WKBZ

Frequency1090 kHzBrandingNewsTalk 1090ProgrammingFormatNews/talkAffiliationsFox News Radio
Compass Media Networks
Premiere NetworksOwnershipOwnerWMRR, WOOD-FM, WMUSHistory1947; 77 years ago (1947)WMUS (1947–2005)Former call letters of two Muskegon stations, 850 and 1520 AMTechnical information^[1]FCCFacility ID25087ClassDPower1,000 watts dayLinksWebcastListen LiveWebsitenewstalk1090.iheart.com

WKBZ (1090 AM) is a news/talk radio station in Muskegon, Michigan owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

History

The current WKBZ is the former WMUS. WMUS began operations in 1947 and became the second radio station serving Muskegon, after the original WKBZ (today's WSMZ); it began as a general-interest independent variety station featuring Associated Press newscasts. WMUS also inaugurated the first FM broadcasts in Muskegon in the summer of 1947, just a few months after the AM signed on, with WMUS-FM at 100.5; the FM station was dark by the start of the 1950s but came back on at its current frequency in 1962.

WMUS moved into a MOR/beautiful music format in the early 1960s, promoting itself as "the AM station with the FM sound" (1). Then in 1965, WMUS changed format to country music using the moniker "Top Gun Radio." A few years later WMUS-FM 106.9 began to simulcast WMUS's country format, and eventually the roles were reversed, with WMUS-FM becoming the primary signal and WMUS becoming the simulcast. This continued until April 2001, when both stations were sold to Clear Channel Communications. The AM facility adopted a news/talk format, while the FM facility remained unchanged. In April 2005, the call sign of WMUS was changed to WKBZ, marking the return of the call letters to the radio market after 4 years of absence. (They had been on the 850 frequency, now WSMZ, from 1926 to 1999, and on 1520 kHz from 1999 to 2001.)

References

• Michiguide.com - WKBZ History
• Michiguide.com - Defunct WKBZ History

External links

• WKBZ in the FCC AM station database
• WKBZ in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

43°16′36″N 86°15′14″W / 43.27667°N 86.25389°W / 43.27667; -86.25389