WLWX (FM)
WLWX (88.1 FM) is a radio station that, until November 2020, was broadcasting the K-Love Classics Christian classic hits format.[1][2] Upon the network's closure, the station began airing K-LOVE Christmas, a seasonal branding of EMF. Licensed to Wheaton, Illinois, United States, it serves the Chicago area. The station is currently owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which acquired it from Wheaton College in 2017.
| Broadcast area | Dupage County |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 88.1 MHz |
| Branding | K-Love 90s |
| Programming | |
| Format | 90s Christian hits |
| Network | K-Love 90s |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Educational Media Foundation |
| WAWE, WAWY, WCKL, WCLR, WOKL, WSRI, WZKL | |
| History | |
First air date | 1947 (carrier-current AM) 1962 (FM) |
Former call signs | WETN (1962-2017) WAIW (2017-2021) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66499 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 250 watts |
| HAAT | 43 meters (141 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′9.00″N 88°5′56.00″W / 41.8691667°N 88.0988889°W |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
History
Wheaton College's first carrier-current AM station went on the air in 1947 as WHON.[3] It moved to become licensed 88.1 FM WETN in 1962.[3] In 1979, the station was authorized to raise its power to 250 watts. Originally operating just 23 hours a week, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1984.[4]
EMF purchased the license for WETN from Wheaton College effective February 28, 2017 for $150,000. The station changed its call sign to WAIW on March 1, 2017, and carried the Air 1 Christian Hits format until August 2018, when it flipped to the Christian classic hits K-Love Classics format.[2]
Under the K-LOVE Classics branding, WAIW aired music by artists such as Bryan Duncan, Amy Grant, Keith Green, Michael W. Smith, 4 Him, and Steven Curtis Chapman. On January 1, 2021, WAIW started airing K-LOVE 90's.
On January 11, 2021, WAIW swapped call signs with EMF's Winchester, Virginia-based WLWX.
References
- ^ "EMF Launches Christian Classic Hits "K-Love Classics" - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
- ^ a b Feder, Robert. "Robservations: Bill Kurtis gets personal with Chicago magazine", Robert Feder. August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
- ^ a b Coen, Jeff (1996-12-12). "WETN-FM becomes a golden oldie". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-07. (Continued)
- ^ . Chicago Daily Herald. 1997-02-17. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
External links
- WLWX in the FCC FM station database
- WLWX on Radio-Locator
- WLWX in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for WLWX