WAZL is an

AM broadcasting AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...

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 radio ...

licensed to the city of

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

with service area extending to the

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

radio market. The station broadcasts a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

radio format. It broadcasts at a frequency of 1490

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

with 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s of power using a non-directional

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

. WAZL is considered a Class C

station according to the

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 ...

History

The radio station has a rich and long broadcast history dating back to 1932 serving the city of

. WAZL originally started broadcasting at a frequency of 1420 kHz and had to time share the frequency with WILM in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

in 1932. In 1941, a nationwide frequency reassignment took place by the Federal government which assigned WAZL to 1450 kc. where it stayed until 1948 when the station switched to its current broadcast frequency of 1490 kc. WAZL was an affiliate of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

and Mutual radio networks during its early history. From 1932 to 1994, studios were on the seventh floor in the Hazleton National Bank Building at 101 West Broad Street. The station has struggled in recent years, going silent for a time unti
Route 81 Radio
bought the station and put it back on the air in 2004 as a Full-Service operation serving the local

Hazleton Hazleton may refer to: Places * Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada * Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton Abbey, a me ...

community. In mid-July 2008
Route 81 Radio
fell into financial difficulty and went into foreclosure
WS2K Acquisition
originally a 50% owner i
Route 81 Radio
took over the license. Soon afterwards in August 2008, Hazleton Radio, Inc., a locally-owned corporation, took over management of the station under a LMA. On August 20, 2009, the Hazleton Standard Speaker reported the sale of WAZL to locally-owned Panorama Magazine. On April 25, 2011 the FCC approved the sale to WAZL Partners, LLP, switching to the music format to

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, primar ...

, before finally settling on

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

. In October 2012, WAZL entered into a local marketing agreement with KMCS Broadcasting, LLC, who started stunting Christmas music on November 1, 2012 and then broadcasting an adult hits format on January 1, 2013. This sale fell through in April 2013. In May 2013, Geos Communications began an LMA with WAZL, changed the format to mainstream country, and filed with the FCC to purchase the station. On July 15, 2013, Geos Communications completed its purchase of WAZL, at a price of $30,000. Geos Communications was also the licensee of WGMF/WZMF (Gem 104) in Tunkhannock/Nanticoke, PA. On October 23, 2015, WAZL was sold to JMJ Radio, owners of WQOR AM 750 in Olyphant, broadcasting a Catholic religious format. On December 17, 2015, WAZL switched from a simulcast of classic hits-formatted WGMF 1460 AM to a simulcast of Catholic religious-formatted WQOR 750 AM Olyphant, as a result of a sale to J.M.J. Radio, Inc. The sale took effect on January 4, 2016.

References

External links

*
WAZL Signal Coverage Map According to Radio-Locator.com

RecNet query
{{Scranton Radio AZL Radio stations established in 1932 AZL