WJBC (AM)

WJBC (1230 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bloomington, Illinois, and serving the Bloomington-Normal region.

WJBC has been the longtime home to the Illinois State Redbirds, as well as local high school sports.

The station was first licensed on April 17, 1925, to the Hummer Furniture Store at Second and Joliet streets in La Salle, Illinois.

[7] On September 11, 1934, WJBC began transmitting from its new facilities, making it the first radio station in Bloomington.

It carried a line up of dramas, comedies, news, sports and other programs during the "Golden Age of Radio."

It was owned by the Bloomington Broadcasting Company, which also put an FM station on the air in 1947, 101.5 WJBC-FM (now WBNQ).

Zehr's first broadcast on the station was on a Sunday in October 1934; shortly thereafter, he was given a daily slot, which he continued - without missing a day - until the mid-1960s.

[9] The audio tape cartridge machine, which fundamentally changed the way radio stations played commercials and music on air, was developed at WJBC in 1959.

A joint patent was granted to Bailey, Jenkins and Nolte (station manager of WJBC) as inventors.