Two weeks after an Alabama AM station went off the air after its tower disappeared, the station is back broadcasting in Jasper thanks to iHeartMedia. In early February, WJLX owner Brett Elmore reported his 200-foot tower stolen, making headlines around the world.
A landscaping crew arrived at the Walker County property in the early morning hours of February 2 to find the tower site’s building vandalized, support wires severed, and the whole 3,500-pound structure gone. The Jasper Police Department have been investigating the disappearance.
In the days following, Elmore attempted to secure a waiver from the FCC to continue on his FM translator, which was denied due to regulations against operating translators without the primary AM station being on air. He says the replacement cost for the tower, which was uninsured, is estimated at $60,000 to $100,000.
That’s when Elmore was contacted by iHeartMedia President of Programming Operations and Digital Music Jon Zellner and EVP of Engineering and Systems Integration Jeff Littlejohn. They has seen the story and proceeded to collaborate with Elmore to establish an HD signal package for WJLX with the FCC, allowing the station to temporarily broadcast on iHeart’s WDXB-HD3 (102.5 The Bull) signal out of Birmingham.
The deal also allows WJLX to use its own translator again to return to broadcasting locally on 101.5.
Elmore shared his gratitude on the station Facebook page, saying, “This is the real reason why broadcast radio holds a unique place in American culture – our listeners can rely on us to get them important information, whether it’s news, sports, weather, traffic or community events. We connect them to the important things in their daily lives – and radio still reaches more Americans each week than any other medium.”
“Safe to say this has been a whirlwind experience, but I am deeply grateful to iHeartMedia, Jon Zellner, Jeff Littlejohn and everyone on the team that helped a fellow radio friend get back on air. I would also like to thank the staff at the FCC for helping us along the way the last two days in making this happen!
“I said we would be back and better than ever and we are. Now, we turn our attention on rebuilding our AM!”
KUDO’s to the “heartless big corporation” for their creative help.
Ya gotta wonder at the surprize when these jokers show up at the recycling center and say, “Whatda ya mean it’s not copper!!??”
He will end up leasing the HD 3 signal from IHM and all will be well in Jasper again..Less than actually buying a new tower and now he can sell the real estate. Win win win
They just made it easier for him to dump his AM signal. But I thought AM was important?