 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
| Frequency | 1540kHz |
| Branding | AM 1540 The Word |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian talk and teaching |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Wilkins Broadcasting LLC |
| History | |
First air date | July 11, 1947; 77 years ago (July 11, 1947) (as WJMJ) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "New World Radio" (previous format and owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1027 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 40°2′46.4″N75°14′7.65″W / 40.046222°N 75.2354583°W /40.046222; -75.2354583 |
| Translator(s) | 95.3 W237EH (Pennsauken, New Jersey) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WNWR (1540AM) is acommercial radio station inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts aChristian talk and teaching format and is owned by Wilkins Broadcasting LLC. Program hosts includeJim Daly,John MacArthur,Greg Laurie andCharles Capps. The studios are at 200 Monument Road, Suite 6, inBala Cynwyd.
By day, WNWR is powered at 50,000 watts,non-directional.[2] As1540 AM is aclear channel frequency, to protect other stations from interference, at night it reduces power to 250 watts. Thetransmitter is in theBelmont Village neighborhood of Philadelphia, off Conshohocken Avenue.[3] Programming is also heard on 250-wattFM translatorW237EH at 95.3MHz inPennsauken, New Jersey.[4]
The station firstsigned on the air on July 11, 1947.[5] Itscall sign was WJMJ which stood for "Jesus, Mary, Joseph". The station broadcastmiddle-of-the-road music andreligious programming. It was owned by Patrick Joseph Stanton and had its offices and studios in theSt. James Hotel.
WJMJ was adaytimer, powered at 1,000 watts and forced tosign-off at sunset to avoid interfering with other stations on 1540 kHz. In the late 1950s, the station got a boost to 50,000 watts, but it still had to stay off the air at night.[6] One of the programs carried on WJMJ in the 1950s wasGeorge A. Palmer's popularMorning Cheer daily broadcast.[7]
In 1965 it was acquired by theRust Craft Greeting Card Company, which changed the call letters to WRCP (for "Rust Craft Philadelphia").[8] In 1967, Rust Craft changed the sound tocountry music, a format not found on the Philadelphia radio dial.
In 1981, afterWFIL also adopted a country format, WRCP switched tooldies. Later in 1985, the call sign was changed to WSNI to matchsister station 104.5 WSNI-FM (nowWRFF). For a time, the AM station broadcast an all-Beatles-and-Motown format. After two years, a more conventionaloldies mix returned and the station became WPGR ("Philly Gold Radio").
In 1995, the station was sold to new owners operating as Global Radio LLC, becoming WNWR.[9] The call letters stood for "New World Radio". It switched to mostly ethnicbrokered programming, where show hosts bought time on the station and sold advertising in their communities to pay for their broadcasts.
On June 13, 2011, WNWR's entire brokered program schedule moved toWWDB.[10] The station was then leased to broadcastChina Radio International.[11] Several years later, WNWR got authorization from theFederal Communications Commission to stay on the air around the clock with low power at night. WNWR went off the air and was listed assilent since June 14, 2018. As of Saturday November 17, 2018, WNWR returned on the air broadcasting aSpanish language format. On December 8, 2019, however, it was on the FCC's Silent AM Stations List.[12]
As of April 27, 2021, WNWR returned to the airwaves with 1,000 watts of power during the day and 7 watts at night according to station engineer Dana Puopolo. By then, the station was owned by Aztec Capital Partners and wassimulcastingWHAT 1340 AM, airing Latin hit music.[13]
In 2023, the station was sold to Wilkins Broadcasting LLC, which owns dozens ofChristian talk and teaching stations around the U.S. WNWR returned to its beginning roots with a religious format, broadcasting as "1540 The Word". The call sign's meaning was repurposed as "New Word Radio", with "Word" as a synonym for "The Bible".
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W237EH | 95.3 FM | Pennsauken, New Jersey | 141664 | 250 | D | 39°55′34.6″N75°3′11.1″W / 39.926278°N 75.053083°W /39.926278; -75.053083 (W237EH) | LMS |
