Jump to content

KWKC

Add links
Coordinates: 32°25′14″N 99°43′54″W / 32.42056°N 99.73167°W / 32.42056; -99.73167
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sammi Brie (talk | contribs) at 04:44, 9 October 2021 (history to 1980). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

KWKC
Frequency1340 kHz
BrandingKWKC 1340
Programming
FormatNews/Talk
AffiliationsNational news by CBS Radio News[1]
Ownership
OwnerCanfin Enterprises
KZQQ, KKHR
History
First air date
June 19, 1948 (1948-06-19)
Former call signs
KORQ (1980s–1993)
KYYD (1993–1999)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID73682
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Links
Public license information
Websiteradioabilene.com/kwkc-1340/

KWKC (1340 AM) is a News/Talk radio station that serves the Abilene, Texas area. The station is under ownership of Canfin Enterprises. It airs local and national news updates.

History

On December 30, 1947, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit to the Citizens Broadcasting Company for a new 250-watt radio station in Abilene.[3] The decision ended a year of fighting between Citizens Broadcasting and a competing applicant, the Abilene Broadcasting Company. Citizens got the nod because it had more local residents in its composition and because one Abilene Broadcasting shareholder, Gene Cagle, was involved with the Texas State Network, affiliated with KRBC, then the city's only station.[4]

KWKC began operating on June 19, 1948, from studios at 25th and Butternut streets; it was an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System.[5] Four years later, Citizens announced its intention to file for a construction permit for a television station; at the time, just one VHF channel was allocated to the city, channel 9.[6] However, KRBC also filed, which posed the prospect of Abilene waiting years for television. The FCC was processing television station applications in a priority order based on city, and Abilene was 89th in line. Citizens opted to withdraw its bid and leave KRBC uncontested such that television could come faster to the city; it also petitioned for another channel to be assigned.[7]

After upgrading to 1,000 watts in 1963,[3] KWKC had applied for an FM station when it started in 1948 but abandoned the construction permit.[8] In 1964, Citizens was approved to build a station at 105.1 MHz, which signed on as KWKC-FM on January 1, 1965.[9] Later that year, Citizens sold KWKC-AM-FM to Steve Gose Enterprises of Wichita Falls for $400,000.[10] Nearly immediately, Gose made a second filing for a KWKC-aligned television station, this time on UHF channel 32.[11]

By February 1968, however, Gose had experienced financial reverses and declared bankruptcy, seeking permission to sell off his radio holdings, the KWKC stations and KNTO-FM in Wichita Falls.[12] An offer for the AM station only was made by Ben Barnes, then the Texas Speaker of the House, alongside state representative Ralph Wayne and two Austin broadcasters.[13] The bankruptcy court accepted the offer;[14] Texas Communications, Inc., was approved as the buyer by the FCC in March 1969.[3]

KWKC, a country music station at the time, was sold in 1973 to Mithun Enterprises, which purchased its first broadcast property for $500,000.[15] Frontier Broadcasting, the subsidiary of Mithun that acquired the station, then filed to build another FM outlet in town.[16] The construction permit for this outlet was granted in March 1974[17] and went on air as KORQ (100.7 FM) on September 2.[18]

Adams-Shelton Communications of Amarillo acquired KWKC and KORQ in 1980.[19]

References

  1. ^ "CBS Radio News Affiliates".
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KWKC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ a b c

    FCC History Cards for KWKC

  4. ^ McClendon, Sarah (November 14, 1947). "FCC Okays New Abilene Station". The Abilene Reporter-News (Morning ed.). pp. 1, 18.
  5. ^ "KWKC Goes On Air Today". The Abilene Reporter-News (Morning ed.). June 19, 1948. p. 1.
  6. ^ "KWKC Plans Bid For TV Station". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). April 23, 1952. p. 1-B.
  7. ^ "KWKC's Withdrawal Clears Track for TV: KRBC Only VHF Applicant Here". The Abilene Reporter-News. April 5, 1953. pp. 1-A, 4-A.
  8. ^ "KRBCFM Granted Permanent License". The Abilene Reporter-News (Morning ed.). August 4, 1948. p. 1.
  9. ^ "KWKC To Begin FM Broadcasting". The Abilene Reporter-News (Morning ed.). December 31, 1964. p. 11-A.
  10. ^ Pouns, Joe B. (September 10, 1965). "Station KWKC Sale Announced". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). pp. 1-A, [1].
  11. ^ "$96,951 TV Station Approval Sought". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). September 12, 1965. p. 6-A.
  12. ^ "Gose Seeks Okay to Sell Station KWKC". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). February 8, 1968. p. 1-A.
  13. ^ "Ben Barnes, Partners Offer To Buy KWKC". The Abilene Reporter-News. June 9, 1968. p. 1-A.
  14. ^ "Barnes Group's Purchase Of Station KWKC Set". The Abilene Reporter-News. July 27, 1968. p. 1-A.
  15. ^ "Station Purchase Awaits FCC Okay". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). March 21, 1973. p. 2-A.
  16. ^ "Third FM Station Awaits FCC Okay". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). August 16, 1973. p. 1-A.
  17. ^ "New FM Station Due in 4 Months". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). March 22, 1974. p. 1-B.
  18. ^ "New FM Station Goes on Airwaves". The Abilene Reporter-News (Evening ed.). September 3, 1974. p. 3-A.
  19. ^ Enriquez, Darryl (September 23, 1980). "KWKC, KORQ Bought By Amarillo Company". The Abilene Reporter-News (Morning ed.). p. 8-A.

32°25′14″N 99°43′54″W / 32.42056°N 99.73167°W / 32.42056; -99.73167

Stub icon 1 Stub icon 2

This article about a radio station in Texas is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=KWKC&oldid=1048985130"