WJLK-FM (94.3
FM; "The Point") 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
licensed
A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
to
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...
, and serving
Monmouth County
Monmouth County () is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by ...
,
Northern Ocean County and
Middlesex County. It broadcasts a
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
and is owned by
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
, along with
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
s
WCHR-FM
WCHR-FM (105.7 MHz), known as "105.7 The Hawk", is a radio station in Manahawkin, New Jersey, with a classic rock radio format. It is owned by Townsquare Media.
Coverage area
WCHR-FM is the most powerful FM station in the Monmouth/Ocean market ...
,
WOBM,
WOBM-FM
WOBM-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station known as "92.7 WOBM", licensed to Toms River and serving Ocean County, New Jersey. It airs an adult contemporary radio format.
The station is owned by Townsquare Media, as part of its Shore Group ...
, and
WJLK WJLK can refer to:
* WJLK (AM), a radio station (1160 AM) licensed to Lakewood Township, New Jersey, United States
* WJLK-FM
WJLK-FM (94.3 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Point") is a Commercial broadcasting, commercial radio station city of license ...
.
WJLK-FM has an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...
(ERP) of 1,300 watts. Its
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 near Exit 100 along the
Garden State Parkway
The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May, New Jersey, Cape May north to the New York ...
in
Tinton Falls, New Jersey
Tinton Falls is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located within the heart of the Jersey Shore region, the borough is a commercial hub of Central Jersey (it is the site of the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets and differ ...
. WJLK-FM broadcasts using
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 ...
technology.
History
Asbury Park Press
WJLK-FM was created when the ''
Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'', formerly known as the ''Shore Press'', ''Daily Press'', ''Asbury Park Daily Press'', and ''Asbury Park Evening Press'', is the third largest daily newspaper in the state of New Jersey. Established in 1879, it has been o ...
'', a daily newspaper, wanted to expand its newly forming radio business in the 1940s. Originally destined to be WDJT at 104.3, by November 1946 the call letters had changed to WJLK, to honor J. Lyle Kinmonth, the former publisher of the ''Press'', who died the previous year. In addition, shortly before the first broadcast, the station changed from 104.3 to 94.3
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 ...
.
The station's first broadcast took place on Kinmonth's birthday, November 20, 1947.
When WJLK began, it was one of an estimated 75 FM radio stations nationwide. WJLK also made history as the first FM radio station in New Jersey to be licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC). The station was dedicated to news and community information – it broadcast from 6:30a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday, and 8a.m. to midnight on Sundays.
Adult contemporary and top 40
Eventually, The Press purchased an AM radio station, WCAP, which was renamed WJLK, located at 1310 kHz. Both 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) ...
their programming. The newscasts for the station were 15 minutes long at the top of every hour, as well as a briefer at every half-hour. In between newscasts, there was a wide variety of shows featuring different types of music, or talk programs on specific subjects, such as gardening. In the mid 1960s, typical staffing included Everett Rudloff as station manager, Dick Lewis as assistant manager, Charles Hill as program director, and Frank Huber as station engineer.
The station occupied the top floor of the ''Asbury Park Press'' building, with two studios in addition to the transmitter cabinet and the control room, operated by the announcer / disk-jockey. Remaining floor space was devoted to a small lobby and reception area and desk, the station manager's office, the station engineer's office, a small studio for the assistant engineer's recording of transcriptions and tape cartridge announcements and advertisements, and desks for radio management and announcing staff as well as for radio advertising staff. The local Steinbach's department store (around the corner of Press Plaza) was a major advertiser.
The music standard was "
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 ...
" as it was then called. Typical special programming included a Broadway music show, an up-tempo "Rolling Home Show" (evening rush hour), Arthur Morris' gospel music program, Phyllis Kessel's ladies talk and commentary, and the Rev. Richard Holbrook's gospel preaching. There were also
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
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 ...
programs, as well as remote broadcasts of local evening high school basketball games. A news program from
Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey and the site of a major upcoming Netflix film production campus, alongside a variety of other redevelopment. The site is surrounded by the commun ...
was also a regular feature. News was relayed in print from the news department one floor below as well as from a teletype machine in the station office.
By the mid 1970s, it was obvious that specialized stations that concentrated on one specific format were doing better than stations such as WJLK where the programs changed by the hour. Robert E. McAllen, an on-air personality in the early 1970s, devised a new format with its emphasis on
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
music with block programming at night, playing top 40,
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Since 2 ...
, or talk. For a time, WJLK-AM-FM subscribed to the
automated
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
"Hit Parade" music service, where the songs were announced by a prerecorded voice, with live newscasts around the clock from the ''Asbury Park Press'' newsroom.
During the 1980s, WJLK-FM adopted a top 40 format and was branded as "K-94" "New Jersey's Hit Music Station". Pat Gillen, was the program director and "your Pat in the afternoon". Tim Downs was morning drive, Carl Ross did mid days. Amy Wright handled the evening shifts and Dave Ulmann was the overnight host. Weekends were hosted Ed Healy, Gary Guida and Mike Abrams.
Change in ownership
In 1989, the company sold both WJLK and WJLK-FM to Devlin and Ferrari Broadcasting Company of New York for $12.5 million. The sale had been ordered by the FCC in exchange for allowing The Asbury Park Press to buy two
Trenton stations,
WBUD (1260 AM) and
WKXW-FM
WKXW (101.5 FM, "New Jersey 101.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Trenton, and broadcasting to most of the state of New Jersey. It is owned by Townsquare Media with studios and offices on Walters Avenue in Ewing. On weekdays, ...
(101.5), for $12.1 million.
By August 1989, the K-94 format was discontinued and the station returned to broadcasting adult contemporary. Then, in March 1993, the station began a simulcast with
the 98.5 frequency and was billed as "Soft Rock WJLK". Slightly more than four years later, in May 1997, after being sold to
Nassau Broadcasting
Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP was a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owned radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which included both AM and FM frequencies, were located in Maryland, New J ...
, the simulcast was dropped and the station went towards the format it has today, broadcasting under "94.3 The Point".
Charities
From 1997 through May 2002, 94.3 The Point was one of the five stations referred to as Nassau Broadcasting Partner's "Shore Group" under the leadership of Vice President and general manager Don Dalesio. The format of WJLK-FM was rebranded and improved, and the station became a true leader in the market. After
the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the station became active in helping the community heal. A significant amount of money was raised for the families of
World Trade Center
World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association.
World Trade Center may also refer to:
Buildings
* World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...
victims. The Old Mill School in
Wall, New Jersey
Wall Township is a township within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Crisscrossed by several different highways within the heart of the Jersey Shore region, the township is a transportation hub of Central New Jersey and a bedro ...
(K-5), had a walk-a-thon and donated the money to the Nassau charity. As a result, The Point rewarded the kids by having
Michelle Branch
Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals with Santana for their 2002 single, " The Game of Love".
As a solo recording artist, Bran ...
perform in the auditorium of their school in late 2001.
The Point and Jersey Shore Medical Center also organized "Kites Against Cancer" to benefit the breast care center at JSMC originally and eventually all of "The Breast Care Centers of The Meridian Healthcare." This successful event got The Point into the Guinness Book of World Records for flying the most kites at one time in a single location.
Millennium Radio
In June 2002, the sale of the "shore group" was completed and Millennium Radio Group took over WJLK-FM and its sister stations, WBBO,
WOBM and
WOBM-FM
WOBM-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station known as "92.7 WOBM", licensed to Toms River and serving Ocean County, New Jersey. It airs an adult contemporary radio format.
The station is owned by Townsquare Media, as part of its Shore Group ...
,
WADB and eventually
WCHR-FM
WCHR-FM (105.7 MHz), known as "105.7 The Hawk", is a radio station in Manahawkin, New Jersey, with a classic rock radio format. It is owned by Townsquare Media.
Coverage area
WCHR-FM is the most powerful FM station in the Monmouth/Ocean market ...
.
In February 2009, WJLK started using new station IDs and branding, referring to itself as "The Jersey Shore's Hit Music Channel", despite still mostly playing adult contemporary music, in response to
WHTG rebranding itself as "The Jersey Shore's Hit Music Connection" and adopting a top 40 format the previous month. The sound of WJLK has an emphasis on hits from today.
Also in 2009, WJLK lost part of its
Ocean County
Ocean County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the state's largest county. Its co ...
coverage area due to the power increase of co-channel radio station
WIBG-FM
WIBG-FM (94.3 FM, "Wibbage 94.3") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits music format. WIBG is licensed to Avalon, New Jersey, United States. The station is currently owned by WIBG Limited Liability Company and features local progra ...
in
Avalon
Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...
. Since this time, WJLK's signal has become mostly un-listenable south of
Forked River while WIBG-FM serves the
Manahawkin,
Long Beach Island
Long Beach Island (colloquially known as LBI, The LBI Region, or simply The Island) is a barrier island and summer colony along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, on the Jersey Shore. Aligned north to south, ...
and
Tuckerton areas.
WJLK began simulcasting on WOBM (1160 AM) and its
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
on 104.1 on July 10, 2023, expanding the station's coverage of northern Ocean County.
WJLK readded the "-FM" suffix to its call sign on July 21, allowing WOBM to change its call sign to WJLK.
The simulcast ended in March 2025, when Townsquare shut down WJLK AM.
HD Radio
In July 2007, WJLK began broadcasting in
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 ...
. In October 2007, WJLK launched an HD2 channel, which is a simulcast of the classic rock format from sister station 105.7 The Hawk (WCHR-FM). In 2009, WJLK-HD2 launched S*ALT ("ShoreAlternative.com") in response to WHTG's departure of the alternative format, attempting to fill the void left in the Monmouth/Ocean market. That ended in 2011, ahead of Townsquare Media acquiring Millennium Radio New Jersey.
References
External links
*
*
{{Townsquare Media
JLK-FM
Radio stations established in 1948
Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Tinton Falls, New Jersey
1948 establishments in New Jersey
Townsquare Media radio stations