WHJA

WHJA (890 AM, "The original 890") is a radio station licensed to the community of Laurel, Mississippi, and serving the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, area. The station is owned by Donald Pugh, Sr. It airs a Gospel Music format.

The station was assigned the WHJA call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on August 1, 2008.

The station has been silent since August 25, 2008. According to the station's application to the FCC for authority to remain silent, the station suffered a "massive transmitter failure" and they claim that "repair of the facility may not be economically feasible." The application notes that the financial performance of the station is being assessed "in light of the needed technical expenditures." Station returned to the air on June 2013.

History

WEEZ began as WQIS "Q-89" in 1985 when WQIS moved from 1260 kHz to occupy the present transmitter tower, in Moselle, Mississippi; once occupied by sister station WNSL-FM. Q-89 was a daytime only R&B station serving Laurel and Hattiesburg; the station changed the format to easy listening and became "Kiss 890" in the 1990s. After Clear Channel Communications acquired WQIS, the call letters were changed. The original WEEZ call letters were assigned to FM 99.3 as an Easy Listening/Soft Rock station operated by WAML in the 1980s. In the 1990s WEEZ changed to Gospel Music and became known as "Gospel 99". The call letters at 99.3 MHz changed to WHER "Eagle 99" playing Classic rock following the acquisition by Clear Channel.