WLJA North Georgia’s 1st Year!
WLJA/North Georgia (101.1 The Pulse) celebrates one year on the air. In January 2025 Carriage Radio Group, led by David Basha & Darien Southerland, announced the acquisition of WLJA/Ellijay, GA and from Tri-State Communications. WJLA programs a unique blend of faith-based programming, contemporary Christian music, and country hits for North Georgia audiences.
Carriage Radio President Southerland tells HisAir the WLJA story starts in July 2024 when he was preparing to leave the agency and podcast world to launch an entirely new venture. With his partner he had made a firm decision to buy a dirt racetrack. and was actively working on the offer paperwork.
Southerland continues, “Then the phone rang. Bill West called and asked if we had any interest in purchasing WLJA—an FM Southern Gospel signal in North Georgia, the largest stick between the Chattanooga and Atlanta markets. I told him to send an NDA. Fifteen minutes later, dirt track racing was off the table—and I was back in my wheelhouse at 110%.”
Over the next six months, Southerland went to work and began preparing the station. He hired Dan Ratcliff for mornings, and officially took over in January 2025. At the time, they had no idea what was happening at Salem with The Fish (WFSH) and to sale to EMF. Their only thought was simple: beat them with creativity, a new format, and a new name. That vision became Faith. Country. Gospel. 101.1 The Pulse. Then when The Fish imploded—they went straight into recruiting mode, bringing in Kim Fitz and Keep the Faith.
Southerland says, “We understood the perils of radio and had watched firsthand how corporate radio damaged the industry. But we also knew something else: with the right initial team, we could operate like a speedboat—nimble, fast, and able to pivot instantly. Anyone who knows me knows this truth: I love Southern Gospel far more than CCM. I built my career selling CCM, but I built my brand living Gold City, The Cathedrals, The Gaithers—and that world. From my work with CCM advertising clients, I knew how fiercely loyal those listeners were. I also understood the deep passion of the Southern Gospel audience. At the same time, I saw something familiar in Country music across many markets. By 2024, Country was producing a growing amount of faith-based material. That’s when it clicked. With this format, we could pull a one share from CCM, a one share from Country, and a one share from entertainment—building an audience through talent, honoring tradition and culture, offering an alternative to CCM, and delivering Country music with heart.”
In February, WLJA launched 40 Days and 40 Nights of Music Only to gently transition the format. When DJs officially signed on, they immediately promoted a $10,000 giveaway. Three days into launch, their initial afternoon drive host resigned—so Southerland pulled Operations Manager Asa into the board seat, and found myself back on the air for the first time in nearly 15 years.
Southerland says ownership changes your perspective and being in sales and now owning the station gave him a completely different view of what on-air truly means, “After the $10,000 giveaway, we hit the road—live remotes, broadcasts everywhere, giving away prizes from both Christian Country and secular artists. We could feel the audience growing. No other Christian station in America was blending Red Clay Strays, Anne Wilson, Dolly Parton, and Jason Crabb—but we stayed true to one belief: The message is in the music.”
In August WLJA launched Football, Festivals, and Fairs, broadcasting live all across North Georgia throughout the fall season. They also added former WFSH DJ and Assistant Program Director Griffin Adkins to the team. Meanwhile, industry insiders—many to Dariens face—kept saying, “That format will never work” but he ignored the noise, broke station sales records, and showed up at every event possible.
Southerland says, “We created promotions others said were impossible. In November, we dropped 101 plastic turkeys from a helicopter onto a car lot—over 200 people showed up to win one. While people were saying radio was dead, we were proving promotion still works. By late November and December, we had given away more than 6,000 t-shirts, built a float, and marched in 15 Christmas parades—meeting our listeners face-to-face. Today, when people ask if we’re a Christian station, we say yes. When they ask what kind of music we play, the answer is always the same: Music with a message.”
WLJA DJs don’t quote scripture or pray on the air—but they have no hesitation sharing what prayer has done in their lives and what the Lord has done for them. Over the past three months, agency buys are up 200%. Top Country stations are taking notice.
Recently WLJA added WSB Atlanta news veteran Sandra Parrish, imaging phenom Daniel Britt from Homecoming Radio, and Christian music legends Parks Stamper and former PAR President Brian Sanders on weekends.
Looking ahead to 2026 Southland adds, “We’re developing a syndicated format, launching a year-long birthday celebration, giving away another $10,000 and much more. At the end of the day, our mission is simple: To show people that the message is in the music. And we’ll close with what our afternoon show listeners say—and live—every single day: What’s wrong with living right, anyway?”
