quincy hannibal keokuk branding espn 1440 slogan we ve got your game frequency 1440 mhz first air date january 1 1948 1948 01 01 format sports radio power 5 000 watts day 1 000 watts night class b facility id 54277 transmitter coordinates 39 58 47 n 91 19 27 w 39.97972 n 91.32417 w 39.97972 ; 91.32417 wgem coordinates 39 58 47 n 91 19 27 w 39.97972 n 91.32417 w 39.97972 ; 91.32417 wgem callsign meaning gem city affiliations espn radio owner quincy media wgem license llc sister stations wgem fm wgem tv webcast listen live website www.wgem.com wgem 1440 am ; espn 1440 is a radio station in quincy illinois broadcasting a sports radio format . the station is owned by quincy media and is an affiliate of espn radio . contents 1 history 2 programming 3 references 4 external links history edit 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 . 1 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 . 2 3 gates had previously attempted to enter station ownership by applying for a new station wfar which was never built ; 2 meanwhile wgem was quincy newspapers second broadcast property as the company had launched fm radio station wqdi 105.1 fm on august 1 1947 . 1 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 . 2 wqdi would become wgem fm in 1953 to match the am station and the then new wgem tv ; 4 5 it would eventually become a simulcast of wgem . 6 the station became an affiliate of the abc radio network on october 1 1948 . 7 by 1976 when wgem fm broke away from its simulcast and became a country music station wgem had a middle of the road format ; 8 that year the station became one of the first am stereo stations . 9 it shifted to adult contemporary in 1980 ; 10 in the early 1990s the station again changed formats this time to talk radio . 11 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 . 11 in 2002 wgem began to shift its format its news talk programming was moved to wgem fm and the am station adopted its current sports radio format ; 12 it had carried espn radio at night under the previous format . 13 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 ; 14 15 16 this was finally largely phased out in 2005 . 17 18 programming edit wgem s schedule is primarily sourced from espn radio ; it does air a local morning program wgem sportscenter and as a result only carries the first two hours of mike and mike in the morning . other local programming generally relating to local sports including coach s shows for quincy university and quincy senior high school basketball is carried during their seasons . wgem also carries chicago cubs baseball and chicago bulls basketball . references edit a b why advertise with wgem radio . wgem.com . june 10 2008 . retrieved december 27 2014 . a b c mishkind barry december 20 2010 . parker gates . the broadcast archive . retrieved december 27 2014 . family traditions celebrating illinois newspaper history pdf . illinois newspaper foundation . 2002 . p. 28 . retrieved december 27 2014 . broadcasting yearbook 1953 pdf . 1953 . p. 131 . retrieved december 27 2014 . broadcasting yearbook marketbook 1954 pdf . 1954 . p. 130 . retrieved december 28 2014 . broadcasting yearbook 1958 pdf . 1958 . p. a 278 . retrieved december 28 2014 . at deadline pdf . broadcasting . august 23 1948 . p. 90 . retrieved december 28 2014 . broadcasting yearbook 1977 pdf . 1977 . p. c 66 . retrieved december 28 2014 . transition to digital television senate hearing . march 1 2001 . retrieved december 28 2014 . wgem am was one of the first to broadcast in am stereo in 1976 . broadcasting yearbook 1981 pdf . 1981 . p. c 73 . retrieved december 28 2014 . a b rimer sara july 15 1993 . the nerve center ; from vital to mundane a big story for wgem . the new york times . retrieved december 28 2014 . about wgem . wgem.com . archived from the original on august 9 2003 . retrieved december 28 2014 . wgem am 1440 homepage . wgem.com . archived from the original on august 18 2000 . retrieved december 28 2014 . plus espn radio on seven nights a week . wgem am 1440 programs . wgem.com . archived from the original on august 10 2003 . retrieved december 28 2014 . program schedule for the week of 06 15 04 quincy wgem am wgem am . wgem.com . archived from the original on june 16 2004 . retrieved december 28 2014 . program schedule for the week of 09 14 04 quincy wgem am wgem am . wgem.com . archived from the original on october 1 2004 . retrieved december 28 2014 . program schedule for the week of 02 14 05 quincy wgem am wgem am . wgem.com . archived from the original on february 16 2005 . retrieved december 28 2014 . program schedule for the week of 09 06 05 quincy wgem am wgem am . wgem.com . archived from the original on september 12 2005 . retrieved december 28 2014 . external links edit official website query the fcc s am station database for wgem radio locator information on wgem query nielsen audio s am station database for wgem v t e radio in the quincy hannibal keokuk market by am frequency 790 930 990 1070 1310 1360 1440 1530 by fm frequency 88.5 89.5 89.7 90.3 90.9 91.7 92.9 94.5 95.3 96.3 97.9 99.5 100.5 100.9 102.9 103.9 104.3 105.1 105.9 106.7 107.5 107.9 noaa weather radio frequency 162.475 by callsign kbkb kgrc khmo kick fm kjir kkac kmdy kmem fm kokx kokx fm krnq krry krxl kwbz kzzk w209ch wcaz wcoy wgca fm wgem wgem fm wiuw wliq wpwq wqcy wqin wqjc lp wqub wrms wtad wxk82 defunct kqpw lp nearby radio markets burlington cedar rapids iowa city columbia jefferson city ottumwa peoria quad cities springfield il see also list of radio stations in illinois list of radio stations in missouri v t e sports radio stations in the state of illinois stations wfmb springfield wfrx west frankfort wfxn moline wgem quincy whqq neoga effingham wmvp chicago wscr chicago wtay robinson wvil virginia wvln olney wxlt christopher wxos east st. louis st. louis wzpn farmington see also adult contemporary classic hits college country news talk npr oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in illinois see also espn radio espn deportes radio fox sports radio cbs sports radio nbc sports radio yahoo sports radio sports byline usa v t e espn radio stations in the state of illinois full time affiliates quincy wgem neoga effingham whqq chicago wmvp olney wvln marion carbondale wxlt east st. louis st. louis wxos farmington wzpn part time affiliates galesburg waik roscoe wbel danville wdan springfield wfmb moline wfxn bloomington wjbc loves park wluv monmouth wram robinson wtay robinson wtye see also list of espn radio affiliates see also adult contemporary classic hits college country news talk npr oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in illinois see also espn radio espn deportes radio fox sports radio cbs sports radio nbc sports radio yahoo sports radio sports byline usa v t e quincy media inc. corporate directors ralph m. oakley president & ceo david graff brad eaton brady dreasler brenda wiskirchen jena schulz newspapers the new jersey herald the quincy herald whig radio stations wgem wgem fm television stations abc network affiliates waow wyow wmow 1 week 1 wkow wpta wqow wxow cbs network affiliates kbjr krii 1 wbng the cw affiliates 1 kdlh 3 ktiv kttc wbng wgem week wmow waow wyow wqow wxow wise tv 3 wrex wvva fox network affiliates kxlt 3 wgem 1 mynetworktv affiliates 1 kbjr krii 3 wpta nbc network affiliates kbjr krii ktiv kttc kwwl week wgem tv wpta wrex wvva other affiliates wsjv heroes and icons acquisitions granite broadcasting shockley communications interactive asset pro video 1 these stations except for wmow broadcast these networks on their digital subchannels . 2 quincy operates this station owned by sinclair broadcast group . 3 quincy operates this station owned by sagamorehill broadcasting . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title wgem am & oldid 739194138 categories quincy mediaradio stations in illinoisespn radio stationsradio stations established in 19481948 establishments in illinoishidden categories coordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links 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