WHJJ

WHJJ (920 AM, "News Radio 920 & 104.7 FM") is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station was previously assigned the call sign WJAR, adopting its current callsign on November 26, 1980[1] when previous owner Outlet Communications sold the station and retained the heritage call letters for their television station on channel 10. Its studios are on Oxford Street in Providence, while its transmitter is located is in Riverside, Rhode Island. WHJJ is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

WHJJ
CityProvidence, Rhode Island
Broadcast areaSouthern New England
Frequency920 kHz
Branding"News Radio 920 WHJJ"
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatNews/talk
AffiliationsPawsox Radio Network (flagship)
The Rush Limbaugh Show, Premiere Radio Networks
Ownership
OwneriHeartMedia, Inc.
(Capstar TX LLC)
Sister stationsWHJY, WSNE-FM, WWBB
History
First air dateSeptember 6, 1922
Former call signsWJAR (September 6, 1922-November 26, 1980)
Former frequencies360 meters/~833 kHz (September 6, 1922-19??)
890kHz (19??-March 29, 1941)
Technical information
Facility ID37234
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates41°46′53″N 71°19′55″W
Repeater(s)104.7 FM/W284BA
93.3 WSNE-HD2
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website920whjj.iheart.com

WHJJ operates at 5,000 watts around the clock. A single tower is used during the day, providing at least secondary coverage to all of Rhode Island and the Massachusetts South Coast, as well as Boston and its southern and eastern suburbs. At night, two towers are used in a directional pattern to protect clear-channel stations on adjacent channels, concentrating the signal in Providence and the South Coast. To make up for the loss of nighttime coverage, sister station WSNE-FM simulcasts WHJJ on its second digital channel, which is repeated on a low-powered FM translator on 104.7 FM in Warwick, Rhode Island.

History

WHJJ signed on as WJAR on September 6, 1922 at 8 p.m., with a concert on a wavelength of 360 meters (approximately 833 kHz). WJAR was the Outlet Stores radio station joining The Shepard Stores' WEAN and would be later joined by Cherry & Webb's WPRO. As WJAR, the station was a charter member of the NBC Radio Network, affiliating with the "Red" network upon its launch on November 15, 1926 (and was a member of the Red Network's predecessor operated by AT&T and its station in New York City, WEAF, as early as 1922). In the 1950s, as NBC Radio cut back its programming hours, WJAR began more local programming, playing MOR music with live personality DJs.

By the 1970s, WJAR's format had become Top 40, where it briefly gave longtime format leader WPRO some competition. Later, WJAR's format eased over to adult contemporary. When Outlet sold WJAR to buy what is now WSNE-FM in 1980 (the two are now sister stations), the new owners briefly continued the adult contemporary sound, but eventually went in the direction of talk radio.

In the mid-1980s, WHJJ attempted to shore up its news image by adopting an "All News, All Morning Till 9" format. From 5-9 every morning (including weekends), WHJJ broadcast a dual-anchor news, weather, sports, and traffic format. Often, the news anchors would read exactly the same copy over and over again. It was very similar to the "Headline News" approach.

Former logo of the radio station

WHJJ was the Rhode Island affiliate of Air America Radio in 2004 and 2005. In 2005 and 2006, WHJJ won Associated Press awards for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area; the 2005 award was for special events coverage of the Democratic National Convention, while the 2006 honor was for news station of the year. In December 2006, WHJJ owner Clear Channel Broadcasting (now known as iHeartMedia) fired afternoon drive veteran Arlene Violet, after 16 years, as part of a company-wide cost-cutting measure. In 2013, WHJJ was rebranded as "NewsRadio 920", replacing conservative morning talk host Helen Glover with Rhode Island Radio Hall Of Famer Ron St. Pierre, in order to present a more news-centric program.

Former personalities
  • Legendary NBC staff announcer Don Pardo received his start at WJAR in 1938.
  • Former Rhode Island Attorney General Arlene Violet hosted a talk show on WHJJ (c. 1990-December 2006)

The WHJJ news team
  • Bill George: Program Director/News Director/Anchor
  • Ron St. Pierre: Morning Host/Anchor

Programming

WHJJ has been slowly standardizing its lineup with other iHeartMedia news talk stations. As of November 2007, only one local show, the morning drive show hosted by Ron St. Pierre and Jennifer Brien, remains on WHJJ. The rest of the lineup includes standard iHeartMedia talk fare, including Glenn Beck Program, The Sean Hannity Show, as well as other syndicated programs such as Mark Levin. In 2007, WHJJ acquired the rights to The Rush Limbaugh Show when crosstown rival WPRO ended its more than 20-year run with the program to concentrate on a full local schedule (traditionally, iHeartMedia stations have had priority to Limbaugh's program since it is iHeartMedia–owned Premiere Radio Networks that syndicates the show).

WHJJ is also the radio flagship for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

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References
  1. FCC's callsign history for WHJJ. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
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