WHJM

'WHJM', "Radio Maria" (for "Hearts of Jesus and Mary")is a non-commercial FM station operating at 88.7 mHz licensed to Anna, Ohio. It is a repeater station of KJMJ(AM) 580 in Alexandria, Louisiana (where its local Catholic diocese is also headquartered) and is owned by Friends of Radio Maria USA airing inspirational music and Catholic programming for the Upper Miami Valley region of Shelby,Auglaize,Allen,Logan,Mercer,Miami and surrounding counties in West Central Ohio. It is part of the international broadcast ministry of The World Family of Radio Maria, which is based in Italy and broadcasts in over thirty countries in thirteen languages worldwide. The station also audiostreams from its website for listeners outside its immediate signal area.

Contents

History

Facilities and programming

See also

External links

History

WHJM "Radio Maria" first came on the air June 15th in the summer of 2006. Its transmitting antenna and tower was abruptly struck by a spectacular display of lightning only after a few hours on the air during its inaugural sign-on. After necessary repairs were made, WHJM returned to the air August 11, 2006. Their current operating power is 1,000 watts ERP.
The WHJM call letters were previously used at an Urban/R&B/Hip-Hop formatted station at 107.7 FM in Ledyard/Pawcatuk, Connecticut. The call sign for that station has since switched to WWRX. Before that, the WHJM calls were used on 1180 AM in Knoxville, Tennessee which had used Christian Country, Adult Standards and talk formats. That station is now WVLZ.
KJMJ has been on the air as the US flagship station of Radio Maria since May of 2000. Originally, the 580 frequency was home to KALB-AM, sister station to KALB-TV channel 5.
Radio Maria was founded at first with humble beginnings as a small parish-operated station in Como, Italy in 1983 before its subsequent international growth in the 1990s which gave birth to the World Family in 1998. Emanuele Ferrario is Radio Maria's founder and president.

Facilities and programming

Since WHJM is a repeater of KJMJ, there is no working air studio or office within the corporation limits of Anna. However, a new office and production studio facility now exists west of Anna in nearby Minster which has been charged by the World Family of Radio Maria to produce programs for KJMJ with its network of repeaters and its internet audiostream in addition to remote audio facilities utilized to record and broadcast remote programs over telephone lines in the station's service area. The WHJM transmitter is currently located to the north in nearby Botkins. (Future plans call for a permanent transmitter site for the new station.) A dedication,blessing and prayer service officiated by Father Rick Nieberding,C.P.P.S. took place followed by an open house on Sunday April 22,2007 at the Minster studio site which is now in the need of office and broadcast studio equipment donations and volunteer office staffers. Father Nieberding,pastor of St. Augustine Church is also a weekly program presenter in Minster.
A public information session took place on August 29, 2006 at St. Charles Center in Carthagena, Ohio to formally introduce Radio Maria to West Central Ohio listeners. A mix of traditional Catholic hymns with traditional inspirational and Contemporary Christian music is featured on the station in addition to the daily reciting of the Holy Rosary, Bible study programs, novena prayers, a weekday Mass and various talk programs discussing the Catholic faith. Several locally originating remote programs are aired including "Francesca and Friends" and "From The Tummy To The Heart" both hosted by Francesca Franchinafrom the University of Dayton in addition to other programs originating from local parishes in Minster,Osgood,West Milton and Huber Heights.
Kelly Hatcher is station manager, Mary Pyper is local station coordinator, Jim Meyer is remote broadcast technician, Alicia Risko is volunteer coordinator,Father Duane Stenzel, O.F.M. is program director/on-air personality, and Frank Hare is studio/production manager.
Radio Maria's other US stations simulcasting KJMJ include:
'AM repeaters'

★ KDEI 1250 in Port Arthur,TX

★ KNIR 1360 in New Iberia,LA
'FM repeaters'

★ KBIO 89.7 in Natchitoches,LA

★ KOJO 91.1 in Lake Charles,LA

See also

★ Jesus Christ

★ Blessed Virgin Mary

★ Radio Maria

★ Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana

★ Archdiocese of Cincinnati

★ Diocese of Toledo

★ List of radio stations in Ohio

★ List of religious radio stations

★ Cursillo

★ Botkins, Ohio

★ Anna, Ohio

★ Minster, Ohio

External links

★ Official Radio Maria USA site(with streaming audio)

★ Official Radio Maria International site (with streaming audio)

★ Official Radio Maria Italy site

★ Catholic Telegraph news article on Minster studio dedication/open house (May 4,2007)

★ Catholic Telegraph in-depth news article on WHJM (March 23,2007)

★ Catholic Telegraph news article on Radio Maria's Ohio sign-on (September 8,2006)

★ Youngstown Vindicator news article on WHJM.

★ St. Charles Center in Carthagena,Ohio

★ Catholic Cursillo of Cincinnati

★ Piqua Ultreya

★ Church of the Transfiguration in West Milton,Ohio

★ University of Dayton's Mary page

★ WHJM's technical information from Radio Locator website

★ WHJM's current transmitter site

★ Query the FCC's FM station database for WHJM-FM

★ WHJM coverage area map in PDF format