WGBJ (102.3 FM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Auburn, Indiana Auburn is a city in DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,820 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1836 by Wesley Park (1811–1868), the city is the county seat of DeKalb County. Auburn is also known as Home of the Classics. Hi ...

, and serving the

Fort Wayne metropolitan area , the Fort Wayne–Huntington–Auburn Combined Statistical Area (CSA), or Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area, or Northeast Indiana is a federally designated United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area consisting of eight counties in nor ...

. It is owned by

Sarkes Tarzian Sarkes Tarzian (October 5, 1900 – October 7, 1987) was an Ottoman-born American engineer, inventor, and broadcaster. He was ethnic Armenian born in the Ottoman Empire. He and his family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in ...

and it broadcasts an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

, known as "Alt 102.3." The studios and offices are on West Berry Street in Fort Wayne. WGBJ has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

of 6,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is on Quincy Street in

Altona, Indiana Altona is a town in Keyser Township, DeKalb County, Indiana, United States. The population was 197 at the 2010 census. History Incorporated in 1906. A post office was established at Altona in 1874, and remained in operation until it was disconti ...

, about 30 miles north of Fort Wayne. Programming is also heard on 115-watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W258BY at 99.5 MHz in Fort Wayne. The translator helps listeners in Fort Wayne who might have trouble receiving the 102.3 signal.

History

Country, AC and Modern Rock

102.3 FM signed on as WGTB in 1993, and aired a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. This lasted until January 1994, when it flipped to

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

. It would switch flip back to country, and then to adult standards. In early 1999, the station flipped to

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

/ CHR as "Z102.3", WCKZ. In March 2001, WCKZ became WEJE, taking the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

and

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

format of the former "Extreme 96.3," which changed to a country format. (96.3 has gone through several other changes since and is now

WXKE WXKE (96.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Churubusco, Indiana and serving the nearby Fort Wayne, Indiana area. The station airs a classic rock format. History 96.3 FM began operations as WKQM in April 1994, featuring an easy listening/ adul ...

Regional Mexican and Top 40

In September 2001, the station rebranded as "X102.3," with new call letters WXTW assigned shortly afterward. Following a sale from Summit City Radio Group to Three Amigos Broadcasting, WXTW adopted a

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...

format as "Mega 102.3" at Midnight on September 1, 2006. On September 21, 2009, the station adopted the slogan "Power 102.3" and flipped from Regional Mexican to a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

format. This move returned Top 40 hits to the Fort Wayne radio market. On February 2, 2010, the station changed its moniker to "The Killer B102.3." In the late hours of Saturday, April 3,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, WGBJ again changed formats from Top 40/CHR back to a Spanish contemporary format and started once again calling itself "Power 102.3". The top 40 format remained absent in the Fort Wayne area until

WJFX WJFX (107.9 FM) is a Top 40 radio station located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is owned and operated by Adams Radio Group, LLC. WJFX broadcasts three channels in the HD digital format. History The station was an urban contemporary formatted r ...

flipped to Contemporary Hits in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Alternative Rock

On January 9, 2019,

, Inc. acquired that station for $515,000 and flipped it to a simulcast of WAJI-HD2 which was carrying an

format. Programming is also heard on FM translator W258BY at 99.5 FM in Fort Wayne. The two stations are now branded as, ALT 99.5 & 102.3. On June 20, 2019, WGBJ rebranded as "Alt 102.3" as the 99.5 translator changed to a CHR format as "99.5 The Twenty-FM". On September 8, 2022 at noon, WGBJ readded FM translator W258BY, which returned to simulcasting WGBJ. (The "Twenty" format continues online and on WAJI-HD3.) WGBY and W258BY returned to the brand "ALT 99.5 & 102.3".

Previous logos

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 41.352, N, 85.165, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title GBJ Radio stations established in 1993 1993 establishments in Indiana Alternative rock radio stations in the United States