WJLG (900 AM) was 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 radio ...

broadcasting a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

format. Licensed to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States, the station served the Savannah area. The station was last owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

and featured programming from

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

and

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...

. Its studios were located on Television Circle in Savannah; its transmitter was located east of historic downtown at the interchange of President Street and Harry S. Truman Parkway.

History

The station went on the air as WJIV in 1950 as an R&B station. Upon changing to a country music format, WJIV changed its

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 ...

to WEAS in 1962, after co-owned WEAS in Decatur, Georgia took the new call WGUN. (Decatur is the home of two colleges,

Emory Emory may refer to: Places * Emory, Texas, U.S. * Emory (crater), on the moon * Emory Peak, in Texas, U.S. * Emory River, in Tennessee, U.S. Education * Emory and Henry College, or simply Emory, in Emory, Virginia, U.S. * Emory University ...

and

Agnes Scott Agnes Scott College is a private women's liberal arts college in Decatur, Georgia. The college enrolls approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and is considered one of ...

, hence the WEAS call). At this time the station operated with 5,000 watts daytime from a transmitter site on Hutchinson Island in the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

. It changed call letters to WWJD on October 24, 1983, changed back to WEAS on June 28, 1987, then on October 26, 1998 changed to WJLG. WJIV was involved in a long-running battle with WSAV for a grant for television channel 3 in Savannah. It appeared that the Rivers' family political connections would have the license granted to WJIV, but, in the end, WSAV won out and became Savannah's second TV station (after

WTOC-TV WTOC-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Savannah, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Chatham Center Drive in Savannah's Chatham Parkway section, and its transmi ...

). In 1961, the transmitting antenna was damaged in a storm and for several years resulted in a weak signal. A new tower, to also support the new

WEAS-FM WEAS-FM is a mainstream urban radio station licensed to Springfield, Georgia, but serving the Savannah Area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on Television Circle in Savannah and utilizes a transmitter located west ...

antenna, improved coverage. A relocation of the transmitter, site to allow for development of a hotel and golf course, caused the station to reduce power from 5,000 watts to 4,350 watts. As WJLG, the transmitter was damaged by a lightning storm in July 2020, resulting in a temporary power reduction to 200 watts; sister station

WBMQ WBMQ (630 kHz) was a commercial AM radio station in Savannah, Georgia. It was owned by Cumulus Media and aired a news/talk format. The studios and offices were on Television Circle in Savannah. The transmitter was off Dulany Avenue near the Sava ...

(the former WSAV), which operated from the same site, was forced off the air entirely. That October 9, Cumulus elected to return both station's licenses to 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 jurisdiction ...

(FCC) instead of making repairs; the surrender also invalidated a

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

for an FM

translator station 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 ...

, W289CL (105.7), to relay WJLG. The station licenses were cancelled on October 13, 2020.

References

External links

FCC Station Search Details: DWJLG
(Facility ID: 71365)
FCC History Cards for WJLG
(covering as 1949-1981 as WJIV / WEAS) {{Sports Radio Stations in Georgia JLG Radio stations established in 1950 Radio stations disestablished in 2020 1950 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2020 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct radio stations in the United States JLG