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WSRB (106.3 FM) is an
urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
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 ...
serving the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...
and
Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed "The Region" after the Calumet Region, is an unofficial region of Northern Indiana, northern Indiana, United States that is located at the northwestern corner of the state. Though there is no official definition of th ...
. It is licensed to the Southland suburb of
Lansing, Illinois Lansing is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Lansing is a south suburb of Chicago. The population was 29,076 at the 2020 census. History The first family to settle in Lansing was that of August Hildebrandt in 1843. Henry, Georg ...
. Weekdays begin with the nationally syndicated '' Rickey Smiley Morning Show'' with local DJs heard the rest of the day. The station is owned by
Crawford Broadcasting Crawford Media Group is a family-owned media company based in Denver, Colorado.Contact information
https://crawford ...
with
studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...
s and offices in
Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...
. WSRB 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 4,100
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s. The
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 on Bernice Road off the north side of the Kingery Expressway in Lansing. WSRB 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.


History


WLNR

The station began broadcasting on August 28, 1961, as WLNR, which stood for "West Lansing Near Railroad". It aired a full service format playing middle of the road (MOR) music, including
pop standards Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
and
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, everywhere: a listeners' guide to the AM and FM bands
, '' Chicago Tribune Magazine''. March 4, 1979. p. 37. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
In the 1970s, talk programming would begin to occupy more of the station's schedule, with religious programming airing in overnights. From 1973 to 1985, the station was home to the Warren Freiberg - Libby Collins Show, which would later be heard on WCGO (1600 AM) in
Chicago Heights, Illinois Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A south suburb of Chicago, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Its nicknames include "The Cro ...
, and
WTAS Andersen Tax LLC is a tax firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. It provides tax, valuation, financial advisory and consulting services to individuals and corporate clients. As of 2015, Andersen Global has a presence in ...
in
Crete, Illinois Crete is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a far south suburb of Chicago, 30 miles from the Loop and only 6 miles from the Indiana border. The population was 8,465 at the 2020 census. Originally named Wood's Corner, it ...
.The Morning Mom and Pop Talk Show
Osinchak, Sue. ''Radio Chicago''. (p. 20-21) Winter 1990. Accessed January 11, 2014
The station was purchased by
Johnson Publishing Company Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held and run by Johnson until his de ...
in 1985. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the station aired a soft urban contemporary format branded "Soft Touch", which was simulcast on its sister station AM 950 WJPC.
Chicagoland Radio Waves
', MediaTies. Summer 1988 & Spring/Summer 1989. Retrieved August 28, 2018.


WJPC-FM

On March 11, 1991, WLNR relaunched as "J106". On April 15, 1991, the station's
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 ...
was changed to WJPC-FM, which stood for Johnson Publishing Company, the station's owner at the time.Call Sign History
fcc.gov. Accessed January 4, 2014
This gave the station the same call sign as its sister station, AM 950 WJPC. The two stations continued to simulcast and aired an urban AC format, and competed against
WVAZ WVAZ (102.7 FM, "V103") is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. Licensed to Oak Park, Illinois, WVAZ is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., alongside sister stations WCHI-FM, WGCI-F ...
. WJPC (AM) then broke off from the simulcast and flipped to a rap-heavy
urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...
format in July 1992.


WEJM

In June 1994, Broadcast Partners, which owned WVAZ, acquired WJPC AM/FM from Johnson Publishing. The new owners changed the call sign to WEJM-FM, and flipped the format to a rap-heavy urban contemporary sound as "106 Jamz" on June 19. This effectively returned the stations to a full-time simulcast,Heise, Kenan.
Isadore Pink, WEJM Rap Deejay Pinkhouse
, ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''. November 8, 1996. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
and placed the stations in competition with the market's urban contemporary leader, 107.5
WGCI-FM WGCI-FM (107.5 Hertz, MHz) is an urban contemporary radio station that is city of license, licensed to Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia (formerly k ...
. The AM simulcast partner also changed call letters to WEJM. Broadcast Partners later merged with Evergreen Media in July 1995. In March 1997, due to several mergers which put Evergreen over federally-mandated ownership limits, WEJM-FM was sold to Crawford Broadcasting, The station changed its format to
urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...
in April; its simulcast partner 950 WEJM (which was sold to Personal Achievement Radio) continued to air the urban/rap format for several months after until it flipped to
sports talk 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 ...
as an
affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...
of the One-on-One Sports Network on August 28.Hirsley, Michael.
Sports Radio Network Muscles Into Mix
, ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''. August 29, 1997. Retrieved January 23, 2019.


WYBA/WYCA

During this time, WYBA aired urban gospel music and brokered religious programming as "Your Born Again Gospel Station". On December 1, 1999, the station's branding was changed to "Power 106", and the brokered religious programming that aired on the station were moved to sister stations
WYCA WYCA (102.3 FM "Rejoice 102.3") is a commercial radio station licensed to Crete, Illinois, and serving the southern suburbs of the Chicago metropolitan area. It is owned by Dontron, Inc., a subsidiary of the Crawford Broadcasting Company wi ...
and WYAA, giving 106.3 a full-time
Urban Gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...
format. The call sign was changed to WYCA in 2001, after the previous WYCA at 92.3 FM dropped its longtime gospel/brokered Christian format in favor of urban contemporary. The WYBA call sign moved to 102.3.


WSRB

The station adopted an
urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
format on September 30, 2003. Meanwhile, the urban gospel format moved to WYCA 102.3 FM. WSRB was the home to the syndicated '' Love, Lust and Lies with Michael Baisden''. It was also the home to the ''
Steve Harvey Morning Show ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'' is a national radio program which is currently broadcast from Los Angeles. The nationally syndicated show features host Steve Harvey and a team of comedians and commentators. The show runs approximately four ...
'' until August 1, 2007. On March 25, 2009, rival
WVAZ WVAZ (102.7 FM, "V103") is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. Licensed to Oak Park, Illinois, WVAZ is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., alongside sister stations WCHI-FM, WGCI-F ...
dropped '' The Tom Joyner Morning Show'' in favor of Harvey's. That triggered WSRB to bring Joyner's show back to the Chicago airwaves on April 22, 2009. Until June 2010, "Soul 106.3 FM" had a synchronous sister station, WYRB, airing on the same frequency and serving Rockford and DeKalb, Illinois. WYRB dropped out of the simulcast in June 2010 and adopted a standalone
rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...
format under the name "Power 106.3". Soul 106.3 continues to air on 106.3 HD2. On November 1, 2010, WSRB dropped its urban AC format for talk under the banner "Real Radio." Joyner and Baisden were retained under the new format due to their shows being less music and more talk. They were joined by '' The Dave Ramsey Show'' and '' The Warren Ballentine Show'' throughout the day. The station continued to play Adult R&B music, but during the late evenings and weekends. In August 2011, WSRB dropped the name "Real Radio" and switched back to calling itself "Soul 106-3", but the programming was initially unchanged.WSRB-FM Changes Back To 'Soul 106.3'
Chicagoland Radio and Media. August 16. 2011. Accessed January 4, 2014
In 2014, the station dropped the D.L. Hughley syndicated afternoon show after only a year. (Hughley replaced Michael Baisden in many markets in 2013.) In late 2016, WSRB dropped the "Soul 106-3" branding, and is simply referred to as "106-3" or sometimes "106-3 Chicago". Under the name brand change, it skewed its urban adult contemporary format to include
classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...
in addition to R&B and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
. In June 2017, the station dropped the ''Tom Joyner Morning Show'' in favor of a local morning drive hosted by Mike Love. Love's show was later replaced by '' The Rickey Smiley Morning Show''.


References


External links


Official website
* {{coord, 41.579, N, 87.546, W, type:landmark_region:US-IL_source:FCC, display=title SRB Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Illinois Lansing, Illinois