WXJC (AM)

WXJC (850 kHz, "Truth 101.1") is an AM radio station licensed to Birmingham, Alabama. It is owned by the Crawford Broadcasting Company with the license held by Kimtron, Inc. WXJC and its sister station 101.1 WXJC-FM simulcast a Christian talk and teaching radio format with some Southern gospel and worship music.WXJCradio.com/program-guide
/ref> The studios are on Summit Parkway at West Valley Avenue.

By day, WXJC is powered at 50,000 watts, the maximum for AM stations. But 850 AM is a clear channel frequency. To avoid interference with other stations, WXJC reduces power at night to 1,000 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The transmitter is near Pawnee Village Road at Cleage Road in Birmingham.Radio-Locator.com/WXJC-AM
/REF> Programming is also heard on FM translator W245CS at 96.9 MHz.

History

WTNB and WILD

The station signed on the air in . Its original call sign was WTNB, broadcasting with 250 watts on 1490 kHz. It was originally a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System. The call letters reflected the initials of the station's original owner, Thomas N. Beech.

In the 1950s the station was sold to Madison Broadcasting and changed its frequency to 850 and its call sign to WILD. It kept that call until the station was sold in September 1957.

Top 40 and Country

Bartell Broadcasters bought the station in 1957 and changed the call letters to WYDE. By the late 1950s, WYDE was one of three stations in Birmingham playing Top 40 hits, along with 610 WSGN and 690 WVOK.

In 1965 WYDE changed formats, dropping Top 40 and becoming a country music station. Unlike some country stations, WYDE's presentation was more polished and urbane. The station's tagline was WYDE (pronounced like "wide") Countrypolitan. For the remainder of the 1960s and throughout most of the 1970s, the station had no direct competition in the format. This changed in 1976 when WVOK dropped its longstanding Top 40 programming and switched to country as well.

Oldies and Children's Radio

By 1977 WYDE had a second and perhaps more serious competitor as a country music station, when 104.7 WZZK became the first FM station in Birmingham to flip to country music. As more country listeners switched to WZZK for its FM stereo sound and better fidelity, WYDE saw its ratings decline. In 1982, it dropped country to become Birmingham's first station to play oldies from the 1950s through the early 1970s.

In 1984 the station was sold and became a Christian talk and teaching station with some Christian music. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s and 1990s, the station tried several different formats, including beautiful music and talk radio in an attempt to gain listeners.

On November 18, 1996, the station switched to Children's radio. It became one of Radio Disney's charter affiliates, as part of the network's test launch before going national the following year. The station later switched its call sign to WMKI in 1998. The call letters referred to Mickey Mouse, a popular Disney cartoon character.

Talk and Christian Radio

Crawford Broadcasting bought WMKI in 1999. Upon assuming control of the station, the company changed the station's format to talk radio on November 15, 1999, and returned the heritage call sign of WYDE to the station.

The station was assigned the callsign WXJC by the Federal Communications Commission on July 15, 2004. At that point, the station became a mix of Christian talk and teaching along with Southern gospel music.

As of October 26, 2016, this station is now being heard on Birmingham area Translator W245CS 96.9 FM. (Info extracted from fccdata.org)

WXJC broadcasts in the HD Radio format.

On November 5, 2018, WXJC switched its FM repeater (and the callsign WXJC-FM) from 92.5 at Cordova to 101.1 at Cullman.Alabama Broadcast Media Page
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References

External links

FCC History Cards for WXJC
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{{Birmingham Radio

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Southern Gospel radio stations in the United States
Talk radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1946
1946 establishments in Alabama