WJLS-FM

{{Infobox radio station

| name = WJLS-FM

| logo = WJLS-FM 2009.PNG

| logo_size = 200px

| city = Beckley, West Virginia

| area = {{ubl|Southeastern West Virginia|Southwestern Virginia}}

| branding = 99-5 WJLS: The Big Dawg

| airdate = {{start date and age|1947|02|p=y|br=yes}}

| frequency = {{Frequency|99.5|MHz}}

| language = English

| format = Country music

| erp = {{val|34000|u=watts|fmt=commas}}

| haat = {{Convert|320|m|ft|sp=us}}

| class = B

| licensing_authority = FCC

| facility_id = 52336

| coordinates = {{Coord|37|35|23.0|N|81|6|51.0|W|type:landmark}}

| callsign_meaning = Taken from WJLS (AM)

| owner = WVRC Media

| licensee = West Virginia Radio Company of Raleigh, LLC

| sister_stations = WJLS

| webcast = [https://v7player.wostreaming.net/2606 Listen Live]

| website = [https://wjls.com/ wjls.com]

| affiliations = West Virginia MetroNews

}}

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.{{cite news |author=Josephine Mendez |url=https://www.register-herald.com/news/money/celebrating-eight-decades-on-the-airwaves/article_d53b72c4-42e9-11e9-8be2-9732999409a0.html |title=Celebrating eight decades on the airwaves |newspaper=The Register-Herald |location=Beckley, West Virginia |date=March 9, 2019 |access-date=March 2, 2022 }} The FM station launched as WBKW, a 4:00 pm–midnight music station, in late 1957.{{cite news |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-11-11-BC.pdf#page=87 |title=WBKW (FM) on Air With Music |work=Broadcasting |date=November 11, 1957 |page=87 }} Both were purchased in the mid-2010s by the West Virginia Radio Corporation. In 2016, WJLS moved from its original building in Beckley to occupy a floor in a building across the street.{{cite news |author=Cody Neff |url=https://www.register-herald.com/news/wjls-radio-moves-across-the-street-to-bickey-and-bair-building/article_42690cb9-4418-509d-8c3f-87d6e1e28349.html |title=WJLS Radio moves across the street to Bickey and Bair Building |newspaper=The Register-Herald |date=January 22, 2016 |access-date=March 2, 2022 }}

References

External links

{{Official website|https://wjls.com/}}{{FM station data|52336|WJLS-FM}}
[http://jeff560.tripod.com/wjls1.html History of WJLS] by Jeff Miller

JLS-FM

Category:Radio stations established in 1947

Category:1947 establishments in West Virginia

Category:Beckley, West Virginia