WEJL
Encyclopedia
WEJL is a radio station
broadcasting in Scranton, Pennsylvania
on the AM dial at 630 kHz. Its programming is simulcast on WBAX
in Wilkes-Barre, at 1240 kHz and WQFM in Forest City
at 100.1 MHz. The two stations, known on-air as ESPN Radio 630-1240, broadcast sports talk programming from ESPN Radio
, as well as Philadelphia Phillies
baseball and Notre Dame
football. They are owned by Times-Shamrock Communications
, publishers of Scranton's daily newspaper, The Times-Tribune
.
Originally at 1070 kHz, WQAN changed frequency to 1200 kHz by 1925. By 1927, the station had begun sharing the frequency of 1300 kHz with Scranton's other station, WGBI (now WBZU
).
WQAN/WGBI moved to 880 kHz by 1930. The year 1941 brought a nationwide frequency reassignment period and the two stations had to change their frequency sharing arrangements to 910 kHz. The 21-year frequency sharing arrangement between WQAN and WGBI came to an end in 1948 when the Lynett family built a tower atop the Times Building in downtown Scranton for the new WQAN-FM at 92.3 MHz and moved the AM station to the new frequency of 630 AM from the same tower, where it remains today. WQAN-FM's calls were changed in the early 1950s to WEJL-FM, in honor of family patriarch E.J. Lynett In 1955, WEJL-FM had gone silent, and the AM
station took the call letters of the FM and became WEJL. Originally a 500-watt daytime-only operation, it has since boosted its power to 2,000 watts.
For decades, WEJL was a full-service radio station. Its news updates 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm, along with mine working schedules, were an institution in Scranton. It adopted its current sports radio format in the 1990s.
In 1994, the Lynetts bought WBAX in Wilkes-Barre to fill in the gaps in WEJL's signal. Although WEJL's daytime signal decently covers Wilkes-Barre, much of the southern part of the market (for instance, Hazleton
) gets only a grade B signal due to the area's rugged terrain. At night, it must power down to 32 watts, effectively limiting its nighttime coverage to Lackawanna County.
In 2008, the stations applied for special temporary authority to rebroadcast on FM translators W241AZ (96.1 Dunmore) and W241BB (96.1 Wilkes-Barre). WQFN, 100.1 mHz, Forest City, PA (Call Letter Change to WQFM) began to rebroadcast WEJL on 9/16/2010.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
on the AM dial at 630 kHz. Its programming is simulcast on WBAX
WBAX
WBAX is a radio station located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; located on the AM dial at 1240 kHz. It simulcasts the sports radio format of WEJL in Scranton, filling in the gaps in WEJL's signal outside Lackawanna County...
in Wilkes-Barre, at 1240 kHz and WQFM in Forest City
Forest City, Pennsylvania
Forest City is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Forest City is situated at the corner of Susquehanna County, Lackawanna County and Wayne County, Pennsylvania and is designated by a marker which is located in the Forest City Industrial Park....
at 100.1 MHz. The two stations, known on-air as ESPN Radio 630-1240, broadcast sports talk programming from ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
, as well as Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
baseball and Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
football. They are owned by Times-Shamrock Communications
Times-Shamrock Communications
Times-Shamrock Communications is an American media company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company, owned by the Lynett and Haggerty families of Scranton, lists among its assets seven daily newspapers, over 20 weekly newspapers, and 12 radio stations...
, publishers of Scranton's daily newspaper, The Times-Tribune
The Times-Tribune
The Times-Tribune is a morning newspaper serving the Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. area. It is owned by the Lynett family and their company, Times-Shamrock Communications. On Sundays the paper is published as The Sunday Times....
.
History
E. J. Lynett, publisher of The Scranton Times (now The Times-Tribune) believed radio was a natural business for a newspaper. In November 1922, he bought WRAY, that had signed on a few days earlier (November 29) and changed the calls to WQAN. The Times thus became the first American newspaper to own and operate a radio station.Originally at 1070 kHz, WQAN changed frequency to 1200 kHz by 1925. By 1927, the station had begun sharing the frequency of 1300 kHz with Scranton's other station, WGBI (now WBZU
WBZU
WBZU is a News/Talk AM broadcasting radio station licensed to the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The station currently relays the programming of WILK and the "WILK News Radio" network. WBZU is currently owned by...
).
WQAN/WGBI moved to 880 kHz by 1930. The year 1941 brought a nationwide frequency reassignment period and the two stations had to change their frequency sharing arrangements to 910 kHz. The 21-year frequency sharing arrangement between WQAN and WGBI came to an end in 1948 when the Lynett family built a tower atop the Times Building in downtown Scranton for the new WQAN-FM at 92.3 MHz and moved the AM station to the new frequency of 630 AM from the same tower, where it remains today. WQAN-FM's calls were changed in the early 1950s to WEJL-FM, in honor of family patriarch E.J. Lynett In 1955, WEJL-FM had gone silent, and the AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
station took the call letters of the FM and became WEJL. Originally a 500-watt daytime-only operation, it has since boosted its power to 2,000 watts.
For decades, WEJL was a full-service radio station. Its news updates 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm, along with mine working schedules, were an institution in Scranton. It adopted its current sports radio format in the 1990s.
In 1994, the Lynetts bought WBAX in Wilkes-Barre to fill in the gaps in WEJL's signal. Although WEJL's daytime signal decently covers Wilkes-Barre, much of the southern part of the market (for instance, Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
) gets only a grade B signal due to the area's rugged terrain. At night, it must power down to 32 watts, effectively limiting its nighttime coverage to Lackawanna County.
In 2008, the stations applied for special temporary authority to rebroadcast on FM translators W241AZ (96.1 Dunmore) and W241BB (96.1 Wilkes-Barre). WQFN, 100.1 mHz, Forest City, PA (Call Letter Change to WQFM) began to rebroadcast WEJL on 9/16/2010.