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| Broadcast area | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Frequency | 98.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Jammin' 98.3 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WHQG,WJOI,WKLH,WRXS | |
| History | |
First air date | July 30, 1966 (1966-07-30) (as WZMF) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Jammin' R&B" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 26222 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 4,900watts |
| HAAT | 111 meters (364 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°02′49″N87°58′52″W / 43.047°N 87.981°W /43.047; -87.981 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | jammin983 |
WJMR-FM (98.3MHz) is anurban adult contemporaryradio station serving theMilwaukee, Wisconsin, area. They are known on-air as"Jammin' 98.3", and arelicensed toMenomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Under ownership of Saga Communications, its studios (which are shared with the other four stations in Saga's Milwaukee Radio Group) and transmitter are located in Milwaukee's West Side.
The 98.3 frequency was home for many years to WZMF, which signed on the air in July 1966. At its inception, the station aired aMOR format. WZMF was located in a small house on Shady Lane in Menomonee Falls.
WZMF's pop music programming eventually became more experimental, and the station evolved into afreeformprogressive rock format by October 1968, one of the first stations to do so in the midwest. The station was moderately successful with the format for the next eleven years. In 1971, rivalWTOS was sold to Sudbrink Broadcasting and abandonedProgressive Rock forBeautiful Music. WZMF then was competitive with leading rockerWQFM. WhenWISN-FM switched frombeautiful music to rock as WLPX in 1978, immediately becoming a ratings success, WZMF began to tighten their format, amid protests from the station's on-air staff, and ratings dropped.[2]
WZMF went silent on March 23, 1979, after playing its last three songs: "Not to Touch the Earth" byThe Doors, "American Pie" byDon McLean, and theNational Anthem byJimi Hendrix. The station was then sold to Goetz Broadcasting, and returned to the air in May 1979 with aneasy listening format as WXJY (Joy FM 98). In 1983, it became home toWFMR and itsclassical music format.
WJMR started out on106.9 FM as WMJO, playing aJammin' Oldies format.Chancellor Broadcasting owned the trademark for the phrase"Jammin' Oldies", so the station was referred to as "Jammin' Hits" and the call letters (which stood for "Milwaukee's Jammin' Oldies") were changed to WJMR, and the station was known as"Jammin' 106.9".
The station stayed at 106.9 FM until December 12, 2000, when current owner Saga Communications moved WJMR's format and call letters to 98.3 in a swap with WFMR. This was done primarily to put WJMR's on a signal that more effectively covered the urban areas of Milwaukee, and to target WFMR toward the western and northern suburbs. Soon after WJMR moved to 98.3, the"Jammin' Oldies" trend was winding down, and the station tweaked its format tourban adult contemporary, a format it retains to this day. The station still refers to itself as"Jammin' 98.3", and has had success with its format since moving to the new frequency. The station is a probable rival toWKKV-FM, though the station's focus on an older audience and type of music means their formats rarely clash.