WHJM
Encyclopedia
WHJM, "Radio Maria
" (for "Hearts of Jesus and Mary") is a non-commercial FM station operating at 88.7 mHz licensed to Anna, Ohio
. It is a repeater station of KJMJ
(AM) 580 in Alexandria, Louisiana
(where its local Catholic diocese is also headquartered) and is owned by Radio Maria Inc.
airing inspirational music and Catholic programming for the Upper Miami Valley region of Shelby
, Auglaize
, Allen
, Logan
, Mercer
, Miami
and surrounding counties in West Central Ohio. It is part of the international broadcast ministry of The World Family of Radio Maria
, which is based in Italy and broadcasts in over thirty countries in thirteen languages worldwide. The station also audiostreams from its website for listeners outside its immediate signal area.
) acquired the original funding and construction permit for the new station in 2001 by means of a New York-based fundraiser called a "Mariathon." The construction permit however initially sat dormant until it was discovered by a group of Dayton area volunteers in 2005 looking for a Miami Valley frequency to start a local Catholic station. After a tower site was found, WHJM joined the Radio Maria family on June 8, 2006 while volunteers feverishly proceeded with preparations to get on the air before the construction permit was to have expired.
Within just a few days prior to the construction permit's deadline date to start broadcasting, WHJM "Radio Maria
" first came on the air on June 15, 2006. Its transmitting antenna and tower was abruptly struck by a spectacular display of lightning only after two hours on the air during its inaugural sign-on. However, the brief airtime before the lightning strike was enough to fulfill the FCC deadline. After necessary repairs were made, WHJM returned to the air August 11, 2006. Its current operating power is 1,000 watts ERP. WHJM's current signal fades-out north of Lima at Beaverdam where CIMX in Windsor, Ontario begins to fade-in north towards Findlay. WJTA
"Holy Family Radio" licensed in Glandorf
and transmitting from Leipsic
is WHJM's neighbor on the radio dial at 88.9 FM offering Catholic programming from EWTN Global Catholic Radio for the areas located north of Lima.
Friends of Radio Maria also helped acquire the construction permits of new repeater stations WOLM
in D'Iberville, Mississippi
near Biloxi
and WRMW
licensed to Peshtigo
serving the Door Peninsula
region of northeastern Wisconsin. These stations are now licensed to Radio Maria Inc.
. Before that, the WHJM calls were used on 1180 AM in Knoxville, Tennessee which had used Christian
Country
, Adult Standards
and talk radio
formats. That station is now WVLZ
.
KJMJ
has been on the air as the US flagship station of Radio Maria
since May 2000. Originally, the 580 frequency was home to KALB-AM, sister station to KALB-TV
channel 5.
Radio Maria was founded at first with humble beginnings as a small parish-operated station in Como, Italy in 1983 before its subsequent international growth in the 1990s which gave birth to the World Family in 1998. Emanuele Ferrario is Radio Maria's founder and president.
, there is now a new office and production studio facility west of Anna in nearby Minster
which originates several live programs including Father Rick Nieberding's "Living The Lectionary" and Herb Wilker's Hospice program "Letting Go." Other local programs originate by audio recording and over telephone lines including "At Home With Jesus' with Glenda Canfield,"From The Tummy To The Heart" and "Francesca and Friends" presented by Francesca Franchina from The University of Dayton's Marian Library. The studio officially opened on Sunday April 22, 2007 with a prayer and blessing service and open house officiated by Father Rick Nieberding C.P.P.S. who is pastor of St. Augustine Church and is the presenter of the program "Living The Lectionary." WHJM is also the originator of the yearly remote broadcast of the Fatima USA candlelight prayer vigil which takes place in the evening during the month of August at Maria Stein
, a concelebration involving parishes from Minster,Marion Township and Saint Henry.
Overnight programming is provided by Radio Maria New York and originated by WSNR
620 am licensed in Jersey City, New Jersey
.
Prior to the studio opening, a public information session took place on August 29, 2006 at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio
to introduce Radio Maria to local listeners and the northern portion of the Cincinnati archdiocese.
The WHJM transmitter is located to the north in nearby Botkins
...at the Microwave radio relay tower site (formerly used by AT&T Long Lines) on West State Street (with the Hogg horn antennas
removed prior to WHJM's 2006 sign-on.)
The WHJM studio is located in the Hoying Profesional Building at the corner of Main and Fourth Streets..the intersection of Ohio State Routes 119 and 66 in downtown Minster.
story dated March 10, 2008, Radio Maria USA purchased WULM (the former WBLY) from Urban Light Ministries in Springfield, Ohio. The application for license transfer and purchase which took place on February 15, 2008 was granted FCC approval on April 16, 2008. The AM station acquisition now brings Radio Maria programming to Springfield, Dayton, Tipp City, Troy, Urbana and other communities in the Miami Valley not reached by WHJM's signal. WULM's signal also has the potential to reach east towards Columbus and west towards Richmond, Indiana along U.S. 40 and I-70.
Radio Maria programming on WULM commenced on Saturday May 31, 2008 at 12 noon local time.
The WULM studio (formerly located at WIZE
's transmitter site and now-vacated studio on Miracle Mile Road) is now located at the Father Boyle Center (the former parish convent)on Lagonda Avenue next to St. Bernard Parish east of downtown Springfield.
Radio Maria now offers its audiostreaming though the iPhone
, BlackBerry
and Android mobile phone devices for listeners outside of WHJM and WULM's signal area.
Mary Pyper is national board president,Joshua Danis is national and local coordinator,Alicia Risko is volunteer coordinator,Jim Linthicum is local audio production and remote broadcast technician. Cletus Prenger is Minster studio technician. Ernestine Miller (formerly with WERM, now WFGF
) is Minster studio and office public relations representative,Greg Oen associate recording and remote broadcast technician,Nick Hoying associate remote broadcast technician and Jim Boeckman volunteer in charge of promotion and publicity.
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
" (for "Hearts of Jesus and Mary") is a non-commercial FM station operating at 88.7 mHz licensed to Anna, Ohio
Anna, Ohio
Anna is a village in Shelby County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,319 at the 2000 census.Anna is the location of a Honda Motor Co., Ltd plant that builds the GM L66 engine and Honda J engine....
. It is a repeater station of KJMJ
KJMJ
KJMJ "Radio Maria" is an American AM radio broadcasting stationin Alexandria, Louisiana where the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana is also headquartered and is the originating English language station of Radio Maria USA airing Catholic programming.-History:Originally founded in 1935 as KALB ,...
(AM) 580 in Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
(where its local Catholic diocese is also headquartered) and is owned by Radio Maria Inc.
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
airing inspirational music and Catholic programming for the Upper Miami Valley region of Shelby
Shelby County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,910 people, 17,636 households, and 13,085 families residing in the county. The population density was 117 people per square mile . There were 18,682 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
, Auglaize
Auglaize County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,611 people, 17,376 households, and 12,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 18,470 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
, Allen
Allen County, Ohio
Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its population was 106,331 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area....
, Logan
Logan County, Ohio
Logan County is a county in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,858. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans in the area....
, Mercer
Mercer County, Ohio
Mercer County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Its county seat is Celina and is named for Hugh Mercer, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.The Celina Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Mercer County.-Geography:...
, Miami
Miami County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 98,868 people, 38,437 households, and 27,943 families residing in the county. The population density was 243 people per square mile . There were 40,554 housing units at an average density of 100 per square mile...
and surrounding counties in West Central Ohio. It is part of the international broadcast ministry of The World Family of Radio Maria
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
, which is based in Italy and broadcasts in over thirty countries in thirteen languages worldwide. The station also audiostreams from its website for listeners outside its immediate signal area.
History
A group of New York City-based volunteers known as Friends of Radio Maria which operates an Italian language FM subcarrier (of WKTUWKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
) acquired the original funding and construction permit for the new station in 2001 by means of a New York-based fundraiser called a "Mariathon." The construction permit however initially sat dormant until it was discovered by a group of Dayton area volunteers in 2005 looking for a Miami Valley frequency to start a local Catholic station. After a tower site was found, WHJM joined the Radio Maria family on June 8, 2006 while volunteers feverishly proceeded with preparations to get on the air before the construction permit was to have expired.
Within just a few days prior to the construction permit's deadline date to start broadcasting, WHJM "Radio Maria
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
" first came on the air on June 15, 2006. Its transmitting antenna and tower was abruptly struck by a spectacular display of lightning only after two hours on the air during its inaugural sign-on. However, the brief airtime before the lightning strike was enough to fulfill the FCC deadline. After necessary repairs were made, WHJM returned to the air August 11, 2006. Its current operating power is 1,000 watts ERP. WHJM's current signal fades-out north of Lima at Beaverdam where CIMX in Windsor, Ontario begins to fade-in north towards Findlay. WJTA
WJTA
WJTA "Holy Family Radio" is a non-commercial FM broadcasting station licensed to Glandorf, Ohio with studio and transmitter located near Leipsic in rural Putnam County. WJTA transmits at 88.9 mHz on the FM band...
"Holy Family Radio" licensed in Glandorf
Glandorf, Ohio
Glandorf is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 919 at the 2000 census.- History :Glandorf was founded by Johann Wilhelm Horstmann and six other men from Glandorf, Germany in 1834. They embarked on the ship Columbus on September 7, 1833 in Amsterdam, landed November...
and transmitting from Leipsic
Leipsic, Ohio
Leipsic is a village in Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,236 at the 2000 census.-History:Leipsic was platted in 1857....
is WHJM's neighbor on the radio dial at 88.9 FM offering Catholic programming from EWTN Global Catholic Radio for the areas located north of Lima.
Friends of Radio Maria also helped acquire the construction permits of new repeater stations WOLM
WOLM
WOLM "Radio Maria" is a non-commercial FM broadcasting station at 88.1 mHz licensed to D'Iberville, Mississippi and serving the D'Iberville and Biloxi areas...
in D'Iberville, Mississippi
D'Iberville, Mississippi
D'Iberville is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, immediately north of Biloxi, across the back bay. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area....
near Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
and WRMW
WRMW
WRMW "Radio Maria" is a non-commercial FM broadcasting station at 91.3 MHz licensed to Peshtigo, Wisconsin serving the Sturgeon Bay area with Catholic programming...
licensed to Peshtigo
Peshtigo, Wisconsin
Peshtigo is a city in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,357 at the 2000 census. The city is located within the Town of Peshtigo. It is part of the Marinette, WI–MI Micropolitan Statistical Area...
serving the Door Peninsula
Door Peninsula
The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula begins in northern Brown and Kewaunee counties and proceeds northeast to include all of Door County. It is the western portion of the Niagara Escarpment. Well...
region of northeastern Wisconsin. These stations are now licensed to Radio Maria Inc.
Call sign history
The WHJM call letters were previously used at an Urban/R&B/Hip-Hop formatted station at 107.7 FM in Ledyard/Pawcatuk, Connecticut. The call sign for that station has since switched to WWRXWWRX
WWRX is a Rhythmic Contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to Pawcatuck, Connecticut, and serves the New London, Connecticut, area...
. Before that, the WHJM calls were used on 1180 AM in Knoxville, Tennessee which had used Christian
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
Country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
and talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
formats. That station is now WVLZ
WVLZ
WVLZ is a sports radio station in Knoxville, TN that broadcasts on 1180 AM. WVLZ currently is an ESPN Radio Affiliate. It is the home of Tony Basilio, who is the dean of Knoxville sports radio, Wes Rucker, who covers University of Tennessee Sports for the Chattanooga Times-Free-Press, and former...
.
KJMJ
KJMJ
KJMJ "Radio Maria" is an American AM radio broadcasting stationin Alexandria, Louisiana where the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana is also headquartered and is the originating English language station of Radio Maria USA airing Catholic programming.-History:Originally founded in 1935 as KALB ,...
has been on the air as the US flagship station of Radio Maria
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
since May 2000. Originally, the 580 frequency was home to KALB-AM, sister station to KALB-TV
KALB-TV
KALB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Louisiana licensed to Alexandria. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter in Forest Hill. The station can also be seen on Suddenlink channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 730...
channel 5.
Radio Maria was founded at first with humble beginnings as a small parish-operated station in Como, Italy in 1983 before its subsequent international growth in the 1990s which gave birth to the World Family in 1998. Emanuele Ferrario is Radio Maria's founder and president.
Facilities and programming
Though WHJM for the most part is a repeater of KJMJKJMJ
KJMJ "Radio Maria" is an American AM radio broadcasting stationin Alexandria, Louisiana where the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana is also headquartered and is the originating English language station of Radio Maria USA airing Catholic programming.-History:Originally founded in 1935 as KALB ,...
, there is now a new office and production studio facility west of Anna in nearby Minster
Minster, Ohio
Minster is a village in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,794 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area...
which originates several live programs including Father Rick Nieberding's "Living The Lectionary" and Herb Wilker's Hospice program "Letting Go." Other local programs originate by audio recording and over telephone lines including "At Home With Jesus' with Glenda Canfield,"From The Tummy To The Heart" and "Francesca and Friends" presented by Francesca Franchina from The University of Dayton's Marian Library. The studio officially opened on Sunday April 22, 2007 with a prayer and blessing service and open house officiated by Father Rick Nieberding C.P.P.S. who is pastor of St. Augustine Church and is the presenter of the program "Living The Lectionary." WHJM is also the originator of the yearly remote broadcast of the Fatima USA candlelight prayer vigil which takes place in the evening during the month of August at Maria Stein
Maria Stein, Ohio
Maria Stein is an unincorporated community in central Marion Township, Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The community and the Maria Stein Convent lie at the center of the area known as the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches, where a missionary priest, Father Francis de Sales Brunner,...
, a concelebration involving parishes from Minster,Marion Township and Saint Henry.
Overnight programming is provided by Radio Maria New York and originated by WSNR
WSNR
WSNR, AM 620, is a radio station in the New York metropolitan area with a brokered time format owned by Blackstrap Broadcasting. On Saturdays and Sundays WSNR, AM 620, is a radio station in the New York metropolitan area with a brokered time format owned by Blackstrap Broadcasting. On Saturdays and...
620 am licensed in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
.
Prior to the studio opening, a public information session took place on August 29, 2006 at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio
Carthagena, Ohio
Carthagena is an unincorporated community in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. It has an elevation of and is located at .The Saint Charles Center, originally Saint Charles Seminary, operated by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood is located in Carthagena.Carthagena is named after Cartagena,...
to introduce Radio Maria to local listeners and the northern portion of the Cincinnati archdiocese.
The WHJM transmitter is located to the north in nearby Botkins
Botkins, Ohio
Botkins is a village in Shelby County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,205 at the 2000 census. The village's welcome sign reads "Where the waters divide and the people unite."-Geography:Botkins is located at ....
...at the Microwave radio relay tower site (formerly used by AT&T Long Lines) on West State Street (with the Hogg horn antennas
Horn antenna
A horn antenna or microwave horn is an antenna that consists of a flaring metal waveguide shaped like a horn to direct the radio waves. Horns are widely used as antennas at UHF and microwave frequencies, above 300 MHz...
removed prior to WHJM's 2006 sign-on.)
The WHJM studio is located in the Hoying Profesional Building at the corner of Main and Fourth Streets..the intersection of Ohio State Routes 119 and 66 in downtown Minster.
New AM station for Dayton/Springfield area
According to a Springfield News-SunSpringfield News-Sun
The Springfield News-Sun is a daily newspaper published in Springfield, Ohio by Cox Enterprises, which also publishes the Dayton Daily News. Both newspapers contain similar editorial content, but tailor their local news coverage to the area served. The News-Sun primarily serves Springfield and...
story dated March 10, 2008, Radio Maria USA purchased WULM (the former WBLY) from Urban Light Ministries in Springfield, Ohio. The application for license transfer and purchase which took place on February 15, 2008 was granted FCC approval on April 16, 2008. The AM station acquisition now brings Radio Maria programming to Springfield, Dayton, Tipp City, Troy, Urbana and other communities in the Miami Valley not reached by WHJM's signal. WULM's signal also has the potential to reach east towards Columbus and west towards Richmond, Indiana along U.S. 40 and I-70.
Radio Maria programming on WULM commenced on Saturday May 31, 2008 at 12 noon local time.
The WULM studio (formerly located at WIZE
WIZE
WIZE — branded WIZE AM 1340 — is a commercial radio station in Springfield, Ohio owned by Clear Channel Communications as part of their Dayton cluster...
's transmitter site and now-vacated studio on Miracle Mile Road) is now located at the Father Boyle Center (the former parish convent)on Lagonda Avenue next to St. Bernard Parish east of downtown Springfield.
Radio Maria now offers its audiostreaming though the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, BlackBerry
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
and Android mobile phone devices for listeners outside of WHJM and WULM's signal area.
Mary Pyper is national board president,Joshua Danis is national and local coordinator,Alicia Risko is volunteer coordinator,Jim Linthicum is local audio production and remote broadcast technician. Cletus Prenger is Minster studio technician. Ernestine Miller (formerly with WERM, now WFGF
WFGF
WFGF is a commercial radio station based in Wapakoneta, Ohio, broadcasting a country music format. Its studios are located in Lima, Ohio, with their transmitter located in Cridersville, Ohio, between Wapakoneta and Lima....
) is Minster studio and office public relations representative,Greg Oen associate recording and remote broadcast technician,Nick Hoying associate remote broadcast technician and Jim Boeckman volunteer in charge of promotion and publicity.
External links
- Listing of Radio Maria USA's stations in English,Spanish and Italian
- Official Radio Maria World Family site (with streaming audio)
- Official Radio Maria Italy site (with streaming audio)
- Radio Maria app download for iPhone
- Radio Maria app download for Blackberry
- Radio Maria app download for Android
- Springfield News-Sun story of Radio Maria's purchase of WULM in Springfield (March 10, 2008)
- Youngstown Vindicator news article on WHJM.(September 10, 2006)
- WHJM's current transmitter site
- WHJM coverage area map in PDF format
