Radio Timeline

April 10, 1972

Stereo 90 goes live!

WJCT-FM went on the air as “Stereo 90,” broadcasting music, news and public affairs programming approximately 18 hours a day.

October 1973

First WJCT simulcast radio & TV broadcast

Eighteen months later, Channel 7 and Stereo 90 presented their first simulcast, broadcasting a concert by the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

May 1980

100 Festival Park Ave

Construction of the future home of WJCT Public Broadcasting is underway!

May 1993

WJCT launches Radio Reading Service

Gil Manalli started the Radio Reading Service in May of 1993, the only newspaper reading service for the blind in NE Florida. In this 1993 photo, he’s seen (seated) with another WJCT manager, Ray Hickman.

September 1993

This Is Jazz Launches

Hosted by Bob Bednar, This Is Jazz was launched in 1993 on WJCT 89.9 FM and would continue for more than two decades.

August 2, 1999

Stereo 90 changes daytime format to news

Stereo 90 replaced all of its daytime programming from classical music to news, including the nationally distributed public radio shows “The Diane Rehm Show”, “In the Public Interest” and “Talk of the Nation”. Classical music would continue to be broadcast overnight from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

March 2000

WJCT’s First News Director

Following 89.9 FM’s format change, Tom Patton joined WJCT as the station’s first news director, and during the following years built an award-winning news team. In this photo, Tom (left) is seen after speaking with Desmond Tutu (right).

December 7, 2004

Electro Lounge Launches

May 2006

WJCT launches 89.9 HD2 & 89.9 HD3

WJCT becomes the first Jacksonville radio station to launch HD subchannels. In addition to broadcasting its main station in high definition on 89.9 FM HD1, it launched WJCT Arts, an alternative classical music station on 89.9 HD2 and NOAA Weather Radio on 89.9 HD3.

January 2018