WGYM (1580 kHz) is a non-commercial AM

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

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

format aimed at

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

listeners. The station is

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 ...

Hammonton, New Jersey Hammonton is a town in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that has been referred to as the "Blueberry Capital of the World". As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 14,711, a decline of 80 from the 2010 census coun ...

, and serves parts of

Atlantic County Atlantic County is a County (United States), county located along the southern coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the county had a population of 274,534.

and Camden County. The station is owned by the Domestic Church Media Foundation, which also owns two other stations, also in New Jersey,

WFJS WFJS (1260 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a religious radio format, focusing on the Catholic Church and carrying EWTN Radio Network programs. The station is owned by the Domestic Church Media Foundation, a Catholic-based organization in Tre ...

Trenton and WFJS-FM

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

. All three broadcast Catholic programming, mostly supplied by the EWTN Radio Network. WGYM operates at 1,000

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 ...

s by day from a

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

located off Grand Street South. Because AM 1580 is a clear channel frequency reserved for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, WGYM must reduce power to 6 watts at night, when AM radio waves travel farther.

History

The station went on the air as WNJH on May 11, 1961. It was originally owned by the Harrell Trucking Company of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1967 the station was purchased by Hammonton resident and local radio veteran Jim Rodio. By late 1971 the

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 assign ...

had been changed to WRDI. Soon after Rodio launched FM station 104.9 WRDR (today

WSJO WSJO (104.9 FM, "SoJO 104.9") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. The station is owned by Townsquare Media, through licensee Townsquare License, LLC, and broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format. WSJO broad ...

), which was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

with the AM station at times. Rodio sold the AM station and the call letters were changed to WTYO on December 31, 1981. WTYO played

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

and was affiliated with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Radio. The station was eventually sold to The Green Group, based in

Linwood, New Jersey Linwood is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 7,092,WOND WOND (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pleasantville, New Jersey, and serving the Atlantic City radio market. It is owned by Longport Media and broadcasts a news/talk radio format. The radio studios and offices are located of ...

. On March 22, 2001 the station assumed the WGYM call sign that had been used by The Green Group's station on 1490 AM in Pleasantville and began running ESPN Radio sports programming that had been airing on 1490. On February 22, 2002, the station dropped the ESPN programming and resumed simulcasting WOND. In the 2000s The Green Group's southern New Jersey stations were sold to Access.1 Communications Corporation. A subsequent resale of the radio group did not include WGYM; however, the owners of the ex-Green stations continued to provide programming to the Hammonton station. In 2010, the station switched to a simulcast of 1490, now renamed WBSS. As of August 12, 2011, WGYM was once again simulcasting WOND. On March 19, 2014, WGYM split from its simulcast with WOND and switched to a Spanish-language format. In January 2016, WGYM switched to a Catholic-based religious format when it was acquired by the Domestic Church Media Foundation.

References

External links

Hammonton, New Jersey

GYM A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...

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