WDZ (AM)
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| WDZ | |
| City of license | Decatur, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Springfield, Illinois |
| Frequency | 1050 kHz (since 1952) |
| First air date | March 14, 1921 (in Tuscola, Illinois) |
| Format | Sports radio |
| Power | 1,000 watts day 250 watts night |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 53348 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Affiliations | Fox Sports Radio |
| Owner | Joyner Radio Inc. |
| Website | Magic 1050 |
WDZ is an AM radio station licensed to Decatur, Illinois and broadcasting at 1050 kHz. The station currently broadcasts a sports-talk format and is considered the oldest radio station in Illinois and second oldest commercial radio station in the U.S.
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[edit] History
WDZ started in the office of a grain elevator in Tuscola, Illinois. The original call sign was 9JR and the original intent of the station was to broadcast grain reports, making it the first radio station to do so. The station later started mixing some music in with the grain reports.
[edit] Smiley Burnette
Smiley Burnette started his entertainment career on WDZ in 1929. He was hired after he came to WDZ to do an advertising spot for the furniture store where he worked.
He ran all aspects of the radio station from being the disc jockey and music director to doing janitorial work. He was known to read the comics from the day's newspaper using different voices and sound effects as much of his audience were children.
Smiley (real name Lester) got his nickname from a character in Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, which he was reading on the air. He initially used "Smiley" as a name for a character in a new children's program he was creating for the station but it later became his nickname, as did the name "Frog". He then left the station to work with Gene Autry on Chicago's WLS in December of 1933.
[edit] Recent Changes
The station's most recent music format was Urban AC branded as "Magic 1050." On March 31, 2008, the station switched to a sports radio format as part of the Fox Sports Radio network. The station airs Fox Sports Radio much of the time. It will airs Premiere's Jim Rome Show.
[edit] External links
- Magic 1050
- Smiley Burnette History
- WDZ History
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WDZ
- Radio Locator Information on WDZ
- Query Arbitron's AM station database for WDZ
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