WTAX-FM (93.9

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 ...

broadcasting a

news/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, interviews ...

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, ...

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) ...

with WTAX

1240 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1240 kHz: 1240 AM is a regional (Class B) frequency outside the coterminous 48 United States (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, & U.S. Virgin Islands), and a local frequency (Class C) within ...

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 ...

Sherman, Illinois Sherman is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan statistical area. The village was hit by a high end EF-2 tornado in the March 31st outbre ...

, it serves the Springfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Capitol Radio Group. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s and offices are on East Sangamon Avenue in Springfield. WTAX-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 15,000

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 450th Avenue at

Interstate 55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...

Mount Fulcher, Illinois Mount Fulcher is an unincorporated community in Logan County, Illinois, United States. Mount Fulcher is located along Interstate 55 and former U.S. Route 66, northeast of Williamsville. The elevated area on which the community sits is an end, ...

Programming

Weekdays on WTAX-AM-FM begin with a local

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

show, "The Morning Newswatch," hosted by Joey McLaughlin. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of

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 ...

talk shows:

Hugh Hewitt Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American conservative political commentator, radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, attorney, academic, and author. He writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States ...

, "Markley, Van Camp and Robbins,"

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, ...

John Batchelor John Calvin Batchelor (born April 29, 1948) is an American author and the host of ''Eye on the World'' on the CBS Audio Network. His flagship station is WOR in New York City. The show is a hard-news-analysis radio program on current events, wo ...

, "

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history throug ...

" and "

This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. I ...

." Weekends feature shows on money, health, home repair, technology, the law and cars. Weekend hosts include

Joe Pags Joseph John Pagliarulo (born August 1, 1966), also known on the air as Joe Pags, is an American nationally syndicated conservative television and radio talk show host. Biography Born in Amityville, New York, Pagliarulo later lived in nearby C ...

Sebastian Gorka Sebastian Lukács Gorka (; born October 22, 1970) is a British-Hungarian-American media host and commentator, currently affiliated with Salem Radio Network and NewsMax TV, and a United States government official. He served in the first Trump ...

Chris Plante Christopher Plante (born 1959) is an American talk radio host and journalist currently hosting a syndicated radio program heard on Westwood One and a nightly TV talk show on Newsmax TV. Early life Plante was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Ju ...

Leo Laporte Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the former host of ''The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and founder of TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology a ...

and

Bill Handel William Wolf Handel (born August 25, 1951) is a Brazilian-born American radio host and attorney. Handel currently hosts two radio programs on KFI in Los Angeles, California. First is KFI's local morning drive time show, in which he comments on ...

. Most hours begin with world and national news from

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

History

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

as WPRC-FM on . The station changed its

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 ...

to WLRX on May 3, 1981. On June 1, 1986, the call sign was changed to WESZ. On November 15, 1994, it was changed to WWTE, and on September 16, 1996, to WYXY. From February 19, 2001, to April 7, 2005, the station aired 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 as WMHX, "Mix 93.9". On April 8, 2005, the station flipped to adult hits as "93.9 ABE FM" and adopted the callsign WABZ. On October 2, 2013, the WQQL call sign was moved from 101.9 to 93.9, and the format was changed to classic hits as "Cool 93.9". On the same day, "ABE FM" was moved to

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 ...

101.1 W266BZ (which is currently also aired on WDBR's HD2 subchannel as classic country "101.1 The Outlaw"). On May 28, 2021, WQQL announced that the classic hits format would move to translator 93.5 W288DL on June 7; at that time, WQQL assumed the translator's previous format, a simulcast of AM station WTAX. The move would end the use of the "Cool" branding in Springfield, as the station would rebrand as "Rewind 93.5" with the move; the name had been used, originally on 101.9, since 1993. The move is also believed to be an answer to a previous move with

WMAY WMAY (970 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station in Springfield, Illinois, simulcasting a talk radio, news-talk radio format with sister station WMAY-FM 92.7. The stations are owned by Mid-West Family Broadcas ...

, having a simulcast on

WMAY-FM WMAY-FM (92.7 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Taylorville, Illinois, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area, Illinois, Springfield metropolitan area. WMAY-FM and WMAY 970 AM simulc ...

added the previous September, giving WTAX a similar option on FM radio.Saga Preps Springfield Frequency Swap
/ref> Concurrent with the move, 93.9 changed its call letters to WTAX-FM to match its new simulcast partner.

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References

External links

* {{Saga Communications TAX-FM Radio stations established in 1971 1971 establishments in Illinois News and talk radio stations in the United States