WJLS-FM

Radio station in Beckley, West Virginia
37°35′23.0″N 81°6′51.0″W / 37.589722°N 81.114167°W / 37.589722; -81.114167Links
Public license information
  • Public file
  • LMS
WebcastListen LiveWebsitewjls.com

WJLS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia with a country music format. The station, which utilized the call letters WBKW from 1957 to 1990, was the second FM radio station to go on the air in West Virginia, and is the oldest to still exist. Since February 2013, it and its sister AM station have been owned by WVRC Media, which purchased them from First Media Radio, LLC.

History

The AM station was founded in Beckley in 1939 by Joe L. Smith Jr. During World War II it became the smallest CBS affiliate in the country.[2] The FM station launched as WBKW, a 4:00 pm–midnight music station, in late 1957.[3] Both were purchased in the mid-2010s by the West Virginia Radio Corporation.[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-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b Josephine Mendez (March 9, 2019). "Celebrating eight decades on the airwaves". The Register-Herald. Beckley, West Virginia. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "WBKW (FM) on Air With Music" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 11, 1957. p. 87.
  4. ^ Cody Neff (January 22, 2016). "WJLS Radio moves across the street to Bickey and Bair Building". The Register-Herald. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  • Official website
  • Facility details for Facility ID 52336 (WJLS-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
  • WJLS-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
  • History of WJLS by Jeff Miller
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Radio stations in Beckley, West Virginia (Raleigh and Fayette County)
By AM frequency
  • 560
  • 620
  • 860
  • 1070
  • 1380
By FM frequency
LPFM
Translators
By call signDefunct
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By AM frequency
By FM frequency
LPFM
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By call sign
Defunct
  • WBDY (1190 AM)
Radio stations in Southwest Virginia
Blacksburg-Christiansburg
Bluefield
Bristol
Roanoke
Elsewhere in the region
Southwest Virginia
Other nearby regions
Beckley
Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol
See also
List of radio stations in Virginia
List of radio stations in West Virginia
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Country radio stations in the state of West Virginia
See also
adult contemporary
classic hits
college
country
news/talk
NPR
oldies
religious
rock
sports
top 40
urban
other radio stations in West Virginia


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