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WTMJ-FM was a pioneer commercial radio FM radio radio station, owned by the Journal Company, publishers of The Milwaukee Journal, and located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the late 1940s, it was one of the first FM stations in America and among the most powerful. Although heavily promoted, the station was unprofitable and ceased operations in April 1950. Management foresaw a limited future, especially in contrast to recently introduced television broadcasting.
In 1948, the FCC reassigned the original FM "low band" frequencies to other services, and moved FM stations to new "high band" assignments, with WTMJ-FM relocated to 93.3 MHz. This change meant that listeners had to incur the expense of buying new receivers, and stations had to purchase replacement transmitters. On September 18, WTMJ-FM began regular operation of what was described as the first superpower station on the new band, from a new site located atop Richfield Hill, about 21 miles (34 km) northwest of downtown Milwaukee. A 50 kw transmitter, fed into an eight-element antenna located atop a 550-foot (168m) Blaw-Knox tower, resulted in an effective radiated power (ERP) of 349 kilowatts. "WTMJ-FM...World's First 'Super-Power' FM" by Phillip B Laeser, Broadcast News (RCA), February 1949, page 20. WTMJ-FM began running classical music for some hours of the day. One of the announcers was WTMJ's Jonathan Green, who utilized a more sophisticated voice and name as J. Bradley Green for his work with the FM side.
By the late 1940s, most FM stations were struggling financially and few homes had an FM receiver. In 1949, 210 stations were shut down, with a further 25 closing in the first three months of 1950, leaving about 700 on the air. WTMJ-FM, along with co-owned WSAU-FM in Wausau, ended operations on April 2, 1950, with their licenses turned in to the FCC for cancellation. "WTMJ Drops FM", Broadcasting, April 3, 1950, page 80. In early 1948, Walter J. Damm, vice president of the Journal Company, had predicted that "FM will replace AM as the American system of broadcasting. Whether it will be five or ten years, I don't know." "FM Looking Up", Broadcasting, April 5, 1948, page 92. But upon taking WTMJ-FM off the air, he stated that "FM has not lived up to the bright promise of 10 years ago. The radio listeners in Wisconsin have not seen fit to invest in a sufficient number of FM receivers to make the continued operation of WTMJ-FM and WSAU-FM a worthwhile undertaking".
Damm's statement further noted that "Our decision to drop FM, however, does not change in any way the Journal Co. announced policy to bring the latest developments in radio and television to the people of Wisconsin, if such developments can be and will be of service to a substantial number." In 1959 a new WKTI was licensed to The Journal Company in Milwaukee, on a different frequency. Its initial power was just 2,800 watts, less than one percent of that of its predecessor.
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