WMSL (88.9 FM) is a Christian radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian music format. Licensed to Bogart, Georgia, United States, the station serves the Athens–Northeast Georgia area. The station, originally owned by Prince Avenue Baptist Church and Christian School in Athens (via "Prince Educational Media"), currently is owned by the Radio Training Network.

History

The station was assigned the call letters WPBS on April 1, 1987, but on September 15, 1987, the call sign was changed to the current WMSL. The station began broadcasting in December 1987.

In 1988, WMSL adopted an innovative music format developed by Jim Hutto, formerly the operations manager at Atlanta easy-listening radio station WPCH. The "Masterful Music" format, modeled on WPCH's long-running Sunday morning "Sounds of Faith" program, featured high-quality instrumental recordings of hymns, sacred music, and praise-and-worship songs, as well as traditional and contemporary pieces performed by choral groups and soloists.

The station programmed music more than 22 hours per day, with brief breaks for news and short features.

The station later adopted the moniker "The Great 88," while continuing to refer to its programming as "Masterful Music."

In January 2014, WMSL discontinued its longtime Masterful Music format and adopted a "Contemporary Christian" format with music from syndicator Christian FM. Two years later, the station dropped the "Great 88" identifier and changed to "The Reach."

In 2019, "The Reach" gave way to "The Joy FM" following WMSL's sale to the Radio Training Network.

See also

• WVFJ-FM — 93.3 FM, licensed to Greenville, Georgia

References

External links