WGMF (AM)

Last updated

WGMF
Simulcasting WGMM Tunkhannock
Broadcast area Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Frequency 750 kHz
BrandingGem 99 & 100
Programming
Format Classic hits
Affiliations Premiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
  • Kevin Fitzgerald and Benjamin Smith
  • (Geos Communications, LLC)
WGMA, WGMF-FM, WGMM
History
First air date
1984 (1984) (as WRGE)
Former call signs
  • WRGE (1984–1987)
  • WWAX (1987–1993)
  • WMXH (1993–1998)
  • WAAT (1998–2003)
  • WQOR (2003–2023)
Call sign meaning
"Queen of the Rosary" (previous format)
Technical information
Facility ID 8092
Class D
Power 1,600 watts day
Transmitter coordinates
 41°28′34″N75°29′41″W / 41.47611°N 75.49472°W / 41.47611; -75.49472
Translator(s) 98.9 W255BO (Scranton)
103.9 W280CV (Scranton Etc.)
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website gem104.com

WGMF (750 AM) is a classic hits radio station broadcasting from Olyphant, Pennsylvania, serving the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. WGMF covers much of northeastern Pennsylvania, including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Referred to as "Gem 99 and 100", WQOR is owned by Kevin Fitzgerald and Benjamin Smith, through licensee Geos Communications, LLC, owner of WGMM in Tunkhannock, WAZL in Nanticoke, and WGMF-FM in Dushore. WGMF broadcasts at 1.6 kilowatts during the daytime.

Contents

Because it shares the same frequency as "clear channel" station WSB in Atlanta, WGMF broadcasts only during the daytime hours.

History

WGMF began its broadcast history as WRGE in 1984.

In 1987, after three years as WRGE, WWAX began its six-year run. James Emmel, a former voice at WGBI, took the reins of WWAX "Live 75". Broadcasting a bizarre combination of favorites, WWAX had its home on Lackawanna Ave. in Olyphant, PA. [1]

In 1993, Carmen Nordone (C.V. Nordone Broadcasting) purchased 750 and WMXH took over with the slogan "Our Music Is All Mixed Up". WMXH proudly operated under a nearly unidentifiable format that included Broadway musicals, classic country, big band music, polka, 1950s and 1960s sock hop, and religious favorites.

Five years later in 1998, WMXH was purchased by Kevin Fennessy's Fennessy Broadcasting Stations Corporation to become WAAT, initially a leased-time and ethnic station. In 2001 Fennessy would change format with the addition of Dr. Laura Schlessinger and Sinatra in the mornings. [2] Earlier in his career, Fennessy had worked at WAAT (1300 AM) in Trenton, New Jersey. [3]

WQOR was inaugurated on June 17, 2003. The third station acquired by Buffalo-based Holy Family Communications, WQOR joined The Station of the Cross . Named for "The Queen of the Rosary", WQOR began broadcasting Catholic programming provided primarily by EWTN. On April 1, 2008, Holy Family Communications sold WQOR to J.M.J. Radio, a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA based non-profit broadcaster. [4]

On December 1, 2010, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Apparent Liability against J.M.J. Radio, Inc., in the amount of $10,000 for failing to maintain a management and staff presence at the site of WQOR's main studio. [5]

On February 12, 2023, WQOR changed its format from Catholic religious to classic hits, branded as "Gem 99 & 100", simulcasting WGMM. The "JMJ" Catholic programming moved to FM translator W283BE (104.5), which had previously been part of the "Gem" network, and the HD4 channel of WEZX. [6] Effective May 31, 2023, Geos Communications acquired WQOR, along with sister station WAZL and translator W261DQ, from J.M.J. Radio in exchange for W283BE. On November 5, 2023, the station changed its call sign to WGMF.

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References

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