WREJ Rejoice Radio

WREJ 1540AM was launched as an urban inspirational gospel station in 1997 by 4M Communications, a small and locally-owned media group. By 2001, 4M Communications owned five local Richmond stations, making it the largest locally-owned cluster of stations in Richmond. WREJ Rejoice Radio survived a format shift that went into effect on 4M’s other four stations on September 13 th, 2003 as WREJ Rejoice Radio’s successful format remained unchanged. Rejoice Radio was so popular that in 2003 it spawned a local-access gospel variety show known as “Rejoice TV” that aired Wednesdays at 10:00pm. The show featured music videos, in-house performances, and interviews with local figures. RICH-TV, the local station that carried this show, went off the air in April of 2006. In November, 2004, 4M sold WREJ Rejoice and three of its other stations to the newly-formed, New York-based Davidson Media Group, which specializes primarily in Hispanic and Urban Inspirational formats.

Rejoice Radio features urban inspirational gospel music, preach-and-teach segments often hosted by local religious figures, and considerable community outreach, including a yearly Gospel Talent Show and a presence at the State Fair. Rejoice Radio has offices located downtown on Broad Street, and broadcasting studios on Wilkinson Road. WREJ broadcasts with 10,000 watts of power and can be picked up as far away as Newport News. The audience is primarily 25-54 years old, primarily women, and primarily African-American.

Profile prepared by Emily Stevenson
June, 2006

 

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