KWDJ (1360 AM, "1360 Country Gold") 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 ...

that is

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to and serves

Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lak ...

, United States. The station is owned by Adelman Broadcasting, Inc. and broadcasts a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format.

History

The station first signed on April 7, 1974 as KZIQ. Originally owned by Space/Time Broadcasting Company, it aired a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. In June 1986, Space/Time sold KZIQ and its FM sister station KZIQ-FM to Bel Air Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Robert M. Rosenthal, for $335,000. Bel Air attempted to sell KZIQ-AM-FM in 1991, but the first two deals fell through. The first deal reached was in January with Michaels Media, headed by Pat Michaels, for $650,000. In March, a sale to Blessing Broadcasting valued at $682,500 also failed to close. By the end of the year, Bel Air successfully sold the combo to James Knudsen for $250,000 — less than half of either previous deal. At the time, KZIQ aired an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

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 ...

format. On May 21, 2001, KZIQ changed its

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

to KWDJ. In May 2006, KWDJ flipped from

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 ...

as "Fox Radio 1360". Featured talk shows included ''

The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...

'', ''

The Glenn Beck Radio Program ''The Glenn Beck Radio Program'' is an American conservative talk radio show, hosted by commentator Glenn Beck on over 400 radio stations across America, his company's own TheBlaze Radio Network, with a live television simulcast weekdays on TheB ...

'', ''The John Gibson Show'', and '' The Alan Colmes Show''. The station aired Fox Sports Radio programming on weekends. In January 2013, James and Donna Knudsen sold KWDJ and KZIQ-FM to Adelman Broadcasting for $220,000. The deal included a time brokerage agreement allowing Adelman to begin programming the station immediately; the sale closed in April. Until early 2014, KWDJ aired a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

format as a Fox Sports Radio affiliate. In 2016, the station became a radio affiliate of the Los Angeles Rams of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

References

External links

* * {{Country Radio Stations in California WDJ Classic country radio stations in the United States Ridgecrest, California