WSKY (AM)
| Broadcast area | Asheville |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1230kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Religious |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Wilkins Communications Network |
| History | |
First air date | 1947 |
Call signmeaning | "The Big Sky"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 56521 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000wattsday and night |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°37′8″N82°34′19″W/ 35.61889°N 82.57194°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | wilkinsradio |
WSKY(1230AM) is aradio stationbroadcasting a religious format. Licensed to serveAsheville, North Carolina,United States, the station is owned by Wilkins Communications Network.
History
[edit]WSKY's original license was issued on May 27, 1947.[3]For almost 50 years, Zeb Lee ran WSKY, including serving as an announcer for high-school football games. He was the first to introducerock and rollto Asheville when he sponsored anElvis Presleyconcert in 1955.[4]Zeb Lee was a pioneer in Asheville broadcasting. First he loved radio and honestly cared about the community; he produced many great radio programs, including "The Man on the Street" a daily talk show live in front of the S & W Cafeteria in downtown Asheville. For many years Zeb and his engineer "Buddy" Resienburg did a live broadcast of every Asheville High football game. Zeb Lee hired and trained many DJs who went on to have great careers in large market radio. WSKY was aTop 40station in the 1970s and early 1980s.[citation needed]
In March 1994, Lee sold WSKY in order to putWZLSon the air.[5]New owner River City Communications[6]switched the format from a mix of music andLarry King,Rush Limbaughand theAtlanta Bravesto a format of mostlysatellite-deliveredoldies,with Limbaugh and a local morning host called Mountain Man.[7]Between the songs, Mountain Man included comedy, some of it risqué, and he was dropped or resigned after several months because he "crossed the line". Station manager Chris Pedersen took over July 18, 1994, promising a "kinder, gentler" program.[8]
On January 25, 1995, WSKY switched from oldies tonews/talk.In addition to Limbaugh, WSKY addedGood Day USAwithDoug Stephan(with Dan Poe doing local reports), Derrick DeSilva,G. Gordon Liddy,David Brenner,Tom Leykis,Jim Bohannonand Stan Major.[6]
Rick Howerton tried to purchase the station to no avail, however he was able to secure the rights to an old Southern Railway frequency (AM 880) that was eventually sold to a local businessman/entrepreneur - while WSKY was sold to Wilkins Communications and changed toChristianprogramming. After several months of trying to get the station on the air, Howerton was asked back and to assist and signed on WTZY in the summer of 1997. Subsequently, most of the programming on WSKY was added to the new WTZY (now WPEK). WTZY also shared simulcast duties with WTZK (formerly WZQR in Black Mountain, North Carolina) which was also purchased by the local businessman. Howerton went on to form Zybek Media Group with his wife Beth and they purchased WAAK (WZRH andWCRU) inDallas, North Carolina,and WWRN (WZNN andWZGM) in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
References
[edit]- ^"Call Letter Origins".Radio History on the Web.
- ^"Facility Technical Data for WSKY".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"WSKY history cards"(PDF).CDBS Public Access.Federal Communications Commission.RetrievedMarch 4,2024.
- ^Boliek, Brooks (December 22, 1997)."Lee Family Wins Battle With Fcc".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedJune 18,2010.
- ^Rose, Tracy (June 5, 2002)."The 800-pound gorilla".Mountain XPress.RetrievedJune 18,2010.
- ^abKiss, Tony (January 20, 1995)."Look who's talking".Asheville Citizen-Times.p. 10C – vianewspapers.com.
- ^Kiss, Tony (April 17, 1994)."Tune in new tunes across local airwaves".Asheville Citizen-Times.p. 1L – via newspapers.com.
- ^Kiss, Tony (July 17, 1994)."Mountain Man will be missed in tough racket of radio".Asheville Citizen-Times.p. 1L – via newspapers.com.
External links
[edit]- WSKYin theFCCAM station database
- WSKYinNielsen Audio's AM station database
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