Jen De Salvo - W9TJX
Anchor
Meet Traffic Jam Jen, W9TXJ...
For nearly two decades, amateur frequencies were vital to her work, but it wasn't until recently that Chicago broadcaster, Jen DeSalvo, earned her callsign.
Under commercial station licenses, DeSalvo listened daily for information used in radio and television traffic reports. When flying in NBC's Sky5 Helicopter, it was the most immediate and reliable method to communicate with the station.
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, DeSalvo says when she was growing up, a TV was always on when they were home. If there was something her family didn’t know, they knew eventually someone on the news would mention it. She says this practice inspired her work today.
“I wanted to make sure people were told the correct information the first time,” she says. “The person who always knew the answers was the newscaster on TV. It was important to me to do what they did for us, and that is to help make the lives of others safer, healthier, and easier.”
DeSalvo began working for WBBM Newsradio 780 as an intern while finishing her undergrad at Purdue University. It wasn’t long before she was on the air helping commuters as a traffic reporter, a big job for one of the most congested cities in the nation.
She earned the nickname “Traffic Jam Jen,” which 15 years later inspired her vanity callsign, W9TXJ.
Although her superpower is a “strong sense of direction,” her broadcast skills extend far outside of the traffic beat, and allowed her to work for stations heard across the continental U.S.
Her resume includes co-hosting and anchoring traffic on 94.7 WLS-FM and the legendary “Big 89,” WLS-AM 890, before she joined WGN Radio 720AM as a news anchor and traffic reporter.
Most recently, DeSalvo spent seven years as a reporter for WMAQ-TV NBC 5 Chicago covering not only traffic, but politics, community events, and breaking news. During her time at NBC5, she was a leading member of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon broadcast and now looks forward to working on the medical coordination team with upwards of 200 local ham operators.
Since earning her Technician license in February, 2025, DeSalvo has completed NWS SKYWARN and Spotter certifications and joined the medical coordination team for local running races. She says it is just the beginning of how she plans to utilize her new status and accomplished skill set to continue helping people live safer, healthier, and easier lives.
