WRJN
| Broadcast area | Racine and Kenosha Counties |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1400 kHz |
| Branding | AM 1400 WRJN |
| Programming | |
| Format | Full service Oldies |
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations | Packers Radio Network Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network Wisconsin Badgers Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Civic Media, Inc. |
| WAUK | |
| History | |
First air date | December 1926 |
Call sign meaning | Racine Journal News (founder of station; name of Racine Journal Times before 1932 merger with the Times-Call) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 41437 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
| Translator(s) | 98.1 W251BU (Kenosha) 99.9 W260CV (Racine) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | WRJN.com |
WRJN (1400 AM) is a full service oldies radio station in Racine, Wisconsin, serving Racine and Kenosha Counties. The station is owned by Civic Media, Inc., along with sister station WAUK 540 AM in Milwaukee. WRJN features live sports including Green Bay Packers football, Milwaukee Brewers baseball and University of Wisconsin Badgers games. WRJN's studios and transmitter tower are on Victory Avenue at 17th Street in Racine.[1]
WRJN is a Class C station powered at 1,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna. Programming is also heard on two FM translators: W260CV at 99.9 MHz in Racine and W251BU at 98.1 MHz in Kenosha.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
WRJN dates back to the first decade of commercial radio broadcasting. It signed on the air in December 1926. It has always had the same call sign, WRJN, which stood for its original owner, the Racine Journal News, a daily newspaper. By the 1930s, it was broadcasting on 1370 kilocycles at 100 watts, a fraction of its current power, with studios in the Hotel Racine.[2] With the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) enacted in 1941, WRJN moved to its current dial position at 1400 AM.
In August 1948, it added a sister station. WRJN-FM came on the air at 100.7 MHz. For its first few decades, it largely simulcast WRJN 1400 AM.[3] (That station is now WKKV, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.) In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, WRJN aired a middle of the road radio format featuring popular adult music, news and sports. It was an affiliate of the ABC Information Radio Network.
Talk Radio era[edit]
By the 1980s, most listeners tuned into the FM dial for music. As an AM station, WRJN gradually added more talk shows and reduced its music programming. From the late 1980s until 2014, WRJN carried a talk radio format using a combination of local and syndicated talk programs. The station was the Milwaukee-area affiliate for shows hosted by Lionel, Bill O'Reilly and Mike Gallagher. It added programs from Alan Colmes, Ed Schultz, Leslie Marshall and carried Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell overnight. WRJN continued to be affiliated with ABC Radio and aired Paul Harvey's commentaries several times each weekday.
In its later years, it effectively serving as a "last resort" station for shows not picked up in the Milwaukee radio market by the dominant talk stations, 620 WTMJ and 1130 WISN. For a period in the mid 1990s, WRJN would simulcast sister station WEZY 92.7's Easy Listening format during the overnight hours. It is among the nation's most long running stations and the 3rd oldest station with the same call letters in Wisconsin.
Magnum Broadcasting[edit]
On June 25, 2014, Bliss Communications announced that it would sell WRJN and WVTY (then WEZY), along with sister stations WBKV and WBWI-FM in West Bend, to David Magnum's Magnum Communications, Inc. Bliss had owned WRJN and WEZY since 1997.[4] The sale, at a price of $2.25 million, was consummated on October 31, 2014.
On December 1, 2014, WRJN dropped all syndicated programming from the lineup and replaced it with a mixture of local talk, sports, and classic hits, oldies and adult contemporary music. It used the new positioner "Your Radio Friend". It was a similar format to sister station WPDR in Portage.[5] The music format shifted to 60s and 70s oldies after sister station WVTY adopted an adult hits format in May 2015. This was to prevent overlap.
In the fall of 2016, two FM translators were added, W260CV on 99.9FM in Racine, and W251BU on 98.1FM in Kenosha.
Progressive Talk and Full Service Oldies[edit]
On June 5, 2023, WRJN changed its format from classic hits, oldies and middle of the road music to progressive talk.[6] It featured a line up of hosts shared with co-owned 540 WAUK in Milwaukee. Most hours began with an update from CBS News Radio.
On May 14, 2024, WRJN returned to full service oldies programming. It plays hits from the 1960s and 70s with local DJs and newscasters, along with national and world news from CBS. Civic Media's brand of progressive talk continues on 540 WAUK Milwaukee.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WRJN
- '^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 62. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- '^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-178. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
- ^ "Bliss Communications to sell West Bend, Racine radio stations". The Janesville Gazette. June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Upgrades, New formats for local radio stations". The Racine Journal Times. December 14, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
- ^ Civic Media Launches Takers in Eau Claire, La Crosse & Racine/Kenosha Radioinsight - June 5, 2023
- ^ Chris Foran (May 15, 2024). "Racine's WRJN AM/FM switch back to oldies music". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
External links[edit]
- WRJN Website
- WRJN in the FCC AM station database
- WRJN in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- W251BU in the FCC FM station database
- W251BU at FCCdata.org
- W260CV in the FCC FM station database
- W260CV at FCCdata.org
- WRJN Radio Station history from 1928