WGLB
Broadcast areaMilwaukee metropolitan area
Frequency1560 kHz
Branding1560 WGLB
Programming
FormatUrban contemporary gospel
Ownership
OwnerJJK Media, LLC
History
First air date
December 6, 1963 (1963-12-06)
Call sign meaning
"Where Gospel Lovers Belong" (originally Great Lakes Broadcasting, original owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID73050
ClassB
Power
Translator(s)96.1 W241CI (Milwaukee)
Links
Public license information
Websitewglbradio.com

WGLB (1560 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Elm Grove, Wisconsin, and serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It airs an urban contemporary gospel radio format. The license is held by JJK Media, LLC. It is co-owned by the children of founding owner Joel Kinlow, making WGLB one of only a few radio stations that is owned by an African-American family. The studios are on West Burleigh Street in Milwaukee.

By day, WGLB is powered at 2,500 watts. But 1560 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A WFME in New York City. So to protect other stations from interference, WGLB reduces power at night to 250 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. During critical hours, the power is 700 watts. The transmitter is on South 98th Street near Interstate 41 in West Allis, Wisconsin.[2] Programming is also heard on 99-watt FM translator W241CI at 96.1 MHz in Milwaukee.[3]

History

WGLB signed on the air on December 6, 1963. Its original city of license was Port Washington, Wisconsin. It broadcast with 250 watts, as a daytime only station.

WGLB was founded by Joel Kinlow, a Milwaukee area minister. In 1969, a sister station, WGLB-FM, was launched on 100.1 MHz (now WSJP-FM). At first, they mostly simulcast their programming. In 2003, the FM station was sold to Starboard Broadcasting, which flipped it to Catholic religious programming.

Kinlow also once owned television station WJJA Channel 49 in Racine. It aired programming from the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

In August 2001, 1560 WGLB's city of license was changed to the Milwaukee suburb of Elm Grove, and the current transmitter site went into operation. The station also obtained authorization to begin nighttime broadcasting.

On April 20, 2015, WGLB was granted a Federal Communications Commission construction permit to increase day power to 2,500 watts and add critical hours service with 700 watts.[4]

Kinlow died on June 7, 2016, but his children continue to own and operate WGLB 1560.

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for WGLB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. Radio-Locator.com/WGLB
  3. Radio-Locator.com/W241CI
  4. "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2021.

43°00′32″N 88°02′06″W / 43.00889°N 88.03500°W / 43.00889; -88.03500


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