WJMP (Ohio)
| |
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Broadcast area | Akron metro area |
Frequency | 1520 kHz |
Programming | |
Format | Defunct |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | March 11, 1965 |
Last air date | July 31, 2016 |
Former call signs | WKNT (1964–1989) |
Call sign meaning | "Jump" |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 41075 |
Class | D |
Power | 1,000 watts (daytime) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°9′37″N 81°18′16″W / 41.16028°N 81.30444°W |
WJMP was a commercial daytime-only radio station licensed to Kent, Ohio, which operated at 1520 AM and served the Akron metro area. Owned by Media-Com, Inc. for much of its existence, the station broadcast from 1965 to 2016 as the AM adjunct to WNIR, which gradually assumed WKNT's more popular programs.
Subject to multiple format changes throughout the 1990s, 2000s and early 2010s, and garnering a Guinness World Record for playing Take Me Out to the Ball Game continuously as a stunt in 1994, WJMP ceased operations after the license was turned in to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for cancellation. WJMP's studios and transmitter were co-located with WNIR in Franklin Township and continue to house WNIR to the present day.
History
The station formally signed on March 11, 1965, as WKNT, owned by the publisher of the Kent Ravenna Record-Courier newspaper;[1] from the beginning, WKNT simulcast full-time with WKNT-FM (100.1), which had commenced operations three years earlier.[2] Both stations were purchased by Media-Com, Inc. in July 1971. For its entire existence, the station operated at a transmitter site in Franklin Township with a maximum power output of 1,000 watts, using a six-tower, daytime-only directional antenna pattern. Due to WINW in Canton, Ohio, operating at the same frequency within a distance of 22 miles (35 km) from WKNT, both stations were engineered to have their signals avoid overlap with each other, pushing WKNT's signal into the Akron metro area and limited coverage in parts of Greater Cleveland.[3][4]
Howie Chizek began his long career with WKNT and its FM successor on June 3, 1974, after previous stops at WBBW in Youngstown and at Ohio University's student-run radio station.[5] For much of the 1970s, Chizek hosted two daily programs: Buy, Sell, Swap and Trade in the late mornings, followed by The Howie Chizek Show, a phone-in talk radio show in the midday hours.[6] Stan Piatt also joined WKNT and WKNT-FM as morning host in 1978.[5] Programming on the two stations was split on August 4, 1980, when WKNT-FM became WNIR, maintaining the hybrid contemporary music/talk format, while WKNT converted to country music with Steve Cherry in mornings and Jerry Lee Goddard in afternoons.[7] Both Piatt and Chizek's programs were moved to WNIR; Chizek would remain at the station until his death on June 16, 2012.[8]
After years of declining ratings, two of WKNT's three announcers were fired in early September 1988, but management claimed the station would continue with the country format.
Despite those changes, WJMP failed to show in the local
WJMP changed to a standards format using the
WJMP permanently shut down operations on July 31, 2016. The next day, the station's license was returned to the FCC for cancellation.[21] The towers were later dismantled, and FM sister WNIR continues to broadcast from studios at this location today.
References
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Broadcasting. 1967. pp. B-125. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Broadcasting. 1963. pp. B-142. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (February 2, 2007). "More AMs in Canton, Akron and Kent, Ohio". www.fybush.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (January 31, 2007). "Art Deco Radio in Northeast Ohio". Radio World. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Sever, Mike (February 16, 2012). "WNIR celebrating 50 years on the air". The Record-Courier. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ "Chizek marking decade as host". Akron Beacon Journal. April 24, 1978. p. B18. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "WKNT Radio is switching format, letters". Akron Beacon Journal. July 25, 1980. p. C5. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
- ^ Dyer, Bob (September 11, 1988). "Lovett's backside is on the flip side". Akron Beacon Journal. p. D2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Dyer, Bob (November 6, 1988). "Two AM stations to change formats". Akron Beacon Journal. p. B2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Dyer, Bob (January 1, 1989). "Raunchy radio entry spells trouble in Kentucky". Akron Beacon Journal. p. F2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Dyer, Bob (February 16, 1989). "Listeners to vote on new call letters". Akron Beacon Journal. p. F2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Call Sign History for WJMP, from FCC's AM station database. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ^ Dyer, Bob (March 7, 1993). "News still bad for Channel 3". Akron Beacon Journal. p. D2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Radio station hipped to the strike in song". Akron Beacon Journal. August 25, 1994. p. C5. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Love, Steve (September 15, 1994). "Season may be over, but not the song". Akron Beacon Journal. pp. D1-D2. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Here's one for the books". Johns Hopkins Gazette. 24 (38). June 26, 1995.
- ^ Heldenfels, R.D. (April 28, 1995). "Some talk radio just too raucous for tender ears". Akron Beacon Journal. pp. E1-E4. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "'Music of Your Life' to begin on WJMP". Akron Beacon Journal. June 2, 2001. p. B6. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "Fox Sports Radio on WJMP in Akron". Akron Beacon Journal. July 6, 2005. p. C3. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Skall, Gregg P. (August 1, 2016). "Re: WJMP, Kent, Ohio, Facility ID 41075, Cancellation of License". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
External links
- FCC Station Search Details: DWJMP (Facility ID: 41075)
- FCC History Cards for WJMP (covering 1959-1979 as WKNT)