| WDMJ | |
| City: | Marquette, Michigan |
| Country: | US |
| Area: | Marquette County, Michigan |
| Branding: | Marquette County's Greatest Hits |
| Frequency: | 1320 kHz |
| Airdate: | (as WBEO) |
| Format: | Oldies |
| Class: | D |
| Facility Id: | 24448 |
| Callsign Meaning: | Daily Mining Journal |
| Former Callsigns: | WBEO (1931–1939) |
| Owner: | AMC Partners, LLC |
| Licensee: | AMC Partners Escanaba, LLC |
| Sister Stations: | WCHT, WIMK, WJPD, WMIQ, WZNL |
| Website: | Greatest Hits 1320 WDMJ - Radio Results Network |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
WDMJ (1320 AM) is an oldies radio station licensed to Marquette, Michigan, with a power output of 5,000 watts during the day and 140 watts at night, covering much of Marquette County, Michigan. The station is owned by Armada Media Corporation, through licensee AMC Partners Escanaba, LLC, doing business as the Radio Results Network and broadcasts from studios on Ridge Street in West Marquette.[1]
WDMJ has been broadcasting for nearly 100 years. It is the oldest radio station in Marquette County, Michigan and is the second oldest in the Upper Peninsula, only behind WCCY in Houghton.[2]
First known as WBEO, AM 1320 began broadcasting on July 2, 1931, later changing its call sign to WDMJ on November 15, 1939,[3] with DMJ standing for the Daily Mining Journal, Marquette's daily newspaper. The newspaper would later add an FM station in 1966, known as WDMJ-FM, and would later become WHWL.[4]
The station's call sign also appeared on the Upper Peninsula's first television station. WDMJ-TV was launched in 1956 from studios on the top floor of the Mining Journal building on Washington Street in Downtown Marquette, until it moved to Negaunee Township in 1964. The TV station was sold to the Post corporation, owners of WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1964, who changed the calls to WLUC-TV.[5]
On May 11, 2020, a fire broke out at the WDMJ transmitter site, causing a "Complete antenna failure," according to the station's Special Temporary Authority (STA) filing with the Federal Communications Commission.[6] The station requested to use a temporary long wire antenna and to reduce operations to 100 watts.
WDMJ's programming was simulcast on 1240 WIAN, prior to July 30, 2020, when Sovereign Communications surrendered WIAN's license.[7]
In March 2022, WDMJ along with WJPD and several stations in Iron Mountain were sold to AMC Media Partners.[8] WDMJ's programming has been re-aligned to feature the same lineup of syndicated conservative talk radio as sister stations WCHT and WMIQ.[9]
WDMJ resumed operation at full power of 5,000 watts during the day and 140 watts at night under a construction permit issued in November 2023 from a newly rebuilt tower on Tower Road in Marquette Township. The tower also house the antenna for the booster transmitter for sister station WUPG[10] and low powered FM religious station WNOA.[11]
On July 1, 2024, WDMJ changed their format from conservative talk to oldies.[12]
