WJYJ (88.1 FM) 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 ...

broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

, United States, the station is currently owned by Positive Alternative Radio, Inc. The station uses the identifier of "Joy FM". It has a number of repeater frequencies located as far north as Kentucky.

History

This station signed on in

Claremont, North Carolina Claremont is a city in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,352 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Originally known as Charlotte Crossin ...

on November 19, 1984 as WUDD, later on December 27, of that same year, 1984, they changed to WPAR, with a Contemporary Christian music format. In 1989, Don Lee was general manager of WPAR and WCXN, which played Southern gospel music. In August 1993, DJ and area minister Robert Barnette was one of the top five DJs at medium-market Southern gospel stations, according to '' The Singing News Magazine'', and he was up for top DJ nationwide. At the time, WPAR sponsored gospel singing evenings which sold out. In 1999 and 2000, Joy FM of Winston-Salem, also heard on

WXRI WXRI (91.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel format. Licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, the station serves the Piedmont Triad area. The station is currently owned by Positive Alternative Radio and fea ...

and WTJY, was named National Southern Gospel Station of the Year by the

Southern Gospel Music Association The Southern Gospel Music Association (''SGMA'') is a non-profit corporation formed as an association of southern gospel music singers, songwriters, fans, and industry workers. Membership is acquired and maintained through payment of annual dues. T ...

."Business Milestones," ''Winston-Salem Journal'', June 5, 2000. On February 13, 2018, Baker Family Stations and Positive Alternative Radio swapped the long-time callsign for their Fredericksburg, VA station, WJYJ, with the callsign for their Hickory, NC station, WPIR.

References

External links

Joy FM's Official Website
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JYJ JYJ (formerly known as Junsu/Jejung/Yuchun in Japan) is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 by Kim Junsu, Kim Jae-joong, and Park Yoo-chun, the three former members of TVXQ. Their group name is taken from the initial letters of each member's n ...

Southern Gospel radio stations in the United States

{{NorthCarolina-radio-station-stub