KFMZ was a radio station on

98.3 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 98.3 MHz: Argentina * Radio La Red (Rosario) in Rosario, Santa Fe * Radio María in San Carlos Minas, Córdoba * Radio María in Merlo, San Luis Australia * 1XXR in Canberra, Australian C ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

, which broadcast between 1971 and 2001. KFMZ went off the air when its licensee, Contemporary Media, Inc., had all of its licenses cancelled in response to a

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

investigation. The 98.3 frequency remained vacant for 15 years until KDVC signed on in November 2016.

History

KFMZ signed on October 12, 1971. The station carried an

album oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

(AOR) format. In 1974, a fire in downtown Columbia tore through a block of businesses; KFMZ's studios were affected by smoke damage, and employees moved equipment out by hand. The president of Contemporary Media was Michael S. Rice. In 1994, Rice was convicted of sexually abusing five teenagers in Missouri. The next year, the

opened a hearing to revoke the licenses of all of the stations owned by Contemporary Media and its sister companies, Contemporary Broadcasting and Lake Broadcasting. Together, the companies also owned Eldon's

KBMX KBMX (107.7 FM, MIX 108) is a top 40 radio station serving Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. It is owned by Townsquare Media. The studios and offices are with its three other sister stations at 14 E. Central Entrance, on the west side ...

, as well as two additional unbuilt stations in the state and a cluster of three stations in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

. In 1997, an FCC administrative law judge ruled that the licenses should be revoked. The FCC affirmed the decision in March 1998. Rice appealed, losing in federal appeals court. In March 2001, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. All Contemporary stations ceased operations by FCC order on October 4, 2001, including KFMZ, in its final years a modern rock station known as "The Buzz".

References

External links

* {{Columbia MO Radio Radio stations established in 1971 Radio stations disestablished in 2001 FMZ Defunct radio stations in the United States 1971 establishments in Missouri 2001 disestablishments in Missouri FMZ