| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Putnam,Hancock and surrounding counties plus northern portion ofLima area. |
| Frequency | 88.9MHz |
| Branding | Holy Family Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian radio (Catholic) |
| Affiliations | EWTN |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Holy Family Communications |
| WOHA (for:OneHoly,Apostolic) | |
| History | |
First air date | July 26, 2010 |
Call sign meaning | WithJesus,TheAnswer |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 2,000watts |
| HAAT | 55.3 metres (181 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live from website |
| Website | Holy Family Radio.FM WJTA Facebook page |
WJTA "Holy Family Radio" (for: "Jesus, The Answer") is a non-commercialFM broadcasting station with its studio and office located inGlandorf, Ohio with transmitter located nearLeipsic in ruralPutnam County. WJTA airs programming from theEWTN Global Catholic Radio Network, and transmits at 88.9 mHz on the FM band. It is the first full-time Catholic radio station to come on the air in northwestern Ohio and within theToledo Diocese...the others beingWNOC "Annunciation Radio" licensed in Bowling Green and based in Toledo (with Sandusky sister stationWHRQ) andWRRO licensed in Edon serving the Bryan area and the corner of the Ohio, Indiana and Michigan state lines.
Aside fromWHJM "Radio Maria" licensed in Anna, Ohio, serving the northern portion of theCincinnati Archdiocese and the southern portion of the Lima area in west central Ohio, WJTA also simulcasts its programming for theLimaland area onWOHA at 94.9 mHz inAda in addition to live audiostreaming from its website...and its smartphone app.
Founder Tom Deitering was inspired by listening toEWTN's shortwave stationWEWN. He at first thought about purchasing a station of his own but the price was astronomical. After hearing of new frequency availabilities opening up between the non-commercial frequencies of 88.1 and 91.9 (after analog television transmissions were scheduled to end in February 2009) Deitering applied for a frequency in October 2007 and was granted the 88.9 frequency in September 2009. Afterwards Mr. and Mrs Deitering began a speaking tour of local Catholic parishes within the Toledo diocese asking for donations to help with starting up the new station. In June 2010 a tower was purchased and erected, and on-air testing began.
WJTA (while in its construction permit status) aired test transmissions for several hours daily to adjust its transmitter which began on June 9 through July, and is now airing Catholic programming 24/7 since its official sign-on which took place on July 26, 2010. Upon its official inaugural sign-on, WJTA began local Catholic programming in addition to national programming fromEWTN Radio. Its signal also reaches into neighboring Findlay to the east and the northern portion of the Lima area to the south on a standard FM car radio. WJTA is also known to be received in the communities of Delphos, Bluffton, Beaverdam, Paulding, Defiance and Napoleon while its Findlay FM translator (booster stationW204CU) was heard north of Bluffton in the Cory-Rawson area, neighboring Arlington, Mount Blanchard, Benton Ridge, North Baltimore and Vanlue.
Its simulcast sister 94.9WOHA (with its stronger 3,000-watt signal) now serves the greaterLimaland area including the community ofCarey, the location of theBasilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation.
A kick-off dinner for WTJA took place on August 1, 2010, at the Ottawa Knights of Columbus Hall. Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair among other guests introduced local and area listeners to the new station. WJTA's first website commenced streaming in early 2011, and they upgraded their domain in 2017.
WJTA's coverage area also complements the signals ofWVSG 820 AM in Columbus as "St. Gabriel Radio" in addition toWNOC 89.7 FM licensed to Bowling Green serving the Toledo area andWHRQ 88.1 in Sandusky serving the north-coast area as "Annunciation Radio" which also carry nearly all of the EWTN Radio schedule in their respective areas and frequencies and can be easily accessed by a car radio in northwestern and north central Ohio.
According to its official website, Holy Family Communications purchased stationWONB 94.9 mHz inAda on December 12 of 2019. The purchase of WONB was approved by the FCC on March 4, 2020. The station is a simulcast of WJTA for the greater Lima area.
A new callsign (WOHA) was also approved, and commenced simulcasting WJTA's programming on April 22, 2020. Ohio Northern University will continue to use the WONB callsign as an internet-based station and concentrates solely on webcasting.[1]
On August 10, 2022, Holy Family Radio moved its upgraded studio and office from its WJTA transmitter site near Leipsic to its permanent location in the former Glandorf school building (now the St. John the Baptist Parish Center) at 103 North Main St. in its community of license ofGlandorf, Ohio. The event was celebrated with a grand opening ceremony with Mary Ann Deitering cutting the ribbon followed by a fellowship dinner and open house for its listeners, underwriters, families and supporters.
Holy Family Radio's online audiostream can also be heard from its official website and via its mobile app for cellphones.
Plans are being made for additional full-power FM repeater stations (90.9 in Fostoria and 89.7 in Van Wert) pending FCC approval.
Tom Deitering died on Saturday, September 15, 2012, at St. Rita's Medical Center in Lima, Ohio, after several weeks of deteriorating health. A Mass of Christian Burial took place on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, at Holy Family Catholic Church located southwest of the WJTA transmitter site in the rural community of New Cleveland. He is interred in the church cemetery. His obituary can be foundhere.
Aside from being an affiliate ofEWTN Global Catholic Radio, WJTA also started producing and airing programs of local origin beginning in 2013.
...and on affiliates (partial listing) including:
and
In April 2014, WJTA's live studio was upgraded to newer equipment including a new audio console, telephone interface, microphones and a digital audio processor providing consistent clean modulated sound on the air and online along with EWTN programming now provided by a digital receiver replacing the satellite dish which was destroyed in a 2012 summerderecho storm.WJTA and simulcast sister WOHA also streams its audio by means of its own smartphone app.
In January 2017 WJTA began simulcasting for the Findlay area on FM translatorW256CJ at 99.1 mHz. This translator was previously used as a booster station forWBIE in Delphos which aired programming fromAmerican Family Radio.In April 2018, the Findlay translator moved to 88.7 mHz with the callsignW204CU (formerlyW257EF) with increased power to cover a wider area of Findlay and Hancock County.
W204CU was sold in June 2023 to a non-Catholic Christian broadcaster
The WJTA calls were previously used at another religious station at 91.7 FM in Kosciusko, Mississippi, from 1990 to 2008 (as "Assurance 91"...now defunct).
41°05′35″N84°01′30″W / 41.093°N 84.025°W /41.093; -84.025