WKY

Infobox Radio station
name = WKY


city = Oklahoma City
area = Oklahoma City Metroplex
branding = "Jox 930 WKY"
slogan = "Now We're Talking Sports!"
airdate = 1922
frequency = 930 kHz
power =5,000 watts
format = Sports Radio
class = C
owner = Citadel Broadcasting
website = [http://www.jox930.com jox930.com]
affiliations = ESPN Radio
sister_stations = KATT, KKWD, KQOB, KYIS, WWLS-AM/FM

WKY (930 AM) is Oklahoma's oldest radio station and was the first west of the Mississippi River. It is located in Oklahoma City and is under ownership of Citadel Broadcasting.

WKY has featured many formats over the years, including Top-40, Oldies, Country, Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening, Christian, "Hot Talk," News-Talk and Regional Hispanic (acting as a simulcast of then-sister station KINB). Today, WKY is an all-sports radio station and is Oklahoma City's ESPN Radio affiliate.

History

Early years

"5XT" became the 28th licensed station in the United States on March 16, 1922. The Oklahoma Radio Shop (Earl C. Hull & H.S. Richards) -- the owner at the time. The station was assigned the WKY call letters and began broadcasting weekdays from noon to 1:00 P.M. and from 7:30 to 9:30 P.M. On Sundays, WKY was on the air from 3 to 4 P.M. and 7:30 to 9:30 P.M.

In November 1922, WKY announced a "silent night" policy, meaning the station would broadcast only four, and later three nights a week. This was so listeners could have a chance to tune in to other stations in neighboring states.

Richards and Hull struggled to keep WKY on the air. In late 1925, Richards left the radio business, but Hull continued to keep WKY on the air by selling shares of the station to radio dealers in Oklahoma City. The dealers paid Hull a small salary to keep the station broadcasting; however they decided the financial drain had become too much. In 1928, WKY was purchased by the Oklahoma Publishing Company, publishers of the Daily Oklahoman for the hefty sum of $ 5,000.

The formal opening of the new WKY was set for November 11, 1928, but the station went on the air several days earlier to carry the presidential election returns as Herbert Hoover won in a Republican landslide.

That December, the station became an NBC affiliate and began broadcasting the network's programs. By the following year, WKY was attempting to operate like the powerhouse stations in the east. Aside from the programming from NBC, everything broadcast by WKY originated locally.

WKY operated from the Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City from 1936 to 1951, and was contracted to broadcast live from the Venetian Room from 11:00 to Midnight every evening. The opening night performance cost $15 a couple for dinner and dancing.

WKY-FM

WKY-FM was launched on July 1, 1947 at 98.9, (now sister station KYIS). The programming was classical or semi-classical music. A strong effort was made to minimize the duplication of WKY-AM programs and make WKY-FM a true second station.

By 1952, WKY management had to make a decision about keeping the station on the air or increasing the power of their new television tower. Since the FM dial was struggling during this time, radio lost out.

WKY-FM donated its transmitter and other equipment to the Oklahoma City Public School District and went off the air. The station received one letter of protest, that from a music lover in Norman, Oklahoma.

Top-40 Years

In 1958, WKY became the second Top-40 formatted station in Oklahoma City, behind KOCY, (now KEBC). During the 1960s and 70's WKY fended off serious challenges from 50,000 watt rival 1520 KOMA.

Although KOMA was very famous outside Oklahoma City, due to its large nighttime signal (like WABC in New York), WKY was usually the ratings leader in the city itself (as WMCA won New York City ratings books from 1963-1966); WKY continued to top many Arbitron ratings sweeps into the 1970s.

Ironically, WKY mainstays during that time --Danny Williams, Ronnie Kaye and Fred Hendrickson --would go on to become "KOMA Good Guys" when the station flipped from a standards to an oldies format.

Changing Times

During the mid-90's up to the sale to Citadel in 2002, Clear Channel Communications operated the station through a local marketing agreement.

From 2000-2002, WKY flirted with sports talk, with two local sports talk shows in the drive time periods. "SuperTalk 930 WKY" was launched in March 2003. The format featured local-oriented talk shows throughout the day with some syndicated talk shows during the evening and weekend.

In an effort to target Oklahoma City's growing Hispanic population, "SuperTalk" ended in January 2006, replaced by a simulcast of KINB "La Indomoble 105.3 FM." Because KINB was divested as part of the Citadel-ABC Radio merger, the simulcast on WKY was dropped June 12, 2007.

On Wednesday June 20, 2007 at 9:01 a.m., Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, a former sports, and later news anchor on KOCO-TV, signaled the start of JOX 930 WKY. It is the fifth station in the market with a sports radio format.

Notable Alumni

*CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite served as play-by-play commentator for University of Oklahoma football games during the 1936 season.
*Frank McGee (1921-1974) Co-Anchor, NBC Nightly News, NBC's Today Show.
*TV Show host Mike Douglas (1926-2006) started his career as a staff singer on WKY before joining the Navy during World War II and serving on a munitions ship.
*Danny Williams, Program Director during WKY's dominant years as a Top-40 station. Williams began his legendary career here in Oklahoma City in 1950, and would stay at WKY until his first "retirement" in 1979. At the age of 81, he retired from 92.5 KOMA-FM on August 29, 2008 after spending the last 16 years as the morning drive personality.
*Phil Boyce, Program Director, WABC-AM New York City; Vice President of news/talk programming for ABC Radio.
*Kevin Metheny [http://www.imonthe.net/66wnbc/images/kevin-metheney.gif] , "Kevin Michaels" during his 1971 stint at WKY, was portrayed by Paul Giamatti under the name Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton in the movie Private Parts, starring Howard Stern. Metheny was the program director at WNBC-AM in New York City during the early 1980s. He went on to work at MTV as Vice President for Production and Programming. Metheny is now regional vice president of programming at Clear Channel Radio Cleveland.
*Syndicated DJ Steve Goddard, [http://www.GoddardsGold.com Goddard's Gold] , [http://www.the-70s.com The 70's with Steve Goddard]
*Jimmy O'Neill, Host of ABC's "Shindig!" TV program from 1964-66; longtime DJ in Los Angeles.
*Ernest Istook, a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for the 5th District of Oklahoma. Istook was a member of the Appropriations and the Homeland Security committees. He was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2006, running against incumbent Democrat Gov. Brad Henry. Istook lost the gubernatorial race. During the 1970s, Istook worked as a radio news reporter at WKY.
*Jack Mildren (1949-2008) All-american QB at the University of Oklahoma from 1969-1971. During that time, he earned the title of "Godfather of the Wishbone." Mildren played in the NFL from 1972 through 1974 for the Baltimore Colts and the New England Patriots. In 1990, Mildren became the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma. In 1994, he ran unsuccessfully as a Democratic candidate for Governor of Oklahoma, losing to Republican Frank Keating. In addition to his drive-time show on WKY, Mildren was also a regular contributor on sister station WWLS.

Oklahoma City sister stations

*KATT 100.5 FM - Rock
*KQOB 96.9 FM - Classic Hits
*KYIS 98.9 FM - Hot AC
*WWLS 640 AM/WWLS-FM 97.9 FM - Sports

External links

* [http://www.jox930.com JOX 930 WKY Website]
*AMQ|WKY
*AML|WKY
*AMARB|WKY
* [http://corporate.disney.go.com/news/corporate/2006/2006_0206_radio.html ABC Radio to Merge with Citadel Broadcasting] Official press release.
* [ftp://krxo.serveftp.com/pub/airchecks/WKY/ WKY Jingles and Airchecks]
* [http://www.reelradio.com/gifts/dwwky68.html#dwwky68 1969 WKY Aircheck]
* [http://www.dddynamo.com Website of former WKY personality, Danny Williams]
* [http://www.markshannon.com Website of former SuperTalk 930 WKY personality, Mark Shannon]
* [http://www.ronblackradio.com Website of former SuperTalk 930 WKY personality, Ron Black]
* [http://www.jimtraber.com Website of former SuperTalk 930 WKY Personality, Jim Traber]
* [http://www.okcradio.net/okc-930.html WKY Described]
* [http://www.fybush.com/sites/2004/site-040129.html WKY's Transmitter Building and former studios]