KJIW [Radio Station]

KJIW 94.5 FM radio is a Christian gospel radio station based in Helena-West Helena (Phillips County). It serves the mid-South, including communities in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Since the first broadcast of KJIW in 1991, the station has provided distinct Christian radio content, including traditional and contemporary gospel music, along with local and national news, announcements, weather, and educational content.

The management and operation of KJIW consists of Elijah Mondy Jr., owner and CEO, and his wife, Belinda Mondy, who serves as executive administrator. Both are natives of Helena-West Helena. Elijah Mondy was born on October 8, 1946. While living and working in Chicago, Illinois, for National Broadcasting Company (NBC) radio and television, he purchased country and western radio station KWHA 1600 AM in West Helena in November 1988. (Throughout America, only one percent of radio and television stations are owned by Black Americans.) Mondy had become a born-again Christian in 1974 and saw the importance of a radio station as a broadcast tool for spreading the Christian message to the public. He and his wife spent a year studying radio station acquisition, how to finance operating a station, and the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules.

After purchasing KWHA 1600 AM, he changed the call letters to KJIW to stand for “King Jesus Is Worthy.” Included in that purchase was an FCC construction permit authorization to build a 6000-watt class A FM station at 94.5 on the radio dial. The construction of the FM was completed and officially licensed for operation by the FCC on April 29, 1991. Later, after Mondy strategized with an FCC consulting engineer, on April 23, 1996, the station was granted a construction permit by the FCC to increase its power to 16,000 watts and become a class C3 FM station.

In 1997, after twenty-eight years at NBC, Mondy resigned to have more freedom to run and build his radio station. He and his family moved to his hometown of Helena. The Mondy children also became a part of the business, with Zipporah overseeing marketing, production, and sales; Joshua overseeing IT operations and engineering; Zephaniah reporting the daily weather forecast and assisting in operations; Zechariah serving as operational technical assistant; and Lydia taking on an assortment of duties including being on the air.

In 2004, Mondy received an FCC construction permit to build a 50,000-watt class C2 FM powerhouse radio station 104.7 on the radio dial in Greenville, Mississippi. He and two partners purchased radio station KCAT 1340 AM in Pine Bluff (Jefferson County).

After almost twenty years of strategizing with an FCC consulting engineer, Mondy got a big break in 2015. Radio station 94.7 FM in Turrell (Crittenden County) filed with the FCC to move its frequency and station closer to Jonesboro (Craighead County). If granted, this would open up the radio frequency for KJIW at 94.5 to move and construct a new tower closer to Memphis, Tennessee, just north of Tunica, Mississippi, becoming a class C2 radio station, increasing its coverage power to 50,000 watts and allowing it to cover a big portion of the mid-South.

The FCC granted the approval for the Turrell radio station at 94.7 to move its frequency, and Mondy and his consulting engineer moved quickly to file an application with the FCC to take advantage of this. The FCC, on July 15, 2015, approved KJIW’s application, and construction was completed in May 2018 with a new 499-foot transmitting tower north of Tunica.

The 2018 upgrade in power also moved the station from small market status to major market status, with coverage including the entire Memphis metropolitan area. The station could then cover approximately 133 cities, towns, and communities throughout Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Mondy later sold the Greenville station and the Pine Bluff station in order to take advantage of the great opportunity of a powerhouse radio station covering the mid-South and Memphis. Mondy is a member of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association. He has received many community awards and plaques.

For additional information:
KJIW-FM 94.5. https://kjiwfm.com/ (accessed July 3, 2025).

Lillie Mae Fears
Arkansas State University