| City of license | Alexandria, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Alexandria area |
| Slogan | A Christian Voice In Your Home |
| Frequency | 580 kHz |
| First air date | September 21, 1935(as KALB-AM later KLBG) [1] May 25, 2000 (as KJMJ) |
| Format | Christian radio |
| Power | 5,000 watts day 1,000 watts night |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 20492 |
| Callsign meaning | Jesus, Mary and Joseph |
| Former callsigns | KALB (1935-1995) KLBG (1995-2000) |
| Affiliations | Radio Maria |
| Owner | Radio Maria, Inc. |
| Sister stations | KNIR, KDEI, KOJO, KBIO, WULM, WHJM, WHHN |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | radiomaria.us |
KJMJ "Radio Maria" (for "Jesus, Mary and Joseph") is an American AM radio broadcasting station in Alexandria, Louisiana where the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana is also headquartered and is the originating English-language station of Radio Maria USA airing Catholic programming.
Contents |
Originally founded in 1935 as KALB (AM), the radio sister of KALB-TV channel 5 and the former KALB-FM at 96.9 mHz (now KZMZ). The station was sold in 1995 becoming KLBG, a soul gospel formated station. At the time of KALB's founding it was originally located at 1420 on the AM band. In May 2000,it was purchased by The World Family of Radio Maria through its local supporters. Its initial broadcast as KJMJ commenced on May 25 of that same year. Afterward, a network of repeaters were established later that year which includes an FM in Lake Charles, LA and an AM in Port Arthur, TX and New Iberia, LA. An FM was acquired in Natchitoches, LA in 2002 with an FM in Anna, OH in 2006 and the recent purchase of an AM in Springfield (near Dayton, OH) making it the newest AM repeater in May 2008. Audiostreaming from its website is available for listeners outside the station's signal area.
A Spanish-language program is also aired on Saturday mornings.
Father Duane Stenzel O.F.M. served as its first national program director,Mass celebrant,teacher and on-air personality from its 2000 inception until his passing on January 18, 2011. Mary Pyper is national board president,Russ Wilson is weekend on-air technician, and Frank Hare is studio/production manager.
KJMJ "Radio Maria" operates with a daytime power of 5,000 watts serving central Louisiana and reaches the New Orleans,Baton Rouge,Shreveport and Houston Texas areas . It has a nighttime power of 1,000 watts with a northwest to southeast direction pattern. Radio Maria's programming includes a mix of traditional Catholic worship and inspirational music with Contemporary Christian music along with a weekday Mass,frequent recitals of the Holy Rosary and various talk and teaching programs on the Catholic faith. Its satellite audio feed allows a network of repeaters on both the AM and FM bands broadcast the same programming in Louisiana,Texas and Ohio. (see below) Spanish-language programming for Radio Maria USA is originated on FM subcarriers in Houston and New York City with Italian-language programming also offered on another FM subcarrier also in New York City in addition to audio streaming. A Spanish language FM subcarrier is now in operation in Chicago along with construction permits granted for English-language stations in North Dakota. Some of KJMJ's programs with a worldwide online audience include Father Stenzel's twice-weekly live prayer request program "House Calls" which has attracted online listeners from across the U.S. and Canada.
Radio Maria's audiostream can be accessed from its website and anywhere outside the signal areas of the stations mentioned above by using iPhone, BlackBerry and Android mobile phone devices by means of downloading the appropriate app from its website.
Radio Maria USA in 2007 applied with the FCC for ten additional FM frequencies for its repeater network. Three such stations WHHN 88.1 FM in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania began broadcasting on June 13, 2009,along with WOLM(also at 88.1 FM) in D'Iberville, Mississippi on May 27, 2010 serving the Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula areas in addition to WRMW at 91.1 FM in Peshtigo, Wisconsin serving the Sturgeon Bay area northeast of Green Bay which came on the air on May 26, 2010....thus expanding the English-language network to ten stations. Another new repeater, KSIH at 90.1 FM in Belcourt, North Dakota is planned for air in the near future.
Radio Maria USA also airs an overnight/early morning weekday program block "Wake Up America" from Radio Maria New York (10pm-6am Eastern time M-F) in addition to a Saturday and Sunday evening block "Good Evening America" (7pm-12 midnight Eastern time)on WSNR 620 am in Jersey City, New Jersey serving the New York City area. The programs originated on WSNR which also airs on KJMJ and its repeater network and audiostream features teaching and call-in programs featuring prominent theologians Father Joseph Koterski Associate Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University,Father Vincent Euk Parochial Vicar at St. John The Evangelist Church in White Plains and Father Peter Pilsner of Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. WSNR otherwise airs mostly brokered programming.
WFAS 1230 AM in White Plains, New York also airs portions of the Radio Maria New York overnight program block.
HMWN Radio Maria the Toronto English language FM subcarrier and cable service also airs Radio Maria USA programming from KJMJ during overnight hours and on weekends.
|
||||||||||||||