WGTK-FM (94.5
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) is a
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 radi ...
licensed to serve
Greenville, South Carolina. WGTK-FM is currently owned by the
Salem Media Group
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...
, through licensee Caron Broadcasting, Inc.
History
Bob Jones University
, motto_lang = Latin
, mottoeng = We seek, we trust
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, type = Private university
, established =
, closed =
, f ...
applied for an AM license in May 1948, and WMUU went on the air on September 15, 1949, at 1260 AM, programming sacred and classical music, dramatic readings, and evangelical Christian preaching. The call letters stood for "World's Most Unusual University," an early promotional slogan of BJU.
Bob Jones, Sr., the founder of BJU, intended the station to operate independently by accepting advertising rather than being supported by the university, but he did not expect the station to make a profit.
The AM station eventually increased its power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts. An FM station was added on August 15, 1960; and in 1965, it became the second
stereo station in South Carolina. In 1963, WMUU-FM became the most powerful station in South Carolina, radiating 100,000 watts and increasing its listening radius from fifty to a hundred miles. Bob Jones University also bought WAVO in Atlanta but later sold it in order to focus its efforts on the Greenville station.
In 1973, the WMUU building on the BJU campus was demolished to build Founder's Memorial Amphitorium, completed in 1973. For several years, the studios were located in the FM transmitter building on
Paris Mountain. WMUU AM & FM eventually moved to 920
Wade Hampton Boulevard, and BJU transferred ownership of the station to the Gospel Fellowship Association, its missionary arm, headquartered in the same building. WMUU became an independent corporation, although it maintained a close relationship with BJU, and most of its employees were graduates.
Many faculty members in the university's Fine Arts division participated in the station's early operation. For the first year, Bob Pratt served as a temporary manager. He was succeeded by James Ryerson who was station manager for nearly three decades. Jim Dickson, who had earlier managed WAVO, became manager in 1979, and Paul Wright took his place in 1996.
Bob Jones University eventually made most of its beautiful and sacred music exclusive to WMUU-FM, using the AM station for preaching and some religious music. Late in the 20th century, WMUU-AM independently carried mostly religious programming, although it did some simulcasting with the FM station. In 2008, WMUU sold its AM station, which became
WPJF, a station with a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
format. Some of the programming heard on AM 1260 moved to WMUU-FM, airing late nights.
On August 24, 2012,
Bob Jones III announced the sale of the station to
Salem Communications
Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...
, co-founded by BJU graduate
Stuart Epperson, and the new owners introduced a conservative talk show format on December 3, 2012. The sale price listed with the FCC was $3 million ($1 million cash, $2 million in a promissory note). In 2013, the older religious and beautiful music format continued to be available via
internet streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
. On February 11, 2013, Salem Communications changed the call letters of the broadcast station to WGTK-FM.
HD radio
*WGTK's HD2 channel broadcasts a
Regional Mexican format branded as "Poder 102.9" (relayed on FM translator
W275BJ Greenville). Until May 2016, this format was Lite 102.9 on HD2.
*WGTK's HD3 channel broadcasts a
soft 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, quiet sto ...
format branded as "Lite-FM 96.9" (relayed on FM translator
W245CH Greenville), previously Poder 96.9 was on HD2. On November 6, 2017, WGTK-HD3 changed its format to gospel, branded as "Rejoice 96.9".
Salem Brings Rejoice to Greenville
Radioinsight - November 7, 2017
References
*Barbara Rumminger
"WMUU: Greenville's Unique Radio"
External links
Official website
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{{Salem Media Group
GTK-FM
Salem Media Group properties
1960 establishments in South Carolina
Radio stations established in 1960
Talk radio stations in the United States
Conservative talk radio