WAWZ
Encyclopedia
WAWZ is a contemporary Christian music
radio station located in Zarephath, New Jersey
. It is a Listener Supported/commercial radio station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church
. The station's target demographic is a 25-34 year old female. The Class B, 50,000-watt signal reaches most of New York City, Northeastern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.
The call letters for the station, like its AM counterpart which went off the air in 1984, were chosen to honor Bishop Alma White, who was the founder of the Pillar of Fire Church
.
WAWZ began airing its current format as Star 99.1 on February 3, 2003. Its original format was traditional and classical music and church services. In later years inspirational Contemporary Christian music and mostly syndicated Christian teaching and talk shows were added. In this format its tagline was WAWZ - Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration
As of 2010, Its daily on-air schedule includes Johnny Stone In The Morning (6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.), a Morning Zoo
formatted program, Middays with Betsy Spina, and The Family Friendly Afternoon Show with George Flores.
The weekend schedule includes various religious, children, and public affairs programs. George Flores, host of the former David & Goliath Show (91.1 FM WFMU, East Orange, NJ) and former long-time 970-AM WWDJ radio personality and program director hosts Profiles. Saturday and Sunday also include the nationally syndicated count-up show Looking Up to Number One with Johnny Stone.
WAWZ was founded in 1941 by Bishop Alma White and the Pillar of Fire Church
. Formerly headquartered in Denver, Colorado
, the organization was given land in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
. The station was on 1380 AM for many years, sharing time with WBNX
in New York City
, until 1984 when the church sold its AM 1380-AM license to the owner of WBNX. The station began broadcasting on FM in 1954. WAWZ was the second station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church (KPOF
in Denver was the first).
The broadcast format was eighteen hours a day of classical music along with Pillar of Fire church services. In the 1980's there was a challenge to its license. The challenge alleged that the station did not serve the public good. Allen Lewis was hired as the new program director and it became a 24 hour station. For many years WAWZ carried teaching programs, talk shows, church services, and traditional Christian music. The schedule ran about 70% programs to 30% music. The station ran the tagline, WAWZ-Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration and featured mostly syndicated evangelical Christian teaching and talk shows and inspirational music. Local news, AP World News, public affairs programs and several call-in shows added a New Jersey feel to the station as it attempted to serve its license area it had just vigorously defended. Most of the schedule consisted of programming came from area church services and outside ministries via the state-of-the-art Chicago-based Moody Broadcasting Service satellite subscription. Among these was a local program called Search Light which served tri-state area prison inmates. The station ran Share-a-thons twice a year to solicit support from listeners. During the 1980s WAWZ began moving from a conservative format of traditional hymns and classical music to a format which included music by contemporary Christian artists. By 1990 the music mix was about half traditional and half contemporary By 1994 the music format was nearly all contemporary. However, the majority of the schedule consisted of non-musical programming.
Major changes began on Thanksgiving Day in 2002, WAWZ began playing wall-to-wall traditional and contemporary Christmas music. After Christmas, the station started airing hot adult contemporary Christian music with non-musical elements reduced to four hours per day. Finally on February 2, 2003, WAWZ renamed itself STAR 99.1. The station also began selling time to commercial advertisers, but as it remains owned by a 501C3 they continue to have an annual "Radiothon".
The National Religious Broadcasters
honored WAWZ with Station of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008 and the National Association of Broadcasters
honored them with the 2008 Crystal Radio Award for community service.
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
radio station located in Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath, New Jersey
Zarephath is an unincorporated area of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was the communal home to the Pillar of Fire Church, and was the worldwide headquarters of Pillar of Fire International and housed the church's college, Somerset Christian College, and radio...
. It is a Listener Supported/commercial radio station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
. The station's target demographic is a 25-34 year old female. The Class B, 50,000-watt signal reaches most of New York City, Northeastern New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.
The call letters for the station, like its AM counterpart which went off the air in 1984, were chosen to honor Bishop Alma White, who was the founder of the Pillar of Fire Church
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
.
WAWZ began airing its current format as Star 99.1 on February 3, 2003. Its original format was traditional and classical music and church services. In later years inspirational Contemporary Christian music and mostly syndicated Christian teaching and talk shows were added. In this format its tagline was WAWZ - Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration
As of 2010, Its daily on-air schedule includes Johnny Stone In The Morning (6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.), a Morning Zoo
Morning zoo
Morning zoo is a format of morning radio show common to English-language radio broadcasting. The name is derived from the "wackiness and zaniness" of the activities, bits, and overall personality of the show and its hosts...
formatted program, Middays with Betsy Spina, and The Family Friendly Afternoon Show with George Flores.
The weekend schedule includes various religious, children, and public affairs programs. George Flores, host of the former David & Goliath Show (91.1 FM WFMU, East Orange, NJ) and former long-time 970-AM WWDJ radio personality and program director hosts Profiles. Saturday and Sunday also include the nationally syndicated count-up show Looking Up to Number One with Johnny Stone.
History
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International is a Christian organization founded in Denver, Colorado in 1901 by Alma White, with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire was originally incorporated as the Pentecostal Union, but changed its name to distance itself from Pentecostalism in 1915...
. Formerly headquartered in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, the organization was given land in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey
-Communities of Franklin Township:The following are census-designated places, unincorporated enclaves, and historical communities located within Franklin Township...
. The station was on 1380 AM for many years, sharing time with WBNX
WKDM
WKDM 1380 is a United States ethnic brokered radio station serving New York City and owned by Multicultural Broadcasting. The station broadcasts in Mandarin Chinese, 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday.-History:...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, until 1984 when the church sold its AM 1380-AM license to the owner of WBNX. The station began broadcasting on FM in 1954. WAWZ was the second station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church (KPOF
KPOF
KPOF is an AM radio station in Westminster, Colorado broadcasting at 910 kHz. The transmitter and studio are located on the campus of Belleview Christian Schools in the historic Westminster Castle, just northwest of Denver, Colorado. KPOF is known locally as "AM91: The Point of Faith" and offers...
in Denver was the first).
The broadcast format was eighteen hours a day of classical music along with Pillar of Fire church services. In the 1980's there was a challenge to its license. The challenge alleged that the station did not serve the public good. Allen Lewis was hired as the new program director and it became a 24 hour station. For many years WAWZ carried teaching programs, talk shows, church services, and traditional Christian music. The schedule ran about 70% programs to 30% music. The station ran the tagline, WAWZ-Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration and featured mostly syndicated evangelical Christian teaching and talk shows and inspirational music. Local news, AP World News, public affairs programs and several call-in shows added a New Jersey feel to the station as it attempted to serve its license area it had just vigorously defended. Most of the schedule consisted of programming came from area church services and outside ministries via the state-of-the-art Chicago-based Moody Broadcasting Service satellite subscription. Among these was a local program called Search Light which served tri-state area prison inmates. The station ran Share-a-thons twice a year to solicit support from listeners. During the 1980s WAWZ began moving from a conservative format of traditional hymns and classical music to a format which included music by contemporary Christian artists. By 1990 the music mix was about half traditional and half contemporary By 1994 the music format was nearly all contemporary. However, the majority of the schedule consisted of non-musical programming.
Major changes began on Thanksgiving Day in 2002, WAWZ began playing wall-to-wall traditional and contemporary Christmas music. After Christmas, the station started airing hot adult contemporary Christian music with non-musical elements reduced to four hours per day. Finally on February 2, 2003, WAWZ renamed itself STAR 99.1. The station also began selling time to commercial advertisers, but as it remains owned by a 501C3 they continue to have an annual "Radiothon".
The National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters is an American organization that represents Christian religious broadcasters on American television and radio, including several high-profile televangelists and Christian radio show hosts. It claims a membership of more than 1700 organizations...
honored WAWZ with Station of the Year awards in 2007 and 2008 and the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
honored them with the 2008 Crystal Radio Award for community service.