WPJS

WPJS (1330 AM) is an Urban Gospel formatted radio station licensed to serve Conway, South Carolina, which targets a primarily African-American audience and also airs community-oriented programming.

WPJS
CityConway, South Carolina
Broadcast areaMyrtle Beach/Grand Strand
Frequency1330 kHz
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatUrban Gospel
Ownership
OwnerWPJS Broadcasting, Inc.
History
First air date
1945
Former call signs
WLAT (1945-July 7, 1988)
WLIT (July 7, 1988-January 8, 1990)
WBIG (January 8, 1990-May 31, 1991)[1]
Former frequencies
1490 kHz (1945-1956)[2]
Technical information
Facility ID4436
ClassD
Power3,200 watts daytime
23 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
33°51′13.6″N 79°1′12.9″W

History

WLAT was the first radio station in Horry County, South Carolina, first licensed on September 24, 1945.[3] At first, WYAV transmitted on 1490 kHz with a 250-watt signal. In 1956, WLAT moved from 1490 to 1330 kHz, along with a daytime power increase to 1,000 watts, but giving up night authorization. The station applied for another power increase in 1958 to 5,000 watts, & would seek 500 watts at night in 1961.[4] A sister FM station was added circa 1964.[5] Formats for the AM station over the years included beautiful music and, as of 1985, country music.[6]

In 1988, the new owners of WLAT, which by this time was separate from the FM, changed the format to urban contemporary and called it "Hot 1330". The owners had changed the callsign of a station in Charlotte, North Carolina, from WLIT, and just in case they wanted to use the letters again, they gave the letters to WLAT. Later, the same thing was done when the station's owners changed the callsign WBIG on a Greensboro, North Carolina station. The station took the callsign WPJS on May 31, 1991.

The current format was chosen in the early 1990s. The old studios on U. S. 501 stood empty until being demolished, and the WLAT call letters still stand next to the road.

References
  1. Callsign history for WPJS; retrieved from fcc.gov on April 15, 2018.
  2. FCC's history cards for WPJS; retrieved April 15, 2018.
  3. WLAT construction permit record, from the F.C.C.'s history cards, retrieved April 15, 2018.
  4. F.C.C's construction permit & license history cards for WPJS, retrieved April 15, 2018.
  5. F.C.C.'s history cards for WYAV, retrieved April 15, 2018.
  6. Toby Eddings, "WYAK changes its lineup and image," The Sun News, Apr. 25, 1999.

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