IL Radio: WRJM Charleston Scheduled To Cease Operations

After 60 years in the community, Charleston radio stations N/T WRJM 1270 AM / 96.1 FM will no longer be in operation come January. according to jg-tc.com.

Randy Miller, owner of Miller Media Group, said financial viability was the deciding factor in closing down the two stations.

“It was a business decision,” Miller said. “It was not financially viable for my company to continue to operate.”

The final day of broadcasting for WRJM will depend on the Eastern Illinois University Panthers’ football FCS playoff game, Miller said.

If the team plays in the Jan. 4 national championship, WRJM will be on the air through the end of the day Jan. 4; if the Panthers don’t play in the national championship, WRJM will cease operations just past midnight Jan. 1, according to Miller.

WRJM’s agriculture program, which operates six hours a day, will continue to be heard on sister station WHOW 1520 AM in Clinton, IL.

WRJM was first founded in Dec. 12, 1954, by Charleston resident Jack Owen. In October 2011, the Miller Media Group’s Kaskaskia Broadcasting, Inc. purchased the 1270 AM frequency and launched WRJM on Feb. 1, 2012. WRJM’s FM repeater at 96.1 went on the air December 2011, according to the WRJM website.

The Miller Media Group will continue to own and operate radio stations that serve Taylorville, Pana, Shelbyville, and Clinton, the WRJM website said.