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KQV
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KQV is a radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station, which is owned by Calvary, Inc., broadcasts at 1410 kHz, with 5000 watts of power day and night. KQV's call letters reportedly stand for King of the Quaker Valley. The station is one of two in the market that use call letters starting with K, a type of callsign not normally found east of the Mississippi River. KQV is also the flagship station for Duquesne University men's basketball.
History
OriginsKQV was one of Pittsburgh's five original AM stations, signing on as amateur station "8ZAE" on November 19, 1919, predating KDKA which was granted the distinction of being the nation's first commercially licensed station in 1920. KQV did not receive a commercial license until January 9, 1922, despite having started transmitting three years earlier.
The only three other radio stations east of the Mississippi that have a callsign starting with K are in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Besides KDKA, there's also KYW in Philadelphia (though the KYW callsign has in the past been used in Chicago and Cleveland) and KFIZ in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. KQV is the only one of the three that does not have an associated TV station.
"The Groovy QV"KQV was extremely successful as a top 40 station during the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, owned by ABC for nearly all of that period. Known variously as "Colorful KQV," "Audio 14," "Groovy QV," and "The Big 14" over the years, KQV premiered its top 40 format on January 13, 1958, and is remembered for its high-profile, high-energy personalities, Chuck Brinkman, Hal Murray, Dave Scott, Steve Rizen, Dex Allen, Jim Quinn and their large-scale promotion of a Beatles concert at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena (now the Mellon Arena) in 1964, and its former showcase studios at the Chamber of Commerce Building ("on the corner of Walk and Don't Walk," as the DJs would say) in downtown Pittsburgh, where the disk jockeys could be watched through a large window.
Dominant with young listeners throughout the 1960s, the station was a major force in breaking new music and introducing Pittsburgh to new artists such as Sonny & Cher, the Rolling Stones, the Supremes, the Beach Boys, the Dave Clark Five and others. KQV slowly began to decline after 1970 with the advent of new competition and the rise of FM radio (including its then-sister station WDVE, which began life as KQV-FM).
One of KQV's top-40 personalities in the 1970s, with the on-air name of "Jeff Christie," later became famous as a talk-show host under his real name, Rush Limbaugh.
KQV was sold by ABC Radio to Taft Broadcasting in 1974, made another attempt at Top 40 (this time far more radical than before, with Joey Reynolds as program director) before dropping the format altogether. Its final night as a top 40 station was October 14, 1975.
All-News, All The TimeThe next morning, October 15th, 1975, the station switched to its present all-news format, carrying NBC Radio's 24-hour News and Information Service. Even though NBC infamously cancelled the service two years later, KQV's all-news stint remained and has lasted even longer than its Top 40 era.
In 1982, Taft executives told General Manager Robert W. Dickey that it intended to unload the station. Dickey sought -- and received -- financial backing from billionnaire newspaper publisher Richard Mellon Scaife. Together, the two men formed Calvary, Inc. and purchased the station from Taft that same year. Calvary continues to own the station, and celebrated the all-news format's 30th anniversary in 2005.
Today
Now in its 33rd year, KQV's all-news format provides listeners with non-stop news, sports, traffic, and weather from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. Its format is similar to that of other traditional all-news stations, featuring "Traffic & Weather on the 8's," Sports at :15 and :45 past each hour, and business news at :20 and :50 past.
KQV's primary weekday anchors are P.J. Maloney, Joe Fenn, and Bruce Sakalik. Steve Lohle had also been a fixture as KQV's afternoon news anchor for 34 years until his death on Friday, June 20, 2008 of an apparent heart attack.
In addition to its news content and several public affairs programs, the station is home to a number of live sporting events, including NFL football, Notre Dame football, and Duquesne Dukes basketball, as well as high school sports and play-by-play.
During evening hours, the station broadcasts "When Radio Was", a series featuring classic radio programs such as Suspense and The Jack Benny Show, among others. Also on Sundays a weekly radio series, known as "Imagination Theater", is broadcast.
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