Жарэфаттағы WAWZ радиостанциясының тарихы

Radio station in Zarephath, New Jersey

WAWZ (99.1 FM) is a Christian radio station licensed to Zarephath, New Jersey. The station is owned by non profit Pillar Media, a division of the Pillar of Fire International. The station maintains a studio in Warren, while its transmitter is located in Bridgewater. WAWZ's signal can be heard through portions of Central and Northern New Jersey and New York City and as far south as Ocean and Burlington counties, as well as Eastern Pennsylvania.

WAWZ was founded in 1931 by Pillar of Fire, a small Christian denomination started in Colorado. It became the second station owned by the Pillar of Fire Church. KPOF in Denver, Colorado, was the first. The call letters for WAWZ were chosen to honor Bishop Alma White, the founder of the Pillar of Fire Church, and Zarephath, its community of license. The station was first assigned a frequency of 1350 AM, sharing time equally with three other stations, WCDA, WBNX, and WMSG. In later years, at 1380 AM, it shared time with WBNX in New York City. In the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the organization was vocal in its support of the Ku Klux Klan, to an extent which was unique for a religious denomination. White prolifically spoke and wrote of both her and the Pillar of Fire Church's support of the Klan and many of the Klan's principles including anti Catholicism, white supremacy, antisemitism, nativism, and temperance. In 1954, the station bought its spot on the FM dial for roughly $5,000. The modern value of that frequency is estimated to be more than $60 million. WAWZ began airing its current format of contemporary Christian music and gospel as "Star 99.1" in 2003. and 2008, and the National Association of Broadcasters honored them with the 2008 "Crystal Radio Award" for community service.

HD2 Christian teaching (The eight hour block of teaching programs, signing on first in April 2006, resembled the station's mid 1990s format, including the use of the former tagline, "WAWZ – Your Voice of Faith and Inspiration.")