KWJJ-FM (99.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. It is owned by

Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

and airs a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The studio is on SW Bancroft Street, near

downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

. The station

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is atop Portland's West Hills, off SW Fairmount Court.

History

Beautiful music KJIB

The station signed on the air on September 16, 1968, as KJIB. It was a stand-alone FM station, not attached to an AM station. KJIB was owned by Contemporary FM, Inc., with Bernard D. Seitz serving as owner and general manager. It aired a beautiful music format featuring mostly instrumental

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of popular songs along with Broadway and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

showtunes. The

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

referred to "

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its forward corner (tack) is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main ty ...

," a sail used on sail boats. In 1974, KJIB was acquired by Park Communications, which owned other

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

stations around the country. A year earlier, Park bought KWJJ (AM 1080), a longtime Portland

station. For the first years of Park ownership, KJIB remained easy listening and KWJJ remained country.

Switch to country

In the late 1970s, Park moved KJIB from mainstream easy listening to a new format known as "Beautiful Country." The sound was soft, but used instrumental cover versions of country songs, rather than pop songs. KJIB switched to a conventional country format in the early 1980s. The FM station played mostly contemporary country hits with only a small amount of DJ chatter, while the AM station continued as a personality-oriented country outlet, going back several decades for its

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

of country tunes. On August 19, 1985, KJIB changed its

to the current KWJJ-FM. The two stations

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the morning show and some other segments during the day. In 1995, KWJJ became a

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

for ABC's Real Country, a classic country service.

Change in ownership

In 1996,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based

Fisher Communications Fisher Communications, Inc. was a media company in the United States. Based in Seattle, Washington, the company primarily owned a number of radio and television stations in the Western United States. It was the last company in the Seattle area ...

bought KWJJ-AM-FM for $35 million. Fisher continued the mainstream country format on KWJJ-FM and briefly continued the classic country format on KWJJ (AM). The following year, KWJJ (AM) became

hot talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

KOTK. In 2003, Fisher Communications sold KOTK and KWJJ-FM to

Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

for $44 million.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2006 page D-416
/ref> Entercom changed KOTK to all-sports as KFXX. KWJJ-FM continued as a country outlet. On January 6, 2004, KWJJ-FM rebranded as "99.5 The Wolf."

Jingles and Imaging

KWJJ uses the "Reelworld One Country"

jingles A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

package and imaging service after dropping the "IQ Beats" custom package in 2009. Sweepers are done by Emily Mcintosh and Jack Murphy. This is Mcintosh's tenth country client and her fifth "Wolf" station to do sweepers and custom liners.

HD Radio

KWJJ broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

format. The station carries two co-owned

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

stations on its subchannels; KWJJ-FMHD2 airs a

of KFXX, known as "The Fan." On October 26, 2015, KWJJ-FMHD3 launched with a simulcast of KMTT, known as "910 ESPN Portland."

References

External links

* * {{Entercom WJJ Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Oregon Audacy, Inc. radio stations