WKBZ (1520 AM)
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Programming | |
Format | Defunct, formerly children's/CHR |
Ownership | |
Owner | WLC Broadcasting |
History | |
First air date | 1963 |
Last air date | 2001 |
Former call signs |
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Technical information | |
Facility ID | 47109 |
Class | B |
Power |
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WKBZ was a radio station on 1520 kHz in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. It broadcast between 1963 and 2001 and was last owned by WLC Broadcasting.
History
The construction permit for WKJR, a daytime-only station on 1520, was obtained on September 27, 1962. The permit was owned by William and William Eugene Kuiper, doing business as the Muskegon Heights Broadcasting Company. The station hit the air in February 1963[1] and increased its daytime power to 10,000 watts in 1971. The station suffered a humorous accident in 1975 when a field mouse crawled into the transmitter site, shorting out a transformer and keeping the station off the air for 45 minutes during its broadcast of a high school basketball game.[2]
In 1979, majority control was transferred to another Kuiper business—the Furniture City Broadcasting Corporation, which owned WFUR in Grand Rapids—which procured authorization two years later to broadcast at night with 500 watts.[3] March 1974 brought an FM sister station, WKJR-FM 101.7 (now WMRR); the stations broadcast religious programming.[1]
WKJR was acquired in 1990 by Pathfinder Communications Corporation as part of a $1.27 million purchase
However, WLC's financial troubles continued. After a sale to Harbor Pointe Broadcasting collapsed because the company went bankrupt,[8] the station went off the air in March 2001, when WLC Broadcasting became bankrupt and its assets claimed by creditors. The station became an affiliate of Radio Disney during its final two months of operation.[8] The station's license was officially cancelled in June 2002.
References
- ^ a b "WKJR" (PDF). 1976 Broadcasting Yearbook. 1976. p. C-101. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "Mouse Knocks Out WKJR-Radio". Ludington Daily News. UPI. January 18, 1975. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ FCC History Cards for WKBZ
- ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 1, 1990. p. 115. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Ross, Sean (February 23, 1991). "2nd-Generation Soft ACs Find Their Niche" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ a b "Bishop's company buys three radio stations". The Times Herald. November 27, 1996. p. 3A. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ "WGVS AM 850 Muskegon". Michiguide. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ a b "Former WKBZ 1520 AM Muskegon Heights". Michiguide. Retrieved September 7, 2019.