WMPM (1270 AM) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...

station

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 ...

Smithfield, North Carolina Smithfield is a town in and the county seat of Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 10,966, and in 2019 the estimated population was 12,985. Smithfield is home to the Ava Gardner Museum and ...

. It airs an

urban oldies Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

and

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. WMPM is owned by Jimmy Johnson, through licensee Johnson Broadcast Ventures, Ltd. Its studios and offices are on Buffalo Road in Smithfield. By day, WMPM is powered at 5,000 watts non-directional. To protect other stations on

1270 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1270 kHz: 1270 AM is a Regional broadcast frequency. In Argentina * LRA20 in Las Lomitas * LS11 Provincia in La Plata, Buenos Aires In Canada * CJCB in Sydney, Nova Scotia - 10 kW, tr ...

from interference, at night it reduces power to 140 watts. Programming is also heard on 200-watt

FM translator 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 ...

W232DO at 94.3

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 ...

in Smithfield.

History

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 ...

the air in 1950. Originally it was a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

, required to go off the air at sunset. WMPM has been heavily focused on Johnston County and originally had a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format, with an occasional

Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

song thrown in every now and then. It was previously owned by broadcaster Carl Lamm, who held onto the station for nearly a half-century and later hosted a weekday afternoon show on

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

1090

WTSB WTSB (1090 AM) is a radio station licensed by the FCC to serve the community of Selma, North Carolina. The station is owned by Truth Broadcasting Corporation. The station is daytime and "critical hours" only on AM station and all day on W288DH- ...

Selma, North Carolina Selma is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. In 2010, the population was 6,073, and as of 2018 the estimated population was 6,913. Selma is part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area. The area has a populati ...

. In addition, Carl is a member of the North Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame. On November 1, 2007, the classic country and Southern gospel programming heard on 1270 moved down the dial to WTSB, another Johnston County station, which previously had an all-sports format. Beginning in 2009, WMPM began broadcasting

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

, billing itself as "The New 1270 WMPM, Johnston County's Christian Radio.". The station signed off and went silent on February 28, 2019, following the owner's retirement. Effective December 6, 2019, Carl Lamm sold WMPM and translator W232DO to Jimmy Johnson's Johnson Broadcast Ventures, Ltd. for $155,000. Johnson put the station back on the air with an

and

format.

References

External links

1950 establishments in North Carolina CPS Gospel radio stations in the United States Johnston County, North Carolina Radio stations established in 1950 MPM Urban oldies radio stations in the United States {{NorthCarolina-radio-station-stub