It has a rich history of providing news, music, and sports from Quincy, Ill., for nearly 70 years. It debuted on January 1, 1948. Today, it is at 1440 kHz and is licensed as a Class B AM with 5kw during daylight hours and 1kw at night.
On March 1, the station will sign off the air. Its programming will supplant the content presently heard on its younger FM sibling, which will say farewell to the News/Talk format.
It’s a decision being made by Gray Television regarding its lone radio properties: ESPN Radio affiliate WGEM-AM 1440 and FM translator W255CY at 98.9 MHz in Quincy, Ill.; and News/Talk WGEM-FM 105.1 in Quincy, Ill.
Gray opted to keep the stations as part of its merger with Quincy Media, Inc., which closed in August 2021.
Now, ESPN Radio will be relocating to WGEM-FM, a 26.5kw Class B. What does this mean for local listeners? Programs from Dave Ramsey, Ken Coleman and Ben Shapiro are disappearing, as is Markley, Van Camp and Robbins and The Kim Komando Show.
WGEM-AM has been licensed and silent since June 24, 2022 for unspecified technical reasons; the translator has reportedly been fed by a HD multicast signal tied to WGEM-FM.
