WKBI (AM)

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
WKBI
WKBI Radio Logo.png
City Saint Marys, Pennsylvania
Frequency 1400 kHz
BrandingNews Talk 1400 & 94.5
Programming
Format News/Talk
Ownership
OwnerDennis and Rose Heindl
(Laurel Media, Inc.)
WKBI-FM, WDDH
History
First air date
July 23, 1950
Technical information
Facility ID 65603
Class C
Power 1,000 watts
Translator(s) 94.5 W233BS (St. Marys)
Links
Website wkbiradio.com

WKBI, known as "News Talk 1400 & 94.5", is a news/talk formatted radio station based in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania. WKBI is the only AM radio station in Elk County. In 2013, the station came under the ownership of Laurel Media, Inc., owners of WDDH.

Contents

History

WKBI was the very first radio station in Elk County, and there was no radio station on the air in neighboring Cameron County at the time, which is why its parent company is known as Elk-Cameron Broadcasting. Neighboring Forest County also did not have (and still doesn't have) a local radio station of its own. Cameron County did not receive its own radio station until WLEM first signed on the air on March 2, 1958 followed by its same-named FM sister station 27 years later.

WKBI remains the sole AM radio station in all of Elk County. For a time, WKBI was the flagship station of AMN, first having signed on the air July 23, 1950, and was thus the first station in the group. That changed five years later, when AMN founder Cary H. Simpson signed on WTRN in Tyrone. Operations for the AMN were then moved to Tyrone.

WKBI gained an FM sister station in 1966, which became known as WKBI-FM. That station is known today as B94.

WKBI's original studio location was in the Mullendean Hotel, next to the G.C. Murphy Co. The hotel was torn down in the mid '60s to expand Murphy's, and the studio was moved to a location above the Firestone store. In the early 1970s, WKBI-AM-FM moved to a new building constructed at the station's transmitter site on Melody Lane, located just outside the St. Mary's city limits, where it remained until its sale to its present owners.

In the 1990s and 2000s, WKBI was an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Allegheny Mountain Radio Network. That network was dismantled over the course of the late 2000s; WKBI was sold to Laurel Media (owners of WDDH) in late 2012 as part of the dismantling. The sale was consummated on January 31, 2013 at a purchase price of $766,047 for both WKBI and sister station WKBI-FM.

On June 4, 2019, WKBI changed their format from adult standards to news/talk, branded as "News Talk 1400 & 94.5". [1]

WKBI operates a translator on 94.5 with the call sign W233BS-FM 250 watts output.

Wkbiam.jpg

Related Research Articles

St. Marys, Pennsylvania City in Pennsylvania, United States

St. Marys is a city in Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population is 12,429 as of 2019. Originally a small town inhabited by mostly Bavarian Roman Catholics, it was founded December 8, 1842. It is home to Straub Brewery and the first Benedictine convent in the United States. In 1992, the borough of St. Marys absorbed the surrounding township of Benzinger and incorporated as a city. Despite its place as the second-largest city by area in Pennsylvania behind Philadelphia, its low population leads to it being one of the state's least dense cities.

WKBI-FM Radio station in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania

WKBI-FM is a Top 40 (CHR) music formatted radio station based in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Dennis and Rose Heindl, through licensee Laurel Media, Inc.

WBLF Radio station in Bellefonte–State College, Pennsylvania

WBLF is a news radio station licensed to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania serving State College, Pennsylvania. It is currently owned by Jeffry and Mark Schlesinger, through licensee Schlesinger Communications, Inc. WBLF was founded by Cary H. Simpson on August 1, 1958, and operates at the federally assigned frequency of 970 kilohertz with a maximum power output of 1,000 watts daytime, 61 watts at night.

WKGE Radio station in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

WKGE is an AM radio station licensed to Johnstown, Pennsylvania and broadcasting on 850 kHz with 10 kW day and night. The station has a classic hits format, branded as "101.3 WKGE", that is simulcast on FM translator W267CM.

KTBL Radio station in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico

KTBL is a commercial AM radio station licensed to the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico, and serves the Albuquerque metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and its studios are located in Downtown Albuquerque and the transmitter tower is located in South Valley, New Mexico. KTBL operates with 1,000 watts. The call letters stand for the station's former slogan, "Talk, Business, Life." The station airs an active rock format branded as "94.5 The Pit" with the use of FM translator K233CG broadcasting at 250 watts off Sandia Crest.

WDSN is a commercial radio station, licensed to the community of Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania. WDSN broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 3,000 Watts. WDSN and its AM sister station, WCED, are owned and operated by Priority Communications of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

WFRM Radio station in Coudersport, Pennsylvania

WFRM is a commercially licensed AM radio station, licensed to Coudersport, Pennsylvania, the seat of Potter County. WFRM has served listeners in Potter, Elk, Mckean & Cameron counties for 60 years at the federally assigned frequency of 600 kHz at a maximum power output of 1,000 watts day, 46 watts night. WFRM and its sister station, WHKS, are owned by L-Com, Inc., a company controlled by David Lent.

WPCL is a religious-formatted radio station located in Northern Cambria, Pennsylvania, United States. The station broadcasts programming from the He's Alive network on 97.3 FM.

WDUZ Radio station in WDUZ-FM: Brillion, Wisconsin

WDUZ and WDUZ-FM are radio stations serving the Green Bay, Wisconsin area, simulcasting a sports format as "Sports Radio 107.5 and 1400 The Fan." The stations were owned by Clear Channel Communications, though they were still operated by their previous owner, Cumulus Media, who swapped ownership of both stations to Clear Channel in exchange for 2 Ohio stations in early 2009. In August 2013, Clear Channel reached a deal to sell its Green Bay stations back to Cumulus. The sale was consummated on December 31, 2013 at a price of $17,636,643.

WYCT is a radio station known as "Cat Country 98.7". The main studio is located on Plantation Road in Pensacola, Florida, and station caters to the Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Pace and Milton markets as well as Baldwin County, Alabama. Its studios are in Pensacola and its transmitter is located west of Muscogee, Florida just inside Alabama.

WTRN Radio station in Tyrone, Pennsylvania

WTRN is an American commercial AM radio station, licensed to the borough of Tyrone, Pennsylvania. The station operates at the federally assigned frequency of 1340 kHz with a full-time power output of 1,000 watts. WTRN also operates two FM translators. One at 100.7 MHz Tyrone and 96.9 MHz Altoona, Pennsylvania. WTRN was the flagship station for the former Allegheny Mountain Network (AMN).

WTZA is a commercial AM radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, known as "Radio Punjab". It is owned by Radio Spice, LLC, and airs a South Asian format. It is also heard on 235 watt FM translator W227DN, at 93.3 MHz in Norcross, Georgia.

WDDH is an American radio station, licensed to Saint Marys, Pennsylvania. The station operates at the assigned frequency of 97.5 MHz and an equivalent radiated power of 50,000 watts. Its studios and offices are located in Ridgway Township, near the summit of Bootjack Mountain, about 3 miles south of downtown Ridgway and about 2 miles west of its city of license. Its transmitter site is located in Lamont, about 2.5 miles south of Kane, Pennsylvania. The station also uses a booster, WDDH-FM1 with 250 Watts at 171 feet AGL along South Highland Street in DuBois, about 20 miles south of the Ridgway studios.

WFDM is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, United States, on the frequency of 1400 kHz and the translator W232CF. It first began broadcasting in 1956 under the call sign "WNUE". The station licensee and operator is Omni Broadcasting. WFDM formerly broadcast a news/talk format as "Freedom 94.3". It's now a Spanish station known on air as Radio Latina 94.3 FM.

WFOR is a radio station licensed to serve Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States. The station is owned by Eagle Broadcasting, LLC.

WKTX is a commercial AM radio station in Cortland, Ohio, serving the Youngstown metropolitan area. It broadcasts an urban gospel radio format in the daytime, along with some Black talk and Christian talk and teaching programs. At night it switches to Classic R&B music. The on-air identity is known as the "Drum 99.7 FM."

WDGY Oldies radio station in Hudson, Wisconsin

WDGY is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs a Classic Hits/Oldies radio format. The station's studios and offices are in Lakeland, Minnesota. The transmitter is off Commerce Drive, near Interstate 94 in Hudson.

WCOP is a commercial radio station, licensed to Eldred, Pennsylvania. It is an owned-and-operated station in the Family Life Network, a regional Christian broadcaster.

WAMC is a public radio station licensed to Albany, New York and owned by WAMC, Inc. The station broadcasts with 1 kW, and is an AM repeater of WAMC-FM.

KZPK-HD3 American radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota

K277BS is a translator rebroadcasting the classic rock format of the HD3 subcarrier of Leighton Broadcasting's KZPK. Licensed to St. Cloud, Minnesota, it serves the St. Cloud area. The station is currently owned by Leighton Broadcasting.

References

  1. WKBI Flips to Conservative Talk Radioinsight - June 4, 2019

Coordinates: 41°24′56″N78°33′56″W / 41.41556°N 78.56556°W / 41.41556; -78.56556