| Broadcast area | Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1240kHz |
| Branding | 1240 & 106.9 WJIM |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | ABC News Radio |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Westwood One Michigan State Spartans Sports Network Michigan Talk Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFMK,WITL-FM,WJIM-FM,WMMQ,WVFN | |
| History | |
First air date | August 22, 1934; 91 years ago (1934-08-22) (at 1210) |
Former frequencies | 1210 kHz (1934–1941) |
Call sign meaning | JIM Gross, son of original owner Harold Gross |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 17382 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 890watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°43′12″N84°31′11″W / 42.72000°N 84.51972°W /42.72000; -84.51972 |
| Translator | 106.9 W295BP (Haslett) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wjimam.com |
WJIM (1240kHz) is acommercialAMradio station licensed toLansing, Michigan. It is owned byTownsquare Media and broadcasts anews/talkformat. It is also theflagship station of theMichigan Talk Network.Studios and offices are on Pinetree Road in Lansing.
WJIM is aClass C station, powered at 890wattsnon-directional. Programming issimulcast onFM translatorW295BP at 106.9MHz.
Weekdays begin with "The Steve Gruber Show," heard on WJIM since March 2012 and also airing on other stations around the state via the Michigan Talk Network. Late mornings feature "Michigan's Big Show starringMichael Patrick Shiels". The rest of the schedule is made up ofnationally syndicated talk shows, includeThe Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,The Mark Levin Show,The Joe Pags Show, Markley, Van Camp & Robbins,Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb andRed Eye Radio.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, religion, cars, travel and the outdoors. WJIM is anetwork affiliate ofABC News Radio. WJIM is the Lansing outlet forMichigan State University'sSpartan Sports Network, airing all MSU football and basketball games. It is not, however, theflagship station. That role belongs toWJR inDetroit.[2]
WJIMsigned on the air on August 22, 1934; 91 years ago (1934-08-22). It broadcast on 1210 kHz with 250watts daytime and 100 watts at night. WJIM was owned by Harold Gross and his company, Capital Broadcasting.[3] It is the oldest commercial station in Lansing. The capital's first radio station, WHW,[4] folded in 1923.[5]
According to local legend, Gross won the license, the oldest continually operated commercial license in Lansing, in a card game. He named the station after his son Jim, who would become the station's general manager from the 1960s through the sale of the station.
In 1941, as part of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), WJIM moved to 1240 kHz with 250 watts. That year, many AM station were required to change their frequencies.
In July 1941, WJIM was issued anFCCconstruction permit for a new commercial FM station with thecall sign W77XL.[6] However, the station was never completed and the FCC deleted it a little over a year later in September 1942.[7]
In 1960, WJIM again got FCC permission to build an FM station. That became 97.5WJIM-FM. After initiallysimulcasting programming from AM 1240, WJIM-FM switched tobeautiful music and is today aTop 40 station.
From the 1950s through the 80s, WJIM had afull servicemiddle of the road format and was anNBC Radio Newsnetwork affiliate. But as music listening shifted to FM radio in the 1980s, WJIM added more talk shows, includingNBC Talknet. In the 1990s, it made the transition to all talk programming.[8]
One of WJIM's hallmarks for most of its existence was extensive news coverage. It spawned Lansing's first television station, WJIM-TV (channel 6, nowWLNS-TV) in 1950. The two stations combined forces to cover Central Michigan news. In recent years, following the sale toCumulus and then Townsquare, the station's news department was eliminated. The station now only airs syndicated state and national newscasts, leaving competitor 1320WILS as the only remaining radio station in the market covering local news.
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WJIM was sold in March 1993 toLiggett Broadcasting.[9] On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare would acquire 53Cumulus Media stations, including WJIM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition ofDial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled byOaktree Capital Management.[10][11] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[12]