WEMK

Last updated

WEMK
Broadcast area Greater Milwaukee
Frequency 1460 kHz
Branding102.5 The Family
Programming
Format Christian contemporary music
Ownership
OwnerThe Family Radio Network, Inc.
History
First air date
June 4, 1950;74 years ago (1950-06-04) (as WRAC)
Former call signs
WRAC (1950–1975)
WRKR (1975–1979)
WWEG (1979–1983)
WRKR (1983–1987)
WBZN (1987–1991)
WKKV (1991–1993)
WBJX (1993–2007)
WBJX (2007–2024)
Call sign meaning
Evangel Ministries of Milwaukee
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 68759
Class B
Power
  • 1,000 watts day
  • 240 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
 43°0′32.05″N88°2′6.32″W / 43.0089028°N 88.0350889°W / 43.0089028; -88.0350889
Repeater(s) 102.5 W273DQ (Milwaukee)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website thefamily.net/Milwaukee/

WEMK (1460 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to West Allis, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee radio market. Owned by Evangel Ministries under its subsidiary The Family Radio Network, Inc, the station carries Christian contemporary music as part of a statewide network of stations. [2]

Contents

By day, WEMK is powered at 1,000 watts. But to protect other stations on 1460 AM from interference, it reduces power at night to 240 watts. Programming is also heard on FM translator W273DQ at 102.5 MHz.

History

The station signed on the air on June 4, 1950, as WRAC in Racine. The owner of the station purchased another Racine station, WRJN-FM in 1969, changing it to WRAC-FM. A year later, the FM station flipped to a rock-leaning top 40 format as WRKR, and in 1975, WRAC adopted that call sign, simulcasting WRAC-FM. [3] It was also for a brief time WWEG ("The Country Egg") before returning to WRKR and again simulcasting the FM signal. Later, there was a short lived Spanish format.

The station switched calls to WBZN on October 14, 1987, simulcasting its sister station’s new smooth jazz format. Both stations flipped to urban contemporary in June 1991, becoming WKKV. The AM station broke away from the simulcast in November 1993, flipping to a Spanish-language format as WBJX. In 2007, the station moved to the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis and changed its call sign to WJTI. [4]

On December 17, 2021, WJTI began stunting with Christmas music and launched a simulcast on new translator W273DQ (102.5 FM). The previous Regional Mexican format continues through former translator 97.9 W250BN, which is now fed via the HD3 sub-channel of WMYX-FM. On December 26, 2021, WJTI and W273BQ flipped to a smooth jazz format as "102.5 FM". [5]

Translators

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W)Transmitter coordinatesFCC info
W273DQ102.5 FM Milwaukee, Wisconsin 20288799 43°2′18.5″N87°54′8.4″W / 43.038472°N 87.902333°W / 43.038472; -87.902333 (W273DQ) LMS

The sale of translator station W250BN to El Sol was completed in May 2014, with El Sol beginning to simulcast WJTI upon it over that month's Memorial Day weekend. Previously the station had independently been a translator of Wisconsin Public Radio's Ideas Network via WHAD (90.7) under the ownership of "Radio Power, Inc.", which moved the translator over the years up the Rock Freeway corridor from Beloit in an attempt to move it to Milwaukee in order to likely present a ready-made signal for a commercial operation to broadcast an HD Radio subchannel or AM signal over. The moves were questioned by the Federal Communications Commission, with a denial of a construction permit to the MPTV Tower in the Shorewood tower farm and an inquiry to Radio Power on their motives before the purchase by El Sol. [6] [7] Radio Power eventually was approved to transmit from the Hilton Milwaukee City Center tower in the downtown area, which is closer to the core Latino-American neighborhoods on Milwaukee's south side which WJTI serves than the Shorewood site. On December 17. 2021, WJTI signed on translator station 102.5 W273DQ, which serves the Milwaukee market.

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References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WEMK". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "WJTI Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ "Stations to simulcast programs". The Journal Times. Racine, Wisconsin. January 21, 1975. p. 6B. Retrieved April 26, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "WJTI Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. ↑ WJTI Brings Smooth Jazz Back to Milwaukee
  6. ↑ "getimportletter_exh.cgi". Federal Communications Commission. November 1, 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Media Bureau is investigating potential statutory and rule violations and related instances of potential misrepresentation and/or lack of candor on the part of Radio Power, Inc. (the "Licensee")" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission Letter to Radio Power, Inc. February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
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