WZTK

Infobox Radio Station
name = WZTK


area = Greensboro/Raleigh/Fayetteville, North Carolina
branding = "FM Talk 101.1 WZTK"
slogan = "You listen... you get smarter"
airdate = 2004
frequency = 101.1 (MHz)
format = News/Talk Radio, jazz
erp = 100,000 watts
class = C
haat = 363 meters
facility_id = 9080
coordinates = coord|35|56|31|N|79|26|33|W|type:landmark
callsign_meaning =
owner = Curtis Media
website = http://www.fmtalk1011.com|

WZTK (101.1 FM) is a News/Talk radio station in Burlington, North Carolina. It serves the Triad and Triangle areas, which includes cities such as Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Durham, and Fayetteville. In addition the signal goes well north of Danville, Virginia. The outlet, which is owned by Curtis Media, claims to have the largest FM radio signal in all of North Carolina, operating with an ERP of 100kw. The reason for that FM radio signal claim comes from Curtis Media, due to the population covered by the station's signal. The transmitter is located on Bass Mountain in the Cane Creek Mountains in Alamance County.

History

WPCM was a Country radio station in Burlington, North Carolina for many years. During the 1990s, the station paired up with WKIX in Goldsboro, North Carolina and targeted listeners in the Raleigh market. [David Menconi, "KIX walks; 96.1 to Shift", News & Observer, January 9, 1998] At one point, the call letters were changed to WKXU. For a time, this station played classic country.

WZTK morphed into its current news/talk incarnation on July 6, 2004. The first live voices heard on the "new" station were those of Brad Krantz and Britt Whitmire, who are still in place. Previously, the station had been a country music station, calling itself Kix 101.1. WZTK's sister AM station WPCM (920 kilohertz), previously known as WBBB, simulcasted the FM's talk programming until the summer of 2005, when it went back to its previous beach/oldies format.

Programming

ABC News Radio is broadcast on the hour 24/7. Listeners hear a variety of talk covering most of the left-right continuum including Michael Savage, Alan Colmes, as well as financial advice from Clark Howard, and local/state issues. Their morning drive-time show "Brad and Britt" is a local hit with regular impersonations of Dan Rather, Rick Dees, Dr. Phil, J. Strom Thurmond and Rush Limbaugh.

FM Talk 101.1 is not a 24 hour news/talk station; in fact, the station offers smooth jazz on the weekends. The station is also an affiliate of the Carolina Panthers Radio Network and carries Wake Forest University football and men's basketball.

The smooth jazz format has enjoyed success as a part-time offering in North Carolina, and it was once used as a full-time format on two Raleigh stations that carried the "Wind" moniker, although not at the same time. WMAG in Greensboro and WBAV in Charlotte also use the smooth jazz format on the weekends.

On February 14, 2007, WZTK's parent company, Curtis Media, closed a purchase of WSJS-AM, WMFR-AM, and WSJS's simulcast partner WSML-AM. This gives Curtis a monopoly on the news/talk format in the Triad (and for all practical purposes, in the Triangle, as well).

References

External links

* [http://www.fmtalk1011.com FM Talk 101.1 WZTK official website]
*FMQ|WZTK
*FML|WZTK
*FMARB|WZTK