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WKXL (1450 AM) is a
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 ...
broadcasting a
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 featur ...
format. Licensed to
Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...
, United States, the station serves the Concord area. The station is currently owned by New Hampshire Family Radio LLC, itself owned by former Senator
Gordon J. Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. ...
, and features programming from
AP Radio 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. newspa ...
.


History


Early years

On December 6, 1945, 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 ...
(FCC) issued a construction permit to Charles M. Dale, then the sitting
Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...
, for a new 250-watt radio station on 1450 kHz in Concord. The station signed on June 15, with studios in the historic Eagle Hotel and an adjoining building. After five years, Dale sold WKXL to Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, a consortium formed by part-owners of
WFEA WFEA (1370 AM) is a talk radio station in Manchester, New Hampshire. WFEA's studios and offices are on N. Commercial St. in Manchester. Its AM transmitter is located in Merrimack at the location of its original studio building. Its signal is si ...
at
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, for $50,000 in 1951. Under Capitol ownership, the station became a
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
affiliate from 1951 to 1959 and again beginning in December 1962. The original principals in Capitol sold the company to H. Scott Killgore, a 20-year radio veteran, for $75,000 in 1954. That same year, Tom Shovan, who would be instrumental in shaping the careers of
Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...
and Laura Schlesinger, started his radio career as a disc jockey at WKXL; he was just 12 years old. Another sale followed three years later to Patrick Estes and Joseph Close, owners of WKNE (1290 kHz) in Keene and WKNY in
Kingston, New York Kingston is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with t ...
. A power increase followed to 1,000 watts during the day, approved in 1961. The station expanded its service to FM when WKXL-FM 102.3, an 80 percent simulcast of the AM frequency and its middle of the road format, began broadcasting on March 7, 1972. In 1980, Estes, who had bought out Close, sold the WKXL stations to a consortium of seven station employees, continuing under the name Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, led by Dick Osborne, Don Shapiro and Pat Chaloux, in a transaction valued at $1.5 million.


The Music Zone

The 102.3 FM signal was largely a repeater of the 1450 AM news-talk broadcast until 1986 when the owners launched a "light alternative"
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 ...
format. The format was led by Program Director Renee Blake, Production Director Taft Moore, on-air talent including Dave Doud, Julia Figueras, Norm Beeker, and Jay Dreves, and featured artists such as
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
,
Poi Dog Pondering Poi Dog Pondering is an American musical group which is noted for its cross-pollination of diverse musical genres, including various forms of acoustic and electronic music. Frank Orrall founded the band in Hawaii in 1984, initially as a solo pr ...
,
10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...
,
The Pixies Pixies is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering ...
, The Call, and U2. The station won recognition, Best of the Best, in 1990 from the
National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
for community service with their This Island Earth promotion that focused on environmental awareness with on-air and "in-field" activities. The Music Zone format continued until 1991 when financial pressures returned the FM signal to a simulcast of the AM broadcast.


Vox cutbacks and restoration under Bailey and Humphrey

In 1999, WKXL and its sister stations were sold by their employee-owners to Vox Media Group. Major cutbacks in programming followed, including the cancellation of the station's "Party Line" program and live broadcasts of the city council; ratings fell as a result. After three years, Vox sold the station to Warren Bailey, operations manager of
WLNH-FM WLNH-FM (98.3 MHz) — branded as Frank FM — is a radio station located in Laconia, New Hampshire, United States. The station broadcasts to the Lakes Region and Concord, New Hampshire. The format is hot adult contemporary music, and on air ...
in
Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
; under his ownership, more local programs were restored to the WKXL lineup, including a talk show hosted by Arnie Arnesen and
New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...
minor league baseball. The station was acquired by former New Hampshire senator
Gordon J. Humphrey Gordon John Humphrey (born October 9, 1940) is an American politician from New Hampshire who served two terms in the U.S. Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1990, and twice ran for Governor of New Hampshire, though both bids were unsuccessful. ...
, alongside business partner George Stevens, for $830,000 in 2004; former owner Bailey cited the sale as a "golden opportunity" even though he had owned the station just 18 months. The transaction separated WKXL from operational control of the 102.3 frequency, which consequently dropped its simulcast. WKXL began airing on FM translator W280EC (103.9 FM) in the early 2010s. In 2014, the station acquired it outright from New Hampshire Gospel Radio for $5,000. The 102.3 FM signal is now broadcasting as
WAKC WAKC (102.3 FM) is an American licensed radio station in Concord, New Hampshire. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation and is part of its K-Love network of contemporary Christian music outlets. History The station began op ...
.


Notable awards

Several WKXL broadcasters have been honored by the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters as Broadcaster of the Year, including Frank Estes (1979), Dick Osborne (1981, 1989) and Jim Jeanotte (2012). Jeanotte was also the long-time host of Granite State Challenge, a
New Hampshire Public Television New Hampshire PBS (NHPBS), known as New Hampshire Public Television (NHPTV) prior to October 1, 2017, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member network serving the U.S. state of New Hampshire. It is operated by New Hampshire Public Broadcast ...
high school quizbowl program. Osborne was also recognized in 2004 by The New Hampshire Legends Hockey Hall of Fame, as WKXL broadcast University of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey for many years, along with other WKXL announcers Harvey Smith and Jim Rivers. Jeanotte was honored in 2012 by the
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
for his work on UNH sports broadcasts.


References


External links


New Hampshire Talk Radio Facebook
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FCC History Cards for WKXL
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in New Hampshire KXL Concord, New Hampshire News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in New Hampshire