WJAB

Infobox Radio station
name = WJAB


city = Huntsville, Alabama
area =
branding =
slogan = "Smooth Jazz & Cool Vocals"
airdate = October 2, 1991
frequency = 90.9 FM (MHz)
format = Jazz/Blues
erp = 100,000 watts
haat = 102 meters (335 ft)
class = C1
facility_id = 697
coordinates = coord|37|47|09|N|86|34|00|W|
callsign_meaning = Jazz And Blues [cite web |date=2008-02-02 |work=The Broadcast Archive |url=http://nelson.oldradio.com/origins.html |last=Nelson |first=Bob |title=Call Letter Origins]
former_callsigns =
owner = Alabama A&M University
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast = [http://wjab.streamguys.net/listen.pls Listen Live]
website = http://www2.aamu.edu/wjab/
affiliations = National Public Radio

WJAB (90.9 FM) is a National Public Radio-affiliated radio station in Huntsville, Alabama. It primarily features jazz and blues music programming aimed toward African-American residents of the northern counties of Alabama and several counties in southern middle Tennessee.cite web |title=Station Information Profile |work=Arbitron |url=http://www.arbitron.com/] WJAB's signal travels in about a 50-mile radius.

The station is licensed to Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (known as "Alabama A&M" for short) in Normal, Alabama, which is actually located within the city of Huntsville. The Telecommunications Center of the University operates the station partly as a laboratory for student announcers, producers, and journalists.

History

Beginning in the late 1970s, Alabama A&M made numerous attempts to obtain funding from the state of Alabama and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in order to establish a radio station of its own. The FCC originally allocated the callsign WAED for the station.cite web |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=4309 |title=Station Search Details |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database] The Telecommunications Center was best known during the 1970s and 1980s for producing a weekly public affairs and features show seen on Alabama Public Television, "Montage," directed toward the state's African-American community.

After years of bureaucratic wrangling and waiting for governments to afford the needed appropriations, AAMU realized its goal in early 1991. Since that time, the station has consistently placed the concerns of its listeners in very high regard with programming such as interview shows, music of all varieties throughout the Pan-African world, and live broadcasts of AAMU football and men's basketball games.

The station was assigned the WJAB call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on January 23, 1990.cite web |title=Call Sign History |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=697 |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database]

Notable personalities included Joe Cook, Erica Fox, Don Juan, Toni Neal, Ellen Washington

References

External links

* [http://www2.aamu.edu/wjab/ WJAB official website]
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