WJPA

Infobox Radio station
name = WJPA

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city = Washington, Pennsylvania
area = Pittsburgh metropolitan area
branding = "95.3 WJPA"
slogan = "Oldies with an Attitude!"
airdate = 1941
frequency = FM: 95.3 MHz
AM: 1450 kHz
format = Oldies
power =
erp = FM: 2,150 watts
AM: 1,000 watts
haat = FM: 119 m
class = FM: A
AM: C
callsign_meaning = Washington & Jefferson PennsylvaniA
former_callsigns =
owner = Washington Broadcasting Company
webcast =
website = [http://www.wjpa.com/ www.wjpa.com]
affiliations = CNN, Radio PA

WJPA is an oldies simulcast on both the FM and AM bands. Officially, it serves Washington County, Pennsylvania, but can also be heard in parts of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The stations, which are owned by Washington Broadcasting Company, operate at 95.3 MHz with an ERP of 2.15 kw on the FM band, and at 1450 kHz with an ERP of 1 kw-Unlimited on the AM band. Both stations are licensed to Washington, Pennsylvania.

Though, in general, broadcast focuses on oldies, WJPA is also known for its wide sports coverage. WJPA regularly broadcasts games of the Washington & Jefferson College football team, minor league baseball team the Washington Wild Things and even area high school wrestling matches.

History

WJPA AM and FM both debuted in 1941. This was back in the day when holders of AM licenses were also granted an FM license as well. WJPA-FM was originally assigned the frequency of 104.6 MHz (back when FM channels were assigned even "point" numbers), but the license was turned back in to the FCC after it failed to make any kind of impact financially, as there were few home receivers and virtually no car receivers to receive FM transmissions.

WJPA was started by a consortium of business owners in downtown Washington, several of whom are still part of the ownership group.

After FM radio started gaining momentum, Washington Broadcasting Company decided to give FM radio another try. The company successfully applied for an FM license, and was granted the application to operate on 95.3 FM in 1964. In the summer of 1979, after years of afternoon office-music broadcasts, WJPA-FM switched to a new, album rock-format and changed call letters to WYTK-FM.

In 1983, WYTK moved to a contemporary country format, billing itself as "K-Country". Again an automated station, this format would remain until the early 1990s, when ownership decided to simulcast the two stations, billing it as "The New Sound of Oldies", referring to the addition of then-new CD technology and a deeper music library than Pittsburgh-based competitor WWSW. This format continues today. WJPA-AM does break for separate programming occasionally, such as Sunday morning church broadcasts, high school sports, Pittsburgh Steelers football and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.

WJPA Today

The WJPA broadcast facilities are located at the corner of Main St. and East Wheeling St. across from the Observer-Reporter newspaper offices. Both stations transmit from a self-supporting tower at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 79, just north of Washington.

WJPA has a reputation for its tenured on-air staff. Pete "I've Got the Beat" Povich (personally nicknamed by Go-Gos lead singer Belinda Carlisle) is the longest tenured DJ at WJPA, having worked there since 1983. Margie Konstantine, who met Pete while students at California University of Pennsylvania, joined the following year. News Director Jim Jefferson and Sports Director Bob Gregg have been part of the stations for more than three decades. Michael Siegel has served as President and General Manager for the past 20 years.

Personalities

* Pete "I've Got the Beat" Povich - mornings
* Margie Konstantine - middays
* Dale Allen - afternoons
* Mark Jacobs - evenings
* Jim Jefferson - news director/morning news anchor
* Tony DiPalma - afternoon news anchor
* Bill DiFabio - morning sports anchor
* Bob Gregg - sports director

External links

* [http://www.wjpa.com/ Official website]
*FMQ|WJPA
*FML|WJPA
*AMQ|WJPA
*AML|WJPA