WJOY (1230

kHz 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 uni ...

) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting an

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

and

soft 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 ...

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 ...

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, the station is owned by Hall Communications, Inc. In addition to its music programming, WJOY carries hourly national news updates from

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News (United States), ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five-minute newscasts on the hour ...

and a simulcast of

WPTZ WPTZ (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York market. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Montpelier, Vermo ...

's 6p.m. newscast.

History

The Vermont Broadcasting Corporation was formed in late 1945 and obtained a construction permit from 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 ...

for a new radio station to serve Burlington on 1230 kHz on February 6, 1946. ( Guide to reading History Cards) The station took the call letters and began broadcasting as WJOY on September 14, 1946; the outlet originated from two studios—one on College Street downtown and another on Main Street—and was affiliated with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. In 1961, WJOY was approved for its first technical upgrade in station history, from 250 to 1,000 watts. It heralded the start of a busy decade for the station that included its first expansion. The next year, WJOY started WJOY-FM 98.9, which was the state's first commercial FM radio station. The original College Street studios were on land leased to the Vermont Broadcasting Corporation by the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

. In 1966, the university desired to reclaim the land and build student housing on the property. As a result, WJOY built new custom studios on a piece of property in

South Burlington South Burlington is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Along with neighboring Burlington, it is a principal city of the Burlington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,292, making it the seco ...

; the transmitter was relocated, too, using a new tower to replace the tower that had previously been in service. In 1971, Frank Balch, who had joined WJOY as an announcer in 1951 and had become president of the Vermont Broadcasting Corporation, acquired majority control of WJOY-AM-FM. After 35 years in broadcasting, Balch sold WJOY and the FM, by then WQCR, to Hall Communications of

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

, for $2.2 million in 1983; by the time of the Hall purchase, WJOY was already airing a nostalgia format. After carrying the

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

music service "

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

" provided by

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

for many years, WJOY began programming its music locally in February 2023.

References

External links

WJOY History Page
{{Hall Communications

JOY Joy is the state of being that allows one to experience feelings of intense, long-lasting happiness and contentment of life. It is closely related to, and often evoked by, well-being, success, or good fortune. Happiness, pleasure, and gratitu ...

Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Vermont Adult standards radio stations in the United States Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States