WGEM (AM)
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| City | Quincy, Illinois |
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| Broadcast area | Quincy/Hannibal/Keokuk |
| Branding | ESPN 1440 |
| Slogan | We've Got Your Game |
| Frequency | 1440 MHz |
| Translator(s) | W255CY 98.9 (Quincy) |
| First air date | January 1, 1948 |
| 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°WCoordinates: 39°58′47″N 91°19′27″W / 39.97972°N 91.32417°W |
| 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 (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. The station is also broadcasting via FM translator W255CY, 98.9 FM, licensed to Quincy.
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. 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. Gates had previously attempted to enter station ownership by applying for a new station, WFAR, which was never built; meanwhile, WGEM was Quincy Newspapers' second broadcast property, as the company had launched FM radio station WQDI (105.1 FM) on August 1, 1947. 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. (WQDI would become WGEM-FM in 1953 to match the AM station and the then-new WGEM-TV; it would eventually become a simulcast of WGEM.) The station became an affiliate of the ABC Radio Network on October 1, 1948.
By 1976, when WGEM-FM broke away from its simulcast and became a country music station, WGEM had a middle-of-the-road format; that year, the station became one of the first AM stereo stations. It shifted to adult contemporary in 1980; in the early 1990s, the station again changed formats, this time to talk radio. 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.
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