WGEM (AM)

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title: "WGEM (AM)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["radio-stations-in-illinois", "defunct-radio-stations-in-the-united-states", "radio-stations-established-in-1948", "1948-establishments-in-illinois", "radio-stations-disestablished-in-2023", "2023-disestablishments-in-illinois", "defunct-mass-media-in-illinois"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGEM_(AM)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	WGEM
logo	File:WGEM SportsCenter1440-98.9 logo.png
logo_size	200px
city	Quincy, Illinois
country	US
area
branding	WGEM Sports Radio
frequency	1440 kHz
translator
airdate	January 1, 1948
last_airdate
format	Defunct, was sports
power
class	B
facility_id	54277
coordinates
callsign_meaning	"Gem City"
owner	Gray Television
licensee	Gray Television Licensee, LLC
sister_stations	WGEM-FM, WGEM-TV
webcast
website
::

WGEM (1440 AM) was a radio station in Quincy, Illinois, broadcasting a sports radio format. The station was owned by Gray Television and was an affiliate of ESPN Radio. The station also broadcast via FM translator W255CY, 98.9 FM, licensed to Quincy.

FM translator

History

WGEM signed on January 1, 1948; its debut was hampered by an ice storm that forced the station off the air just twenty minutes into its first broadcast. The station was owned by Quincy Broadcasting Company, which was purchased by a partnership of transmitter manufacturer Parker Gates and Quincy Newspapers a few months later. Gates had previously attempted to enter station ownership by applying for a new station, WFAR, which was never built; meanwhile, WGEM was Quincy Newspapers' second broadcast property, as the company had launched FM radio station WQDI (105.1 FM) on August 1, 1947. Quincy Newspapers would assume full ownership of the station in 1950, after Gates chose to sell his stake in Quincy Broadcasting to focus exclusively on manufacturing. (WQDI would become WGEM-FM in 1953 to match the AM station and the then-new WGEM-TV; it would eventually become a simulcast of WGEM.) The station became an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network on October 1, 1948.

By 1976, when WGEM-FM broke away from its simulcast and became a country music station, WGEM had a middle-of-the-road format; that year, the station became one of the first AM stereo stations. It shifted to adult contemporary in 1980; in the early 1990s, the station again changed formats, this time to talk radio. During the Great Flood of 1993, WGEM provided comprehensive coverage, temporarily suspending its normal programming to provide updates on bridge closures, flood stages, and levee status.

In 2002, WGEM began to shift its format: its news/talk programming was moved to WGEM-FM, and the AM station adopted a sports radio format; it had carried ESPN Radio at night under the previous format. However, much of WGEM-FM's primarily news-oriented local programming, as well as Paul Harvey and NBC Nightly News, continued to be simulcast on the AM station for several years thereafter; this was finally largely phased out in 2005.

WGEM's schedule was primarily sourced from ESPN Radio; it did air a local morning program, WGEM SportsCenter. Other local programming, generally relating to local sports (including coach's shows for Quincy University and Quincy Senior High School basketball) was carried during their seasons. WGEM also carried Chicago Cubs baseball and Chicago Bulls basketball.

On February 1, 2021, Gray Television announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire all Quincy Media television and radio properties for $925 million in a cash transaction. This included WGEM and WGEM-FM, as well as WGEM-TV. The acquisition was completed on August 2. At the time of the acquisition, Gray's only other radio property was KTXC in Lamesa, Texas, which was in the process of being divested in an unrelated concurrent deal; by 2023, the WGEM radio stations were the only radio stations in Gray's holdings.

The AM 1440 facility went off the air June 24, 2022, after equipment failures, including the loss of WGEM's primary and backup transmitters; its programming would continue on the 98.9 translator. On February 16, 2023, Gray Television announced that WGEM and the translator would be shut down entirely effective March 1; the sports format moved to WGEM-FM, replacing its news/talk programming. Both the AM station's and the translator's licenses were surrendered for cancellation and cancelled on March 8, 2023.

While most of WGEM's programming was relocated to WGEM-FM, the shutdown of the AM station left the Chicago Cubs, which WGEM had carried since 1985, without a radio affiliate in Quincy, with the nearest affiliates now WLDS in Jacksonville, Illinois, and KCPS in Burlington, Iowa. WGEM-FM continued its existing carriage of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Notes

References

Goldsmith, Jill. (February 1, 2021). "Gray Television Acquires Quincy Media For $925 Million In Cash". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
(June 10, 2008). "Why Advertise With WGEM Radio?". [[WGEM-TV.
Mishkind, Barry. (December 20, 2010). "Parker Gates". The Broadcast Archive.
(2002). "Family Traditions: Celebrating Illinois Newspaper History". Illinois Newspaper Foundation.
(1953). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1953".
(1954). "Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook 1954".
(1958). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1958".
(August 23, 1948). "At Deadline…". [[Broadcasting & Cable.
(1977). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1977".
(March 1, 2001). "TRANSITION TO DIGITAL TELEVISION (Senate hearing)".
(1981). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1981".
Rimer, Sara. (July 15, 1993). "The Nerve Center; From Vital to Mundane, A Big Story for WGEM". [[The New York Times]].
"About WGEM". WGEM.com.
"WGEM AM-1440 homepage". WGEM.com.
"WGEM AM-1440 Programs". WGEM.com.
"Program Schedule for the week of 06/15/04 - (Quincy WGEM-AM (WGEM-AM))". WGEM.com.
"Program Schedule for the week of 09/14/04 - (Quincy WGEM-AM (WGEM-AM))". WGEM.com.
"Program Schedule for the week of 02/14/05 - (Quincy WGEM-AM (WGEM-AM))". WGEM.com.
"Program Schedule for the week of 09/06/05 - (Quincy WGEM-AM (WGEM-AM))". WGEM.com.
Howell, Jr., Hilton. (August 2, 2021). "Gray Television Closes Quincy Acquisition". [[GlobeNewswire]].
(June 8, 2021). "VCY America Acquires KTXC From Gray Television". RadioInsight.
(February 17, 2023). "WGEM-FM To Flip To Sports As 1440 WGEM Signs Off".
"Re: Gray Television Licensee, LLC Cancellation of License BZ-20021004ACZ WGEM(AM), Quincy, IL (Facility ID No. 52744)". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
(August 5, 2022). "WGEM-A/Quincy, IL Plagued By Tech Trouble On AM, Continues On FM Translator". All Access.
(February 21, 2023). "Death of WGEM-AM means Cubs have no Quincy-area radio affiliate". Muddy River News.

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