WKLZ (105.9 FM) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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 ...

operating under a licensing agreement by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), and carries the contemporary Christian music format of its nationally syndicated network K-Love for the Syracuse, New York, area.

History

For most of the 2000s, WLTI was branded as "Lite 105.9" or "Lite Rock 105.9" and had an

adult contemporary music 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 ...

format that varied between "soft AC" (during the Lite years) and "hot AC" (during the later "Lite Rock" period). Programming during this period included Dave Allen (mornings during the "Lite" period), Robin Marshall (under the alias "Jayne," middays), Phil Spevak (under the alias "Brian Phillips," afternoons), Bob and Sheri (mornings during the "Lite Rock" time period), and

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

(evenings). WLTI made the switch to

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

, branded as WXTL "105.9 The Big Talker", in early March 2010, following a brief stunt with TV theme songs as "TV 105.9". Gary Nolan was the station's lone local weekday talk program; the rest of the lineup was culled from an eclectic mix of third-tier programming not already heard on its long-established competitors, WSYR or

WFBL WFBL (1390 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Syracuse, New York and owned by Wolf Radio, Inc. It serves Syracuse and its suburbs, with studios and offices located on Smokey Hollow Road in Baldwinsville. Since September 2017 the stati ...

. On January 6, 2012, at 10 a.m., after The Bob & Tom Show, WXTL began stunting again as "TV 105.9" airing television show theme songs only. At 1:05 p.m., the station switched 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, prima ...

as "105.9 The Rebel" with ''

The Bob & Tom Show ''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Premier ...

'' continuing in mornings. The first song on The Rebel was "

Rebel Yell The rebel yell was a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Confederate soldiers used the yell when charging to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale, although the yell had many other uses. No audio ...

" by

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

. Dave Frisina (WAQX 1978-2003, WTKW 2003-2011) was brought in to program the station as a classic rock station with a broader playlist and more local programming. Additional personalities include Roger McCue and Holly Dagger. On February 13, 2019, Cumulus Media announced it would sell six stations, including WXTL, to Educational Media Foundation for $103.5 million. On May 31, 2019, EMF flipped WXTL to the foundation's K-Love network that has been carried on WGKV (FM 101.7), a rimshot signal north of Syracuse. As a result, one of EMF's other formats (worship music Air1 or classic Christian hits

K-Love Classics K-Love Classics was a Christian classic hits radio network owned by Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and was carried over FM stations, translators, and HD subchannels in the United States. Such stations include WAIW 88.1 in Wheaton, Illino ...

) was likely to be introduced to the Syracuse market on one of the two stations. On April 23, 2020, the station changed its call sign to WKLZ.

Continuation of former WXTL programming online after the sale

Shortly after the announcement, Cumulus announced that the "Rebel" format would be moved online, with Frisina remaining in his position. The online-only iteration of The Rebel proved to be enough of a success to allow an air staff to be hired for the station. Frisina was dismissed March 28, 2022, along with the remaining airstaff, with Frisina noting that the station was about to undergo a "transition" and that Cumulus had rejected his offer to continue hosting his specialty weekend shows. On August 24, 2022, The Rebel was rebranded as "The SGNL" and changed its format to adult album alternative.

References

External links

SGNLsyracuse.com
- online continuation of the former WXTL * {{K-LOVE KLZ Radio stations established in 1996 1996 establishments in New York (state) Educational Media Foundation radio stations K-Love radio stations Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States KLZ