WJWZ, also known as 97.9 Jamz, is an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

formatted

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 ...

that serves the

Montgomery Metropolitan Area The Montgomery, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area (commonly known as the Tri-Counties or the River Region) is a metropolitan area in central Alabama. As of 2020, the MSA had a population of 386,047, ranking it 142nd among United States Metrop ...

, broadcasting on the FM band at a

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

of 97.9

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 ...

and licensed to

Wetumpka, Alabama Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the f ...

. The station is locally owned and operated by Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC. The station's

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 located in Montgomery. The station's studios are located on Wall St. in Midtown Montgomery. Local on-air personalities include Michelle C, Doughboy, and Frank White. WJWZ also participates in Montgomery rating survey by

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

(Market #150) and is monitored by

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

. It is the home of

Tom Joyner Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American retired radio host, former host of the nationally syndicated ''The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com. Early l ...

in the mornings as of October 2013, after crosstown urban

WWMG WWMG (97.1 FM) is an urban adult contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to Millbrook, Alabama, United States. The station is known as "Magic 97" and serves the Montgomery, Alabama, area. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and is on ...

dropped him for

Steve Harvey Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss U ...

. Joyner replaces

Russ Parr Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as ''Rock 'N' America''. Career Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV. Russ wa ...

after five years, whom in turn replaced

Doug Banks Calvin Douglas Banks Jr. (June 9, 1958 – April 11, 2016) was an American radio personality and host of The Doug Banks Radio Show. Career highlights The Philadelphia-born, Detroit-raised Banks began his radio career broadcasting on his high sc ...

on the station.

History

Vision Communications, Ltd. received the original

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 ...

to build a new 3,700

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 ...

FM station at 97.9

from 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 ...

on May 28, 1996. This construction permit was transferred from Vision Communications, Ltd. to Vision Communications, Ltd. II in April 1997. The new station was assigned the call letters WICE by the FCC on July 7, 1997. In April 1998, control of permit holder Vision Communications, Ltd. II was transferred from Philip L. Williams to Montgomery Broadcast Properties, Ltd. On April 4, 1998, the station applied to the FCC for program test authority which was finally granted on July 24, 1998. The station's call letters were changed to the current WJWZ on April 24, 1998. The transfer to Montgomery Broadcast Properties, Ltd., was approved by the FCC on June 19, 1998. In August 1998, Vision Communications, Ltd. II applied to assign the permit outright to Montgomery Broadcast Properties, Ltd. The transfer was approved by the FCC on September 16, 1998 and the transaction was consummated on September 22, 1998. WJWZ received its license to cover from the FCC on April 20, 1999. In March 2004, Montgomery Broadcast Properties Ltd. (Allan Stroh, CEO) reached an agreement to sell this station to Bluewater Broadcasting LLC. The sale was part of a multi-company four-station deal valued at a reported $15.3 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 21, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on June 21, 2004. At the time of the sale, WJWZ was broadcasting a Hip hop format.

Technical information

WJWZ broadcasts with a 5 kW

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle of ...

transmitter into a 2-Bay Shively Labs ''High-Power 6810'' non-directional antenna. While the station is non-directional, it must protect to the northeast per FCC rules section 73.215 (contour protection).

References

External links

WJWZ official website

WJWZ coverage map
*
Bluewater Broadcasting Company, LLC
{{Montgomery radio JWZ Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1998 Elmore County, Alabama 1998 establishments in Alabama