WJBP explained

WJBP
Logo Alt:Family Life Radio
City:Red Bank, Tennessee
Area:Chattanooga
Branding:Family Life Radio
Airdate:September 1980 (as WCSO)
Frequency:91.5 MHz
Format:Christian
Haat:100m (300feet)
Erp:11,000 watts
Class:C3
Facility Id:10670
Former Callsigns:WCSO (1980–1987)
WAWL-FM (1987–2008)
Owner:Family Life Broadcasting Inc.
Licensing Authority:FCC
Website:myflr.org
Network:Family Life Radio

WJBP (91.5 FM) is a non-commercial Christian music and teaching radio station located in Red Bank, Tennessee, owned by the Family Life Radio network. The transmitter is located in Fairview, Georgia.

History

On March 6, 1978, Chattanooga State Technical Community College applied for a construction permit to build a new radio station on 91.5 FM at Signal Mountain, Tennessee, broadcasting with 137 watts. The Federal Communications Commission approved the permit on March 13, 1979, and WCSO began broadcasting in September 1980.[1]

WCSO was a typical college radio station; it did not begin broadcasting overnights until 1985, when it started airing a tape loop of nature sounds at night. The off-hours programming developed a cult following with listeners, including a prison inmate who wrote to the station to say that the programming had helped him not go crazy.[2] The call letters were changed from WCSO to WAWL-FM on December 18, 1987, which marked the shift from a soft adult contemporary format to an alternative rock base; the station was known as "the WAWL".[3]

In March 2008, Chattanooga State announced it was selling the WAWL-FM license, with the school's programming moving online-only. In September 2008, the buyer was identified as Family Life Radio, paying $1.5 million.[4] On December 10, 2008, WAWL-FM ended operations. The station was then silent until Family Life Radio reactivated the facility as WJBP with its national programming on January 2, 2009.

External links

34.944°N -85.3°W

Notes and References

  1. News: Chattanooga State’s WAWL Celebrates 25 Years. August 24, 2005. The Chattanoogan. March 6, 2020.
  2. News: Station's 'Natural' Sound Draws Cult. March 6, 2020. February 3, 1986. The Leaf-Chronicle. Associated Press. 7.
  3. News: Chattanooga State Radio Change Boggles The Mind. The Chattanoogan. April 17, 2008. March 6, 2020. Laura. Crane.
  4. News: Buyer Disclosed for Chattanooga Noncomm. September 15, 2008. All Access. March 6, 2020.