WJJL
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| City of license | Niagara Falls, New York |
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| Broadcast area | Buffalo, New York |
| Branding | Old Time Rock & Roll |
| Frequency | 1440 kHz |
| Format | 1950s music |
| Power | 1,000 watts day 55 watts night |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 39517 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°4′43.00″N 79°0′40.00″W / 43.0786111°N 79.0111111°W |
| Callsign meaning | W John J. Laux The station's founder |
| Owner | M. J. Phillips Communications, Inc., Debtor in Possession |
| Webcast | High school games |
| Website | wjjl.com |
WJJL (1440 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a 1950s music (oldies) format. Licensed to Niagara Falls, New York, USA, the station serves the Buffalo area. The station is currently owned by M. J. Phillips Communications, Inc., Debtor in Possession.[1] WJJL went on the air in December 1947, and it serves Western New York and Southern Ontario, Canada. WJJL was the first radio station to feature a two-way telephone talk show, Party Line. The show was renamed to Viewpoint in the 1960s [2]
Until its move to West Seneca, WJJL primarily served the Greater Niagara Falls area. In the station's heyday, it was never a top-notch station (when compared to the big legendary AMs in nearby Buffalo, such as WKBW, WBEN, WEBR, and WGR). However, it was a launching pad for many future top talents. These include former News Director and Viewpoint host Dave McKinley, now an Emmy Award-winning reporter for WGRZ-TV in Buffalo. John Murphy, the current radio voice of the Buffalo Bills, worked there early in his career, as did long-time WJYE/Buffalo Program Director/Morning Host Joe Chile, and national voice-over artist Jeff Lawrence. Former WGN Radio-Chicago VP/General Manager Tom Langmyer worked there as a summer fill-in personality, news reporter and anchor while in college. Other noted WJJL alumni include WBEN talk show host Tom Bauerle, longtime Niagara Falls fixture and news director Tom Darro, Tony Magoo, John Jarrett, Jon Park, David J. Miller, Bob O'Neil, WKBW-TV Anchor Melanie Pritchard, WGR's Howard Simon, former WIVB-TV personality Craig Nigrelli (now in Omaha), and Citadel Syndicated Midnight Radio Network Talk Host and former WBEN Talk Host Gary McNamara. A studio fire at the station's Niagara Falls headquarters in 1999 necessitated a move out of Niagara Falls to West Seneca. Until its closure, the station maintained a satellite studio in The Summit Park Mall in Wheatfield. In June 2009, WJJL's morning show started broadcasting from The Niagara Arts and Cultural Center.[3] In late 2010, the station moved into a new Southgate Plaza Location.
From 2000 to 2009, WJJL began broadcasting weekly games of the City of Buffalo Public School's Harvard Cup football league. These broadcasts featured Rich Kozak on play-by-play, Hall of Fame Coach Art Serotte, and sideline reporter Dr. John Pluta. The Harvard Cup championship was traditionally played on Thanksgiving. WJJL continues its weekly coverage of Western New York High School Football with the "Intense Milks" Game of the Week still focusing on the teams of the former Harvard Cup League. Kozak, Serotte, Pluta, and analyst Roger Weiss continue as part of the broadcast crew. Kozak will discontinue the project after the 2011 season, due to the discontinuation of the Buffalo Bills' sponsorship of the event.[4]
The station's owner is M.J. Phillips. A considerable amount of controversy arose in 2007, when a woman who identified herself as "Joann Nicola Lutz Distefano Phillips", an Internet troll who was known for her bizarre screeds on radio message boards,[5] claimed to be the owner of the station, as well as M.J.'s ex-wife, and tried to take over the station's license by filing a parallel license renewal listing herself as the station owner. The FCC rejected her claim to the station, just as they did in 2004 when she previously tried to file a license renewal. [6][7][8] She filed yet another attempt to take the station in 2011.
References [edit]
- ^ "WJJL Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Continelli, Louise (2009-05-24). "Talk show host likes to listen to callers". Buffalo News.
- ^ "Summit Mall Merchants Find New Homes".
- ^ McShea, Keith (October 12, 2011). City broadcasts, sadly, will be silenced. The Buffalo News. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- ^ Message board post by "Joann"
- ^ Fybush, Scott (2007-07-02). Emotional signoff for WBZ's Sullivan. NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved 2010-04-10.
- ^ FCC ruling on WJJL license renewal attempt by "Joann"
- ^ 2004 Dismissed license renewal application by "Joann"
External links [edit]
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WJJL
- Radio-Locator Information on WJJL
- Query Arbitron's AM station database for WJJL
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