Dwight • 99.5 • 100.1 • 100.7 • 101.5 • 103.3 • 103.7 • 104.1 • 104.7 • 107.7
By AM frequency
1230
By callsign
WBBE • WBNQ • WBWN • WESN • WGLT • WIBL • WIHN • WJBC • WJBC-FM • WJEZ • WJHV-LP • WPJC • WRPW • WVMG • WXRJ-LP • WZIM • WZND-LP • W208AW • W234AM • W255AI • W261BK • W279BN • W284BT
Illinois Radio Markets: Bloomington · Champaign · Chicago · Decatur · LaSalle-Peru · Marion-Carbondale · Peoria · Quad Cities (Rock Island-Moline) · Rockford · St. Louis, MO ·
Other Illinois Radio Regions: Quincy/Hannibal · Springfield
See also: List of radio stations in Illinois
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WJBC_(AM)&oldid=480592351"
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