KZEL-FM (96.1
FM) is a commercial
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
in
Eugene, Oregon, in the United States. The station airs a
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
music format.
It has applied for a
U.S. 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 jurisdictio ...
(FCC)
construction permit to move to a taller tower (HAAT 451.9 meters) at the same site and increase the
vertically polarized ERP to 100,000 watts.
History
KZEL-FM, along with short-lived KZEL-AM, was founded and funded in 1967 by Eugene lumberman George "Tirebiter" Zellner. When he purchased the stations, their call letters were KWFS. Zellner changed the call letters to KZEL, for the FM and AM bands. KZEL-AM was briefly affiliated with the CBS network, and carried Frank Gifford's sports updates from CBS, along with broadcasts of Churchill High School sports and Eugene Bombers pro football. Zellner sold the station to Jay and Barbara West in 1971.
The Wests led KZEL for most of the 1970s as a
free-format station. Its studios were located in
Glenwood, near
Springfield.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
s included John Napier, Gary "The Wasted Potato" Palmatier, Stan "Harry 'Til 6" Garrett, Michael Waggoner, Sleepy John (Cuthbertson), JET, Tom Krumm, Chris Kovarik, Magic Mike, and Peyton Mays. Additionally, KZEL carried "Daybreak" in the morning and "News & Information" in the afternoon. News anchors included Melinda Coates, Rosemary Reed, Cal Turlock (real name Phillip Johnson) and
Bryce Zabel
Bryce H. Zabel (born May 17, 1954) is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. With hundreds of hours of produced film and television credits, Zabel has scripted a trio of mini-series which aired in the U.S. market ...
.
In the 1970s the News department was headed by Matt McCormic
aided by Tim Helfric
and
Josh Marquis, all destined to become practicing lawyers.
KZEL-FM belongs to
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...
, a nationwide owner of radio stations. In 2006, the program director, Mark Raney, locked himself in the station's control room for 10 days to protest the management's decision to abandon KZEL's classic rock format and replace it with country music. Raney, with support from his listeners, persuaded the station's management to retain the rock format.
KZEL-FM then evolved from a classic rock format into an
adult album alternative
Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
music format, adding newer artists and music to the playlist. Weekday personalities on the station still include Mark Raney and John Frederick in the morning, Emma at mid-day, and C.Y.D. in the afternoon. In December 2018, Mark Raney retired after 41 years in the radio industry.
On June 1, 2018 KZEL returned to classic rock.
Translators
KZEL-FM programming is also carried on a series of
broadcast translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
stations to extend or improve the coverage area of the station.
References
External links
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FCC application
{{Cumulus Media
ZEL-FM
Radio stations established in 1969
Classic rock radio stations in the United States
1969 establishments in Oregon
Cumulus Media radio stations