WJLS (AM)

WJLS (560 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia with talk radio programming during the daytime and country music in evenings and overnights. The sister station to WJLS-FM, it is owned and operated by WVRC Media, who bought both stations in the 2010s from First Media Radio, LLC. The station began broadcasting in 1939, the first radio station in Beckley, and was a CBS affiliate from 1943 to 1990.

WJLS
Broadcast areaSoutheastern West Virginia
Frequency560 kHz
BrandingWJLS AM 560
Programming
Language(s)English
Format
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Westwood One
West Virginia Miners
Ownership
Owner
  • WVRC Media
  • (West Virginia Radio Corporation of Raleigh, LLC)
WJLS-FM
History
First air date
1939 (1939)
Call sign meaning
"Joe L. Smith", father of station founder Joe L. Smith, Jr.
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID52335
ClassB
Power
  • 4,500 watts day
  • 470 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
37°45′32.0″N 81°11′12.0″W
Translator(s)104.1 W281AJ (Beckley)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wjlsam.com

History
Logo when simulcasting on WSWW-FM

The station was founded in 1939 by Joe L. Smith Jr., the first radio station in Beckley. It used the tag "The Personality Station". When it became a CBS affiliate during World War II, Beckley was the smallest community with an affiliate station. It became a country music station in 1969, and a religious station in 1990,[2] when it swapped formats with WJLS-FM.[3] After being acquired by West Virginia Radio Company in the 2010s, it became a news/talk station in 2017. Simulcasting on 104.1 FM began in 2018; later that year the station was rebranded as WJLS News Network and simulcasting on 95.7 FM in Summersville was added.[2] In 2016, WJLS moved from its original building in Beckley to occupy a floor in a building across the street.[4]

References
  1. "Facility Technical Data for WJLS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. Josephine Mendez (March 9, 2019). "Celebrating eight decades on the airwaves". The Register-Herald. Beckley, West Virginia. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  3. stationintel.com; subscription required.
  4. Cody Neff (January 22, 2016). "WJLS Radio moves across the street to Bickey and Bair Building". The Register-Herald. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
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