WKBZ is a

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

talk radio 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 featu ...

station in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ') is a city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Muskegon County. Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, pleasure boating, and as a commercial and cruise ship port. It is a popular vacation destination because of the expans ...

on the frequency of 1090 AM owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

History

The original WKBZ operated in Ludington, Michigan from 1926 to 1934. It was moved to Muskegon, Michigan in 1934. In 1947 WMUS began operations and became the second radio station serving Muskegon, after the original WKBZ (today's WGVS); it began as a general-interest independent variety station featuring

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

newscasts. WMUS also inaugurated the first FM broadcasts in Muskegon in the summer of 1947, just a few months after the AM signed on, with

WMUS WMUS (107.9 FM, "107 MUS") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format in Muskegon, Michigan. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. History 107.9 FM signed on originally around 1988 as WKBZ-FM. Magic 108 Acknowledging the need f ...

-FM at 100.5; the FM station was dark by the start of the 1950s but came back on at its current frequency in 1962. WMUS moved into a MOR/

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

format in the early 1960s, promoting itself as "the AM station with the FM sound"
1
. Then in 1965, WMUS changed format to

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, ...

using the moniker "Top Gun Radio." A few years later WMUS-FM 106.9 began to simulcast WMUS's country format, and eventually the roles were reversed, with WMUS-FM becoming the primary signal and WMUS becoming the simulcast. This continued until April 2001, when both stations were sold to Clear Channel Communications. The AM facility adopted a news/talk format, while the FM facility remained unchanged. In April 2005, the call sign of WMUS was changed to WKBZ, marking the return of the call letters to the radio market after 4 years of absence. (They had been on the 850 frequency, now WGVS, from 1926 to 1999, and on 1520 kHz from 1999 to 2001.)

References

Michiguide.com - WKBZ History

External links

KBZ Muskegon County, Michigan Radio stations established in 1947 IHeartMedia radio stations 1947 establishments in Michigan KBZ {{Michigan-radio-station-stub