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WJZN (1400 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Augusta, Maine, United States. The station, established in 1932 as WRDO, is owned by Townsquare Media; it broadcast an alternative rock format simulcast from WCYY in Portland prior to going silent in May 2023. WJZN's programming is also heard on W240DH (95.9 FM) in Augusta.
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Kennebec County, Maine |
| Frequency | 1400 kHz |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WEBB, WMME-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | February 23, 1932[1] |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | warehoused from the now-WKIM in Munford, Tennessee |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 52604 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 44°17′31.5″N 69°46′23.76″W |
| Translator(s) | 95.9 W240DH (Augusta) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
WJZN went on the air February 23, 1932,[1] as WRDO, owned by the Rines family's Congress Square Hotel Company, who also owned WCSH in Portland and WFEA in Manchester, New Hampshire.[3][4]
The Rines family sold WRDO to Ocean Coast Properties, owner of WPOR AM-FM in Portland, for $100,000 in 1974.[5] H&R Corporation bought the station for $225,000 in 1977.[6] By 1978, WRDO had a middle of the road format and was affiliated with the NBC Radio Network.[7] H&R sold WRDO to Sterling Broadcasting Corporation for $260,000 in 1980.[8] Sterling changed the station's format to country music in 1981;[9] the format was simulcast with FM sister station WSCL (92.1 FM).[10] Augusta-Waterville Broadcasters, controlled by the owners of WGHQ and WBPM in Kingston, New York, bought WRDO and WSCL for $425,000 in 1983.[11] By this point, the stations were simulcasting an adult contemporary format; WSCL had also moved to 92.3,[12] and that December changed its call letters to WRDO-FM.[13]
Augusta-Waterville Broadcasters sold WRDO and WRDO-FM to Marcom for $400,000 in 1986.[14] The call letters changed to WMME on March 1, 1987,[15] as the station began simulcasting a contemporary hit radio format with what had become WMME-FM.[16] Target Communications sold WMME and WMME-FM to Tri-Group for $1.4 million in 1988.[17] Pilot Communications bought the stations for $950,000 in 1993.[18] The call letters were changed to WEZW on August 17, 1995,[15] though the station continued to simulcast WMME-FM;[16] it then changed to WLTI on August 30, 1996, before returning to WEZW on September 25.[15]
Pilot's radio stations were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting in 1999 as part of its purchase of parent company Broadcasting Partners Holdings.[19] In January 2003, Citadel ended WEZW's simulcast of WMME-FM and switched the station to an adult standards format, simulcast with sister station WTVL (1490 AM) in Waterville under the "Kool" branding.[20] The call letters were changed to WJZN on October 14, 2004.[15]
Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[21] Townsquare Media acquired Cumulus' Augusta-Waterville stations in 2012.[22] On July 14, 2016, WJZN split from its simulcast with WTVL and launched a classic rock format, branded as "Capital 95.9"; this followed the launch of FM translator W240DH (95.9 FM).[23]
On October 22, 2021, WJZN dropped the classic rock format and began stunting towards a new format to launch on Monday October 25. That day, the station began simulcasting a relaunched version of the alternative rock format from Portland sister station WCYY.[24] WCYY's expansion, which also included WPKQ in North Conway, New Hampshire, coincided with the syndication launch of Toucher and Rich from WBZ-FM in Boston, with the WCYY stations, along with Bangor sister station WEZQ, serving as the program's first affiliates.[24] On May 8, 2023, Townsquare Media filed an STA to take the station silent;[25] it returned to the air on April 29, 2024.[26]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W240DH | 95.9 FM | Augusta, Maine | 141380 | 250 | D | 44°17′30.2″N 69°46′25.2″W | LMS |
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