WPXZ

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WPXZ
Broadcast area	Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania / DuBois
Branding	"104.1 FM WPXZ"
First air date	December 12,1973
Frequency	104.1(mHz)
Format	Adult contemporary, sports
ERP	3000 watts
Callsign meaning	"Punxy" (nickname of Punxsutawney)
Owner	Renda Radio, Inc. (Renda Broadcasting Corporation)

WPXZ is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, known as the "Weather Capital of the World". The station operates at a federally-assigned frequency of 104.1 mhz and an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts. WPXZ, and its co-located WECZ-AM and WKQL-FM sister stations, are all owned by Pittsburgh-based Renda Broadcasting Corporation.

Contents 1 WPME-FM Punxsutawney, a "shadow" of its AM sister 2 Tragedy Strikes 3 WKQL: Another Station Joins The Fray 4 WPXZ Today

[edit] WPME-FM Punxsutawney, a "shadow" of its AM sister

WPXZ originally signed on the air at 105.5 mhz as WPME-FM and as a simulcast of its daytime-only AM sister, which bore the same call letters until an ownership change in 1981. Both stations continued to simulcast one another until 1989, when management decided to split both stations in response to the growing number of vehicles equipped with FM radios, as well as an effort to increase revenue.

While WPXZ-AM became WECZ and adopted its own new format of MOR and nostalgia music, WPXZ continued to operate under its longtime format of soft adult contemporary music. The station had a full-service feel to it, as it offered ABC national news, high school sports, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball (the day games were on WECZ and the night games on WPXZ), and other local themed programming.

It was also the proving ground for young and upcoming radio talent. Alan Freed (is his real name, but not the legendary DJ who coined "rock and roll") explained to 440.com..."We were only on the air from 6am to midnight, so the first person on the air in the morning had to cross his fingers & hope that the transmitter (known to us as "Eileen" -- as in "Come on Eileen") would actually start when we fired it up. I came in to do my Sunday morning shift (I was the lucky 16 year old who ran the God Squad tapes at the time), and the transmitter wouldn't start."

It went downhill from there, according to Freed. "I drove up to the transmitter building to try a trick that the PD had taught me. "Slam the door of the transmitter if it doesn't start," he told me. I interpreted this to mean, "Slam the door of the shack that housed the transmitter." This made no sense to me, but I tried it. I slammed the door on the shack repeatedly with no luck. I got angry & decided to try a bit more unorthodox method."

The more unorthodox method Freed mentioned turned out to be an understatement, to say the least. "I decided to ram my car into the building to see if that would make it go (what the heck, it wasn't exactly a Porsche!) Needless to say, this didn't help either. It wasn't until later that I learned that there was a metal door on the transmitter itself that you could slam to get it to start (this method actually worked most of the time!) The car died years ago, but the building is still doing fine, thank you very much." Freed today owns a web-based company in Pittsburgh, where he has lived for the past two decades with his wife and daughter.

[edit] Tragedy Strikes

In early 1991, and in a tragic story that made world news headlines, WECZ/WPXZ news director Robert L. Curry was murdered in his home by a known intruder. The accused murderer who broke into the house and fatally shot Curry turned out to be the ex-boyfriend of his teenage daughter. The man is now serving a life prison sentence without parole for the crime. Curry had been employed at the station since 1962, while he was still in high school and before the FM went on the air.

[edit] WKQL: Another Station Joins The Fray

In 1996, Renda received permission to put another FM station on the air. In order for the new station to go on the air, many existing FM stations would have to shuffle their frequencies in order to fit the channel in its assigned community of Brookville, some 15 miles away from Punxsutawney. One of the affected stations was WPXZ. Renda gave up the 105.5 frequency for WPXZ to move to 104.1. The new Brookville station debuted in 2000 under an oldies format, the call letters WBEU (later changed to WYTR and then WMUV for a week, and finally WKQL as of October 2006) and the moniker "Kool 103.3."

In a 2004 management change, WPXZ moved to more CHR-based adult contemporary format in an effort to hip up WPXZ's stodgy image of tired music. The change also resulted in scaling back the station's news content, which did not go over well with listeners.

[edit] WPXZ Today

The following year, Marty McMillen, a longtime part-time employee that had left the station some time ago, was rehired as the station's new program director. The station moved to a bright adult contemporary format with an 80's music core, bearing a much larger music library. Renda also brought in a new news director, Ken Hawk, who had been the morning news anchorman at Renda's co-owned WCCS in Indiana, to overhaul the station's news presentation. Hawk, who had been known for his recent successes in Indiana and turnarounds at other stations in the region as well, also assisted in re-imaging the station and some necessary technical upgrades.

The additions of both staff members had an immediate positive impact on the station's image and ultimately, its finances, as WPXZ's revenue grew. The station also hired a new general manager, Jason Hill, in the summer of 2005. Hill, who like Hawk, had come from Renda's cluster stations in Indiana with a highly successful track record as sales manager. Hill's efforts resulted in a successful turnaround for the three Punxsutawney-based stations.

Midday personality Lou Jordan is the longest-tenured employee at WPXZ, having first started in 1986.