WKZN
Encyclopedia
WKZN is an AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

 radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 licensed to the city of West Hazleton, Pennsylvania
West Hazleton, Pennsylvania
West Hazleton, founded by Conrad Horn, is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, south of Wilkes Barre. In 1900, 2,516 people lived here; in 1910, 4,715 people lived here. The population was 4,594 at the 2010 census...

 with service area extending out to the Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...

/Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...

 radio market. The station is a full time relay of the programming of the WILK
WILK-FM
WILK-FM is a radio station licensed to Avoca, Pennsylvania operating at a frequency of 103.1 MHz serving the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton radio market. The station serves as the premiere station in the regionally simulcast WILK News Radio Network, a network of four radio stations owned by...

 News Radio network featuring a News
News Radio
News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....

 and Talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 format. The station broadcasts at a frequency of 1300 kHz with a power of 5,000 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

s daytime with a directional antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

 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
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

 station according to the Federal Communication Commission.

Early history

Radio station WTHT first signed on the air at 1300 kHz in the Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...

 area in late 1961. The AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

 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
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...

. The studios were co-located with the transmitter site. WTHT's format was a MOR and Talk Radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 format with on air branding and old jingles announcing the station as "The Big Sound In Radio". Notable on air personalities included Dave DeCosmo, Leo Valovich, Al Sword, Fred Williams, Guy Randell, Ralph Lockwood, and Tommy Woods. The station as WTHT lasted until 1964 when it changed its call letters to WHZN. It permanently signed-off the air in 1965. The 1300 kHz frequency would remain vacant of a local station in the Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater 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
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk 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
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...

 to serve the local Hazleton
Hazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...

 area. The Country Music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 format did not do very well in the market, so in 1983 the station changed to an Adult Standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...

 format with the addition of some local News
News Radio
News Radio can refer to:* NewsRadio, the NBC sitcom which aired from 1995–1999.* News radio, the all-news or news/talk radio format....

 and Talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...

 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. The station was sold to its present owners, Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications
Entercom Communications Corporation is the fourth-largest broadcasting company in the United States. As of November 2009, Entercom operates 110 radio stations in 23 markets across the United States....

, and joined the WILK
WILK-FM
WILK-FM is a radio station licensed to Avoca, Pennsylvania operating at a frequency of 103.1 MHz serving the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton radio market. The station serves as the premiere station in the regionally simulcast WILK News Radio Network, a network of four radio stations owned by...

News Radio network. The station's call signs were changed to its present WKZN in 2005.

External links

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