WXJM

WXJM (88.7 FM) is an American non-commercial educational radio station licensed to serve Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. The station, established in 1990, is owned and operated by James Madison University. The station's broadcast license is held by the James Madison University Board of Visitors.

WXJM station management reports to the JMU Media Board, which is under the jurisdiction of the University Board of Visitors. WXJM also receives guidance and technical support from WMRA.

Coverage

WXJM broadcasts a variety music format to the greater Harrisonburg metropolitan area. WXJM's tower and antenna sits atop Burruss Hall on the JMU campus. The station operates with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 390 watts. Although the "official" range (60 dBu contour) of the station is about 6 miles (9.7 km), it can be heard at times in Staunton, which is approximately 20 miles (32 km) southwest of the station.

History

The forerunner of WXJM was the audio stream played over a few James Madison University campus buildings' public address systems to give interested students some practice with broadcasting. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the "Dining Hall DJ's" advocated for airbore-broadcast capability. Early planners sought a callsign of WJMR for (W) James Madison Radio but were dismayed to learn that the letters were already taken by an existing station in Wisconsin, WJMR-FM.