| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1240kHz |
| Branding | 1240 & 106.9 The Ticket |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Network | ABC News Radio |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio Michigan State Spartans Sports Network Detroit Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFMK,WITL-FM,WJIM-FM,WMMQ,WVFN | |
| History | |
First air date | August 22, 1934 (1934-08-22) |
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 | 890 watts |
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 (1240AM) is a commercialradio station licensed toLansing, Michigan. The station broadcasts asports format and is owned byTownsquare Media. Studios and offices are on Pinetree Road in Lansing.
Programming includes syndicated sports talk programs originating fromWXYT in Detroit branded asThe Ticket as well asESPN Radio programming nights and weekends.[2]
WJIM is aClass C station, powered at 890 watts non-directional. Programming is simulcast onFM translatorW295BP at 106.9MHz.
WJIM began airing a sports-talk format December 1, 2025 as an inaugural affiliate of theDetroit Sports Network. The network is a partnership betweenAudacy's 97.1WXYT-FM in Detroit and several Townsquare Media stations in Michigan including WJIM,WFGR in Grand Rapids,WKMI in Kalamazoo, andWBCK in Battle Creek.[3]
Some of the programming that used to be heard on WJIM prior toThe Ticket format has since been moved to sister stationWVFN including theconservative talk program "The Steve Gruber Show," and "Michigan's Big Show starringMichael Patrick Shiels".[4]
WJIM is the Lansing outlet forMichigan State University'sSpartan Sports Network, airing all MSU football and basketball games, as well as volleyball and hockey. It is not, however, theflagship station. That role belongs toWJR inDetroit.[5]
WJIM signed on the air on August 22, 1934. It broadcast on 1210 kHz with 250 watts daytime and 100 watts at night. WJIM was owned by Harold Gross and his company, Capital Broadcasting.[6] It is the oldest commercial station in Lansing. The capital's first radio station, WHW,[7] folded in 1923.[8]
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.[9] However, the station was never completed and the FCC deleted it a little over a year later in September 1942.[10]
In 1960, WJIM again got FCC permission to build an FM station that became 97.5WJIM-FM. After initially simulcasting 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 News network 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.[11]
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.[12] Liggett's stations were sold toCitadel Broadcasting in 2000, with Liggett becoming a member of Citadel's board of directors.[13]
Citadel was acquired byCumulus Media Cumulus Media in 2011.[14]
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare would acquire 53 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.[15][16] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[17]
Starting under Liggett's ownership, WJIM transitioned fromfull-service radio totalk radio, a format that would continue through the next three owners. The station was branded as "Lansing's Big Talker" and includednationally syndicated such asPaul Harvey,Rush Limbaugh, andSean Hannity.[18]
Under Cumulus ownership, WJIM dropped Hannity's show in 2013, in favor ofMichael Savage, part of a nationwide shakeup of talk stations owned by Cumulus.[19] Hannity was since picked up by competitorWILS in Lansing.
Following Rush Limbaugh's death in 2021, the station added the relatively new Markley, Van Camp & Robbins show fromCompass Media Networks to the 12-3pm time slot.[20]
Under the former news-talk format, WJIM also airedThe Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,The Mark Levin Show,The Joe Pags Show,Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb andRed Eye Radio. Weekends featured shows on money, health, religion, cars, travel and the outdoors. WJIM was anetwork affiliate ofABC News Radio.