WTMJ (AM)
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| WTMJ (AM) | |
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| City of license | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
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| Branding | NewsRadio 620 WTMJ |
| Frequency | 620 kHz (AM) (Also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | May 1922 |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Power | 50,000 watts daytime 10,000 watts nighttime |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | The Milwaukee Journal (owner) |
| Owner | Journal Communications |
| Sister stations | WTMJ-TV, WKTI-FM |
| Website | 620wtmj.com |
WTMJ is an AM radio station that reaches much of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, as well as parts of northern Illinois and Indiana. WTMJ broadcasts on 620 AM. Today, it is a 50,000-watt news/talk/sports station and one of America’s largest and most successful radio stations[citation needed]. It is owned by Journal Broadcast Group, which also owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and sister station WKTI-FM.
Because of the station's wattage, WTMJ can be easily tuned in through most of the western Great Lakes region, as far east as Saginaw, Michigan. The station is also heard clearly in places such as Madison, Green Bay and Chicago.
[edit] History
In May 1922, The Milwaukee Journal sponsored its first radio program on Milwaukee's first radio station, WAAK, which was owned by the Gimbel Bros. Department Store. In April 1927, The Milwaukee Journal bought the radio station WKAF and built a new transmitter tower in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Then in June 1927, The FCC assigned the call letters WTMJ, to stand for The Milwaukee Journal.
On July 25, 1927, WTMJ Radio went on the air at 1020 AM as a way to sell newspapers. WTMJ's first broadcast featured music by the WTMJ Orchestra and included a remote broadcast featuring Bill Carlsen's orchestra. Carlsen was later hired by WTMJ and went on to become Wisconsin's most widely known radio and television weather forecaster.
In 1928, The FCC reassigned WTMJ to 620 AM. Some customers began encountering interference from other radio stations that shared close frequencies in other parts of the country. Engineers solved the problem by developing directional radio signals, a system that is still being used throughout the nation. In the daytime, WTMJ broadcasts at 50,000 watts, but decreases power to 10,000 watts after nightfall and broadcasts away from the Chicago metropolitan area (directional antennas in two [generally north] patterns for daytime and nighttime operation).
WTMJ aired a full service MOR format for most of its lifetime, which meant a mixture of news, music and talk shows. WTMJ has long had a heavy sports presence, and has been the flagship station for Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers games for most of the teams' histories. They are also the Milwaukee affiliate for Wisconsin Badgers football and Wisconsin Badgers Basketball. Around 1990, WTMJ, like many other AM full-service stations, shifted solely to news/talk. WTMJ is one of the few major AM stations to feature mostly local hosts, including John Jagler, Gene Mueller, Charlie Sykes, Jeff Wagner, Jonathan Green and Bill "The Big Unit" Michaels. Other local voices heard on the station include Phil "The Biggest Name In Milwaukee Radio" Cianciola, Jeff Falconio, Dan O'Donnell, Dick Alpert and former game show host Jim Peck. The station does have a few syndicated personalities such as Dennis Miller, Michael Savage and Laura Ingraham, though the former show airs in the late evening, and the latter two shows in the after-midnight hours. Consumer advocate Clark Howard's program airs for an hour on weekdays between Wagner and Green, with the other ten hours of the show during the week airing during weekend evenings. Some of WTMJ's talk programming reflects conservative values, though humor, lifestyle and sports talk continue to retain a strong presence on the station.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Journal Broadcast Group
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WTMJ
- Radio Locator Information on WTMJ
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