{{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox radio station | name = WEMK | logo = | logo_size = | city = West Allis, Wisconsin | country = US | area = Greater Milwaukee | branding = 102.5 The Family | frequency = 1460 kHz | repeater = {{Radio Relay|102.5|W273DQ|Milwaukee}} | airdate = {{start date and age|1950|6|4}} (as WRAC) | format = Christian contemporary music | power = {{ubl|1,000 watts day|240 watts night}} | erp = | haat = | class = B | facility_id = 68759 | licensing_authority = FCC | coordinates = {{coord|43|0|32.05|N|88|2|6.32|W|region:US-WI_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | callsign_meaning = Evangel Ministries of Milwaukee | former_callsigns = WRAC (1950–1975)<br />WRKR (1975–1979)<br />WWEG (1979–1983)<br />WRKR (1983–1987)<br />WBZN (1987–1991)<br />WKKV (1991–1993)<br />WBJX (1993–2007)<br />WJTI (2007–2024) | owner = The Family Radio Network, Inc. | licensee = | sister_stations = | webcast = {{listenlive|https://streamdb7web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/WEMI}} | website = {{URL|https://thefamily.net/Milwaukee/}} }}
'''WEMK''' (1460 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to West Allis, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee radio market. Owned by Evangel Ministries under its subsidiary The Family Radio Network, Inc, the station carries Christian contemporary music as part of a statewide network of stations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=WJTI |title=WJTI Facility Record |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division }}</ref>
By day, WEMK is powered at 1,000 watts. But to protect other stations on 1460 AM from interference, it reduces power at night to 240 watts. Programming is also heard on FM translator '''W273DQ''' at 102.5 MHz.
==History== The station signed on the air on June 4, 1950, as WRAC in Racine. The owner of the station purchased another Racine station, WRJN-FM in 1969, changing it to WRAC-FM. A year later, the FM station flipped to a rock-leaning top 40 format as WRKR, and in 1975, WRAC adopted that call sign, simulcasting WRAC-FM.<ref name="Jour750121">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100507680/stations-to-simulcast-programs/|date=January 21, 1975|page=6B|title=Stations to simulcast programs|newspaper=The Journal Times|location=Racine, Wisconsin|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref><!-- Tue --> It was also for a brief time WWEG ("The Country Egg") before returning to WRKR and again simulcasting the FM signal. Later, there was a short lived Spanish format.
The station switched calls to WBZN on October 14, 1987, simulcasting its sister station’s new smooth jazz format. Both stations flipped to urban contemporary in June 1991, becoming WKKV. The AM station broke away from the simulcast in November 1993, flipping to a Spanish-language format as WBJX. In 2007, the station moved to the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis and changed its call sign to WJTI.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=68759&Callsign=WJTI |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075228/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=68759&Callsign=WJTI |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |title=WJTI Call Sign History |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division }}</ref>
On December 17, 2021, WJTI began stunting with Christmas music and launched a simulcast on new translator W273DQ (102.5 FM). The previous Regional Mexican format continues through former translator 97.9 W250BN, which is now fed via the HD3 sub-channel of WMYX-FM. On December 26, 2021, WJTI and W273BQ flipped to a smooth jazz format as "102.5 FM".<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/217511/wjti-brings-smooth-jazz-back-to-milwaukee/ WJTI Brings Smooth Jazz Back to Milwaukee]</ref>
==Translators== {{RadioTranslators | call1 = W273DQ | watts1 = 99 | freq1 = 102.5 | city1 = Milwaukee, Wisconsin | fid1 = 202887 | coord1 = {{coord|43|2|18.5|N|87|54|8.4|W|region:US-WI_type:landmark|name=W273DQ}} }}
The sale of translator station W250BN to El Sol was completed in May 2014, with El Sol beginning to simulcast WJTI upon it over that month's Memorial Day weekend. Previously the station had independently been a translator of Wisconsin Public Radio's Ideas Network via WHAD (90.7) under the ownership of "Radio Power, Inc.", which moved the translator over the years up the Rock Freeway corridor from Beloit in an attempt to move it to Milwaukee in order to likely present a ready-made signal for a commercial operation to broadcast an HD Radio subchannel or AM signal over. The moves were questioned by the Federal Communications Commission, with a denial of a construction permit to the MPTV Tower in the Shorewood tower farm and an inquiry to Radio Power on their motives before the purchase by El Sol.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2011 |title=getimportletter_exh.cgi |url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=29292 |website=Federal Communications Commission}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2012/db0210/DA-12-185A1.pdf|title=The Media Bureau is investigating potential statutory and rule violations and related instances of potential misrepresentation and/or lack of candor on the part of Radio Power, Inc. (the "Licensee").|date=February 10, 2012|publisher=Federal Communications Commission Letter to Radio Power, Inc.|access-date=February 11, 2012}}</ref> Radio Power eventually was approved to transmit from the Hilton Milwaukee City Center tower in the downtown area, which is closer to the core Latino-American neighborhoods on Milwaukee's south side which WJTI serves than the Shorewood site. On December 17. 2021, WJTI signed on translator station 102.5 W273DQ, which serves the Milwaukee market.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{AM station data|68759|WEMK}} **{{FCC-LMS-Facility|202887|W273DQ}} **{{FXL|W273DQ}} *[http://www.wbjx.com/ Former WBJX Website] *[http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2004/08/23/smallb1.html The only 'champion' for local Hispanic radio] *[https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=68872 FCC History Cards for WEMK]
{{Milwaukee Radio}}
EMK EMK Category:Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States Category:Radio stations established in 1950 Category:1950 establishments in Wisconsin Category:West Allis, Wisconsin Category:Racine, Wisconsin