WKST (AM)
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2007) |
| SimulcastingWHMJFranklin | |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lawrence County, Pennsylvania |
| Frequency | 1200kHz |
| Branding | WUZZ Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Affiliations | Penn State Nittany Lions |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFRA,WGYI,WGYY,WHMJ,WMGW,WRQI,WRQW,WTIV,WUZZ,WXMJ,WYLE | |
| History | |
First air date | October 23, 1938(at 1280 kHz) |
Call signmeaning | sounds like "Castle" (city of license) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 71246 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000wattsday 1,000 watts night |
| Translator(s) | 97.9W250CW (New Castle) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wuzzradio.com |
WKST(1200kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationinNew Castle, Pennsylvania,servingLawrence County.It has aclassic hitsformatand is owned by Seven Mountains Media ofState College, Pennsylvania,through licensee Southern Belle Media Family, LLC, which also owns 34 other radio stations in Pennsylvania includingWUZZ(AM) in New Castle andWYLE(FM) inGrove City.
WKST is powered by day at 5,000watts,using anon-directional antenna.But becauseAM 1200is aclear channel frequencyreserved forClass AWOAISan Antonio,WKST must reduce its power at night to 1,000 watts and use adirectional antenna.Thetransmitteris off Gilmore Road nearInterstate 376inNorth Beaver Township.[1]
Programming[edit]
The station currently has one local weekday talk show, the morningdrive timeprogram hosted by veteran broadcaster Ken Hlebovy. Local news coverage is provided by Wade Sutton. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up ofnationally syndicatedshows, includingGlenn Beck,Dave Ramsey,Sean Hannity,Mark Levin,Jim Bohannon,"Coast to Coast AMwithGeorge Noory"and"America in the Morningwith John Trout. "
Weekends feature shows on money, health, gardening, home repair and technology, as well as Saturday and Sunday morningpolka musicprograms with Val Palowski. Weekend syndicated talk hosts include "The Tech Guy withLeo Laporte,""The Weekend withJoe Pags,""At Home withGary Sullivan,""In The Garden withRon Wilson"and" Somewhere in Time withArt Bell"as well as repeats of weekday shows. World and national news is provided byFox News Radio.
WKST carriesNew Castle High Schoolbasketballandfootballbroadcasts as well asCleveland Brownsfootball.
History[edit]
WKSTsigned onthe air on October 23, 1938,but prior to November 5, 1999, it was at 1280 kHz. The original owner was Sam Townsend who operated the station until retiring to Florida in 1963. The call sign of the station was named after his wife and children (Wanda - Kim - Sam - Townsend). In the 1940s it was aMutual Broadcasting Systemnetwork affiliate.It carried Mutual's dramas, comedies, news, sports,soap operas,game shows,children's showsandbig bandbroadcasts, during the "Golden Age of Radio."
In 1942,Alan Freedlanded his first broadcasting job at WKST, before moving on to nearbyWKBNYoungstown,Ohio,followed byWAKRAkron,and thenWJWCleveland— the station where Freed is credited with popularizing the term "rock and roll"to describe the music genre. By the 1970s, WKST was owned by Faye and Herb Scott, formerly based inPottstown, Pennsylvania,and held in the name of Great Scott Broadcasting. Great Scott purchased FM station WFEM inEllwood City,and it became WKST-FM on January 1, 1988. In the late 1990s, after the death of the Scotts, Great Scott decided to concentrate on its radio holdings in Delaware. It sold WKST and WKST-FM toJacorCommunications for $2.5 million in December 1998.
Prior to November 5, 1999, the 1200 kHz frequency was occupied by WBZY. WBZY began broadcasting in 1968. In December 1986, WBZY was sold by Lawrence County Broadcasting Corp. to a partnership called WBZY Radio Sam (the "Sam" representing the surname initials of partners Samuel M. Shirey, William G. Andrews and Robert L. McCracken). Andrews sold his share to the other two partners in 1991. WBZY was then sold to Jacor in April 1999 for $800,000.[2]Jacor was purchased byClear Channel Communicationsshortly thereafter. (Clear Channel later changed its name toiHeartMedia, Inc.)
Clear Channel, which also owned WKST, switched thecall signsand formats in November 1999. The call sign of WKST-FM was changed to WJST on October 10, 2000, and the WKST-FM call sign was moved to Pittsburgh where it could be used with Clear Channel'sKISS-FMbrand. In April 2004, Clear Channel announced the sale of WKST along with WBZY and WJST (FM) to Forever Broadcasting for $2.85 million.[3]On September 20, 2004, the WJST call sign was moved to 1280 AM, and WJST-FM becameWKPL(FM).
It was announced on October 12, 2022 that Forever Media was selling 34 stations, including WKST, toState College-based Seven Mountains Media for $17.375 million.[4]The deal closed on January 1, 2023.[5]
On October 16, 2023 WKST changed their format from talk to a simulcast of classic hits-formattedWHMJ99.3 FM Franklin, branded as "WUZZ Radio".[6]That same day, the WKST callsign moved to 1280 kHz, while WUZZ moved to 1200 kHz.[7]
Previous logo[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Radio-Locator.com/WKST
- ^Newradiostar.com. April-May 1999 news.
- ^Business Journal April 12, 2004 "Radio Stations in New Castle Pa Sold."
- ^"SEVEN MOUNTAINS MEDIA TO ACQUIRE 34 STATIONS FROM FOREVER MEDIA".RadioInsight.com. October 12, 2022.RetrievedOctober 14,2022.
- ^"Seven Mountains Media-Forever Media Deal To Close Jan. 2".October 12, 2022.
- ^A Bigger WUZZ Then There Was in Northwest PARadioinsight - October 17, 2023
- ^WUZZ – the callsign that would become a formatPBRTV.com - October 18, 2023
