WJFD-FM (97.3

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

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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 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 ...

to New Bedford, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Henry M. Arruda with the license held by WJFD-FM, Inc. Studio and offices are on Orchard Street in New Bedford. The

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

is located off Arcene Street in Fairhaven. WJFD-FM airs a

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and ...

music format. It is aimed at the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian and Cape Verdean communities in Southeastern

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

History

On February 22, 1949, the station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

as WBSM-FM. It was the FM counterpart to AM 1230 WBSM (now on AM 1420). WBSM-AM-FM were owned by the Bay State Broadcasting Company. At first, WBSM-FM

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

its AM sister station, but with a large Portuguese-speaking population in the region, many of whom came to Coastal New England to work in the fishing industry, management decided to devote WBSM-FM to Portuguese programming. In 1972, the call letters switched to WGCY. It was owned by Gray Communications, and continued its Portuguese pop music and talk. In 1975, local prosecutor and political leader

Edmund Dinis Edmund Dinis (October 4, 1924 – March 14, 2010) was an American politician from Massachusetts. He was born in the Azores, after his parents were already U.S. citizens. Massachusetts. His father Jacinto F. Diniz served in the Massachusetts Hou ...

, born in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

and of Portuguese descent, acquired the station. The station was assigned the WJFD-FM call sign by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

on December 1, 1980. Edmund Dinis wanted to honor his father by using his initials in the new call sign, Jacinto F. Diniz. (The father used a Z at the end of the family name, while Edmund used an S.) Edmund Dinis owned the station until his death on March 14, 2010, at age 85. On August 2, 2010, ownership of the station was transferred to Dinis' close friend and business partner, Henry M. Arruda. The station moved its studios and offices from an historical downtown location on Union Street, to the third floor of the Howland Place professional building in the south end of New Bedford shortly after. In 2015, WJFD-FM joined the iHeartRadio platform of streaming radio stations, becoming the first and only Portuguese language radio station in the U.S. to be offered. Over time, immigration from Portugal has dropped off, so many of WJFD-FM's newer listeners are of Portuguese-Brazilian-Cape Verdean-descent and non-Portuguese listeners. Beginning in 2018, they have also provided a live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest final, with commentary in English and Portuguese.

References

External links

WJFD-FM official website
* * * JFD-FM Portuguese-American culture in Massachusetts Portuguese-language radio stations in the United States New Bedford, Massachusetts Mass media in Bristol County, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1949 JFD-FM 1949 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-radio-station-stub