WJKR (103.9 FM) is a commercial

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 to

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...

, carrying a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

format known as "Country 103.9". Owned by the North American Broadcasting Company, Inc., WJKR serves the Columbus metro area. WJKR's studios and transmitter are both located in Columbus. In addition to a standard

analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an ana ...

, WJKR broadcasts over two

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

subchannels, and is available online.

History

Prior to this station's establishment, the 103.9 MHz frequency in the Columbus market was occupied by

WBBY-FM WBBY-FM was a radio station in Westerville, Ohio, United States. History On June 19, 1968, Mid-Ohio Communications was granted a construction permit for a new FM radio station on 103.9 FM in Westerville, which signed on May 5, 1969. It broadcas ...

, licensed to

Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. A northeastern suburb of Columbus, the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census. Westerville is the home of Otterbein University. Westerville was once known a ...

. WBBY fell silent on December 31, 1990, after it was found that the majority owner/station manager withheld details to the FCC about his level of involvement in a

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...

car dealership. WBBY-FM held a jazz format throughout most of its existence, a format eventually picked up by WZJZ and WSWZ.

Classic rock (1998-2004)

Signing on in 1998 and also initially licensed to Westerville, this station broadcast

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

music as WEGE "Eagle 103.9."

Adult hits (2004-2007)

It became WTDA ("Ted FM") in 2004 with an adult hits format similar to

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. Format c ...

, which was taking off across America. (The real Jack FM would later air on this frequency.) With the Ted FM format, WTDA used the slogan "We Play Anything." The station's call letters attempted to incorporate this "Ted FM" branding. In September 2005, the station's owners added the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

-based ''

Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Premier ...

'', which had been dropped by Clear Channel's WBWR.

Talk (2007-2009)

On January 8, 2007, WTDA rebranded itself as the first and only FM

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

station in Columbus. It picked up ''

The Glenn Beck Program ''Glenn'' (previously titled ''The Glenn Beck Program'') is a news talk and political opinion show on TheBlaze hosted by Glenn Beck. It is produced and recorded at TheBlaze studios in Dallas, TX. The show originally ran on CNN Headline News fr ...

'' after the show was dropped from

WTVN WTVN (610 AM) – branded as "News Radio 610 WTVN" – is a commercial talk radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves the Columbus metro area. The WTVN studios area located in Downtown Columbus, and its ...

. On September 8, 2007, the ''

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 1 ...

'' reported that WTDA had become the Columbus radio home of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team.

Classic hits (2009-2012)

On December 21, 2009, WTDA flipped to

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

and rebranded as "Classic Hits 103.9", using satellite programming from Dial Global's Classic Hits service. WTDA was one of four radio stations in the Columbus market to have a Classic Hits/Oldies format, joining Newark-based

WNKO WNKO (101.7 FM) is an American radio station located in New Albany, Ohio. WNKO plays classic hits and calls itself "KOOL 101.7". The station is locally owned and operated by the Runnymede Corporation. WNKO began operating in 1972 and is the sis ...

and the WNND/WNNP "Rewind 103.5/104.3" simulcast.

News (2012-2013)

On June 14, 2012, WTDA flipped to an

all-news All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

format, changing the call letters to WMNI-FM, simulcasting with

WMNI WMNI (920 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio, known as "Fox Sports 920" with a sports format. Locally owned by North American Broadcasting Company, Inc., WMNI serves the Columbus metropolitan area. WMNI's studios are ...

, which previously had an adult standards format. The simulcast ended on Thursday, July 18, 2013, when WMNI returned to the adult standards format. WMNI-FM kept the news format for a few more days.

Adult hits (2013-2022)

On July 24, 2013, WMNI-FM changed format to adult hits, subscribing to the

JACK FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. Format c ...

service. It rebranded as "103-9 Jack FM". The call letters were changed to WJKR the following day. The WJKR call sign was formerly used on 98.9 FM, which itself carried the "Jack FM" format in Columbus, and is now

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

WTOH WTOH (98.9 FM, "The Answer") is a conservative talk radio station serving the Greater Columbus area, currently owned by the Salem Media Group and licensed to Upper Arlington, Ohio. The station's studios are shared with sister station WRFD (880 ...

. WJKR changed its

city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broa ...

from

, to

, effective August 22, 2013.

Country (2022-present)

On April 15, 2022, at noon, WJKR flipped to 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, branded as "Country 103.9".

WJKR-HD2

On June 14, 2022, WJKR's HD2 subchannel switched from a simulcast of

920 AM (which flipped to sports) to an adult contemporary format, branded as "Star 95.1" (simulcast on translator W236CZ 95.1 FM Columbus).NABCO Launches Star 95.1 & Fox Sports 920 Columbus
Radioinsight - June 16, 2022

Translator

WJKR rebroadcasts its HD2 subchannel on the following translator:

Previous logo

References

External links

* * * {{Country Radio Stations in Ohio JKR Worthington, Ohio Radio stations established in 1998 Country radio stations in the United States 1998 establishments in Ohio