WKZL

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WKZL (107.5KZL) is a Mainstream Top 40 station licensed to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad area, which also includes Greensboro and High Point. The outlet, which is owned by Dick Broadcasting, operates at 107.5 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW.

[edit] History

The station had the call letters WSGH prior to its switch to Top 40 in the late 70s. During the early 80s, WKZL played album-oriented rock but returned to Top 40 in the mid-80s. For most of the 90s, WKZL called itself "107.5 The Eagle", playing hot adult contemporary music. For a brief time, the station was modern adult contemporary, competing directly with "98-7 The Point" (the former 98.7 Kiss FM), which later took the name "98-7 The Zone", prior to switching the name and format of the station to "98-7 Simon" (current format is called "adult hits" and resembles an ipod shuffle) in 2005. Eventually the decision was made to return to Top 40. That came in 1999, around Labor Day weekend, when the station stunted, with recorded management saying that the station was underperforming and that all the deejays were suspended until a new plan could be worked out. Current morning man, Jack Murphy (Andrew Acuff) has been with the station for about 15 years. The core of the Murphy in the Morning Show for most of the 90's was Jack, joined by Terrie Knight (Johnson) (who also did news) and Chris Kelly (Roman Kirkman) (who also produced the show). Knight and Kelly exited in 1999, when Kelly went to do the "2 Guys Named Chris" show on Dick Broadcasting's other property, Rock 92 (WKRR). Knight went to do afternoons (at KZL), where she stayed until 2005 when she left the station and radio, altogether.

One of the funniest episodes in WKZL's history occurred in March of 2003, when station management fired Murphy in the Morning sidekick Britt Whitmire. Whitmire had made a remark the best friend of Jack Murphy (Andrew Acuff)'s wife, Michelle. Whitmire had referred to the woman's breast implants. She took umbrage to this revelation and showed up at the station's offices (at 192 E. Lewis Street in Downtown Greensboro) and demanded that Whitmire be fired or she would "take action". The woman in question,Gracie Womack (originally of Danville, Va.), is married to publisher Charles Womack (Womack Publishing Co.; http://www.womackpublishing.com/) and management feared legal action, so they fired Whitmire. On the air, Murphy and the other KZL deejays lied and said that Whitmire had left of his own accord. Legal experts consulted by Whitmire said that Gracie Womack had no standing for a lawsuit of any kind.

Whitmire was out of radio for more than a year and returned to Triad airways in July of 2004, co-hosting the Brad (Krantz) and Britt show on FM Talk 101.1 WZTK. Curiously, one of Brad and Britt's first positive pieces in local media came from "Yes! Weekly" magazine, which is published by Charles Womack.

The station's current lineup is the Murphy show from 5:30-10 am (with Katie O'Brian, Josie (Jocelyn Paza) and Josh (Anderson)). Anderson won a jingle contest for Alka-Seltzer and appeared in their ad during the Super Bowl pre-game in 2007. The ad continued to run throughout 2007. Mike Klein does middays and Jason Goodman holds down afternoon drive. Klein and Goodman program the station and they previously worked together at WNVZ-FM (Z-104) in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, VA. Tripper does nights and he worked with Goodman and Klein at Z-104. Overnights are voice-tracked (recorded on computer and then sequenced) mostly by Jeff Corbett, a station and company mainstay for eight years (at one time, he produced the "2 Guys Named Chris Show" and worked in the promotions department).

[edit] External link

• 107.5KZL's website