| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1320kHz |
| Branding | Romance Jax |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Oldies |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WEWC,WJXR,WNNR,WSOS-FM,WVOJ,WYKB | |
| History | |
First air date | July 23, 1940; 85 years ago (1940-07-23) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 1290 kHz (1940–1942) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 29736 |
| Class | D |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 30°19′43.86″N81°41′41.35″W / 30.3288500°N 81.6948194°W /30.3288500; -81.6948194 |
| Translators |
|
| Repeater | 105.3 WYKB-HD2 (Fernandina Beach) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | romancejax |
WJNJ (1320AM) is a broadcastradio station in the United States.Licensed toJacksonville, Florida and owned by Norsan Media, WJNJ has anoldies format in Spanish, specializing inromántica.
The station first signed on in 1940 as WJHP and had a variety of call signs and formats in its history. Its heyday was as country music station WVOJ from 1968 to 1984; WVOJ had strong local ratings in the 1970s. In 1984,Jacor purchased WVOJ and changed its call sign to WQIK.
Over 50 years as a music station ended in 1994, with changes of the call sign to WJGR and format to news/talk/sports. Among WJGR's local programming were a talk show hosted by former State RepresentativeAndy Johnson andFlorida State University andUniversity of North Florida basketball games. Throughout the 2000s, WJGR emphasizedconservative talk shows, with ownership changes toSalem Media Group in 2004 and Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting in 2006 and then a new call sign WBOB in 2007.
In 2010, WBOB was purchased by a Jacksonville church, which changed its call sign to the present WJNJ and format toChristian talk and teaching. WJNJ was sold to Norsan Media in 2023, followed by a format change to Spanish oldies in 2024.
The station was first licensed on July 23, 1940, as WJHP on 1290 kHz.[2] It was owned by The Metropolis Company and transmitted with a power output of 250 watts, and the call sign was derived from the initials of company president John H. Perry.[3] By 1941, WJHP was anNBC Blue Network affiliate.[4] Following theNARBA treaty, WJHP obtained aconstruction permit for the 1320 kHz frequency in March 1941, and the license was officially modified for the station to broadcast on 1320 beginning November 6, 1942.[2] WJHP increased its transmitting power to 5 kW in 1947.[2]
The station was transferred to theJacksonville Journal Company in 1952.[2] In 1957, the Jacksonville Journal Company sold WJHP to Radio Jax for $225,000.[5]
In 1957, WJHP's call sign changed to WZOK.[2] Part of theABC Radio Network, WZOK had aneasy listening format including jazz.[6][7][8]Radio Jax sold WZOK in 1961 for $300,000, to the Peninsular Life Broadcasting, majority owned by the Peninsular Life Insurance Company.[9]
On June 6, 1968, WJHP's call sign changed to WVOJ.[10] Four days later, Victory Broadcasting (later Gulf United) closed a $350,000 purchase of the station and changed it to acountry music format.[11][7] Its slogan was "The Voice of Jacksonville".[10] In February 1976, WVOJ changed its national news affiliation fromUPI toNBC.[12][10]
WVOJ was a popular station for much of the 1970s.[13][14] In the October/November 1970 Pulse ratings for Jacksonville, WVOJ led the 6 to 10 p.m. daypart.[15] It ranked eighth in the spring 1976Arbitron ratings with about 3,200 average listeners per 15 minutes and sixth in spring 1977 with 6,100 listeners.[16][17]
In 1977, Victory Broadcasting transferred the WVOJ license to WVOJ Inc.[2]In 1982, Gulf United sold WVOJ to Rowland Broadcasting for $600,000.[18] Rowland changed WVOJ's network affiliation from NBC toCBS in 1983.[19]
WVOJ was purchased byJacor on June 1, 1984 and changed its call sign to WQIK while keeping WVOJ's country format. WQIK also brought back the ABC network affiliation.[20]
On April 1, 1994, WQIK became WJGR.[21] The format also changed to news/talk/sports.[22][23] WJGR was branded "The Jaguar", based on theupcoming NFL expansion team.[24][25] Its sports programming included theAtlanta Braves Radio Network in 1994, but WJGR dropped the Braves after one season due to the high cost of media rights.[23]
WJGR addedThe Ron and Ron Show to morning drive in January 1995 afterWAIA removed the show from its schedule.[25]
In 1996, WJGR began carryingESPN Radio in evenings.[23] WJGR and other Jacor stations changed ownership toClear Channel Communications in 1998, following a merger of Jacor and Clear Channel.[26]With the slogan "talk radio with teeth" in 2000, WJGR had a showDown to Business hosted by former State RepresentativeAndy Johnson in addition to syndicated talk, sports programming, and national news fromABC News Radio andCNN Headline News.[27][28] WJGR also addedUniversity of North Florida men's basketball in 2000–01.[29][30]
By 2002, WJGR had the brand "Source 1320 WJGR" and began simulcastingWTEV's TV newscasts.[31]
Salem Media Group purchased WJGR in 2003.[32] Rebranding as "1320 the Patriot" in 2004, WJGR changed its schedule to include Salem's national networkconservative talk programming such asThe Hugh Hewitt Show.[33] WJGR also began joined the Seminole Radio Network in 2003 for broadcasts ofFlorida State University men's basketball games.[34]
Salem sold WJGR and two other Jacksonville stations to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting in 2006 for $2.8 million.[35] From 2006 to 2007, WJGR again broadcast Andy Johnson'sDown to Business talk show.[36] Chesapeake-Portsmouth changed the station's call sign from WJGR to WBOB on March 1, 2007, nearly a month after increasing its daytime power to 50 kW.[21][37] It also branded the station "Big Bob".[38]
In June 2007, WBOB signed a three-year contract to carry Georgia Network broadcasts ofUniversity of Georgia football games.[39]
Arbitron consistently ranked WBOB as the second lowest rated Jacksonville radio station from fall 2008 to summer 2009, with ratings from 0.6 (summer 2009) to 1.0 (winter 2008).[40]
In March 2010, New Covenant Ministries, a church based inSouth Jacksonville, filed an application with the FCC to buy WBOB.[41]
WBOB became WJNJ on May 3, 2010, and New Covenant Ministries changed WJNJ's format toChristian talk and teaching in the summer of 2010 with brand "Pure Radio".[21][42] WBOB's former programming moved toAM 1530 and then its current frequency ofAM 600 in 2010.[43] By December 2010, WJNJ had a 0.0 rating.[44]
Norsan Media purchased WJNJ from New Covenant Ministries for $700,000 in 2023, excluding theintellectual property of "Pure Radio".[45] In March 2024, Norsan changed WJNJ's format to Spanish-languageoldies focusing onromántica songs, with brand "Romance Jax"; WJNJ joined a cluster of other Spanish stations owned by Norsan.[46][45]
Since 2021, WJNJ has broadcast with 16 kW by day and 80 Watts at night from anon-directional antenna in the Mixon Town neighborhood.[21][47] From 1959 to 2021, WJNJ's transmitter was located on Ellis Road in southwest Jacksonville.[2][24]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W224EF | 92.7 FM | Orange Park, Florida | 202612 | 250 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 30°4′23.4″N81°47′26″W / 30.073167°N 81.79056°W /30.073167; -81.79056 (W224EF) | LMS |
| W279AG | 103.7 FM | Atlantic Beach, Florida | 76224 | 250 | 278 m (912 ft) | D | 30°16′51.9″N81°34′12.2″W / 30.281083°N 81.570056°W /30.281083; -81.570056 (W279AG) | LMS |