WKZN

WKZN
City of license West Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Broadcast area Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton
Branding WILK Newsradio
Frequency 1300 kHz (AM)
First air date 1961[1] / 1982[2]
Format News/Talk
Power 5,000 watts daytime
500 watts nighttime
Class B
Facility ID 22667
Transmitter coordinates 40°56′24″N 76°00′05″W / 40.939928°N 76.001447°W / 40.939928; -76.001447
Former callsigns WTHT, WHZN, WWKC, WXPX, WILP, WOGY
Owner Entercom Communications
(Entercom Wilkes-Barre Scranton, LLC)
Sister stations WILK-FM/AM, WBZU
Webcast Listen Live
Website WILKNewsRadio.com

WKZN is an AM broadcasting radio station licensed to the city of West Hazleton, Pennsylvania with service area extending out to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton radio market. The station is a full-time relay of the programming of the WILK News Radio network featuring a News and Talk radio format. The station broadcasts at a frequency of 1300 kHz with a power of 5,000 Watts daytime with a directional antenna signal pattern focused towards the north, then switches to a power of 500 Watts at night with another directional signal pattern focused towards the northeast. WKZN is considered a Class-B AM broadcasting station according to the Federal Communication Commission.

Early history

Radio station WTHT first signed on the air at 1300 kHz in the Hazleton area in late 1961.[1] The AM station transmitted with 5,000 Watts of power during the daytime hours with a directional signal from two towers located on Hilltop Road in the Terrace section of Hazleton.[1] The studios were co-located with the transmitter site.[1] WTHT's format was a MOR and Talk Radio format with on air branding and old jingles announcing the station as "The Big Sound In Radio".[1] Notable on air personalities included Dave DeCosmo, Leo Valovich, Al Sword, Fred Williams, Guy Randall (his professional name, his given surname was DiFrancesco), Ralph Lockwood, and Tommy Woods.[1] The station as WTHT lasted until 1964 when it changed its call letters to WHZN.[1] It permanently signed-off the air in 1965.[1] The 1300 kHz frequency would remain vacant of a local station in the Hazleton area for 17 years.

History

The radio station in its second life first signed on in 1982 with the call sign WWKC, branded as "KC Country", with a Country Music format. At the time, it only broadcast with 500 Watts of power and was a daytime only station. It was only the second AM station to serve the local Hazleton area. The Country Music format did not do very well in the market, so in 1983 the station changed to an Adult Standards format with the addition of some local News and Talk at the same time changing call signs to WXPX and increasing its daytime power to its present 5,000 Watts. The WXPX call sign lasted until 1996 when the station was sold and the format and call signs were changed to WILP. Another ownership and format change happened in 2001 when the station changed call signs to WOGY.[3] The station was sold to its present owners, Entercom Communications, and joined the WILK News Radio network. The station's call signs were changed to its present WKZN in 2005.[2][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Radio-Info.com Discussion Board, Other Radio Markets, Northeast Pennsylvania, Topic: "Former Hazleton Stations"". IN3 Media, Inc. (Chicago, Illinois). Retrieved September 5, 2005.
  2. 1 2 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page
  3. ↑ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - December 31, 2001 (The Year in Review)". Northeast Radio Watch (Rochester, New York). Retrieved December 31, 2001.
  4. ↑ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - March 7, 2005 - Pennsylvania". Northeast Radio Watch (Rochester, New York). Retrieved March 7, 2005.

External links

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