CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A local radio station with a nearly 80-year history in Clarksville will soon be part of the 5 Star Radio Group.
Saga Communications, owner of 5 Star, has agreed to purchase the former WJZM, 1400 AM – which is now WBQL-AM with a “repeater” on 105.5 FM as W288DQ – from Consolidated Media LLC for $175,000.
It’s too early to say what programming the new station will carry, but some plans are already in the works.
“We’re working on an exciting new format that will serve the community,” said Katie Gambill, general manager of 5 Star.
The sale is pending approval from the FCC.
5 Star Media Group includes eight radio stations: Beaver 100.3, Q108, Z97.5, Rewind 94.3, Sunny 99.1, ESPN Clarksville, Outlaw 100.7 and EZ 99.9, along with the news website ClarksvilleNow.com. Its offices are in Clarksville on Old Russellville Pike.
Beginnings in early days of radio
WJZM began in the early 1940s, when radio included everything from serialized dramas and weekly sermons to news and live sports.
The premiere broadcast on Sunday, Oct. 14, 1941, began at 9 a.m. with a Sunday School lesson from First Baptist Church by Pastor Richard N. Owen, then a sermon by the Rev. W.L. McColgan of First Presbyterian Church, according to Leaf-Chronicle archives. Then followed addresses by Montgomery County Judge John T. Cunningham; Charles V. Runyon, representing Mayor William Kleeman; and H.D. Pettus and C.W. Bailey, representing the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce.
From there, the station offered a wide variety of daily programming, starting at 6 a.m. and signing off at 11 p.m., according to 1941 listings. Local programs included shows such as “Clarksville Calling” and “Sports Spotlight,” supplemented by syndicated shows from the Mutual Broadcasting System such as “White House Conference,” “Ned Jordan, Secret Agent” and “Morton Gould’s Orchestra.”