- WDBZ
Infobox_Radio_station
name = WDBZ
area =Cincinnati, Ohio
city =Cincinnati, Ohio
branding = "1230 The Buzz"
slogan =
airdate =
frequency = 1230 (kHz)
format = Urban Talk/Urban Gospel
erp = 1050watt s
class = A
callsign_meaning = DKM (previous owner)
BuZz (current format)
owner = Radio One
sister_stations =WDBZ ,WIZF ,WMOJ
website = [http://www.1230thebuzz.com/ www.1230thebuzz.com]WDBZ is an Urban Talk and
Urban Gospel hybrid formattedradio station serving Cincinnati broadcasting on 1230 AM. It is owned by Radio One, and is the syndicated home of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and through Syndicated One, it also carries theAl Sharpton Show and other talk programs. All other hours of the day, it plays gospel music. Of note: Tom Joyner is simulcasted with sister stationWMOJ .History
WDBZ broadcasts on one of the oldest radio frequencies in
Cincinnati . The 1230 AM license was originally granted in 1922 and broadcast as WCPO-AM.Scripps-Howard Broadcasting owned the station along withWCPO-TV , Channel 9. From 1967-1981, the call letters were WUBE-AM and after a brief run as aTop-40 format, became Cincinnati's firstcountry music formatted station. After simulcasting with its FM sister station,WUBE-FM (105.1) for years, the station changed from its long-running country format to aBig Band /Nostalgia format (Al Hamm's syndicated "Music of Your Life ") and changed the call letters toWMLX . After a quick run-up in ratings and subsequent sharp decline, on January 1, 1985, the call letters changed again toWDJO and the station adopted a "oldies rock 'n' roll" format.Scripps-Howard sold the station Kaye-Smith Broadcasting whose principals were
Danny Kaye (the entertainer) and business associate Lester Smith. They operated the stations until the late 70s when they sold all their radio properties to Plough Broadcasting, then a part of thepharmaceutical company,Schering-Plough . In 1984, Schering-Plough divested its radio division and sold the 1230 AM and 105.1 FM signals (along with its other 7 stations around the country) to DKM Broadcasting headed by formerCox Radio executive, James Wesley, and formed with the backing of investment firm Dyson, Kisner and Moran, for the initial purpose of acquiring the Plough Broadcasting radio properties.Until December 15, 1984, the 1230 AM frequency broadcast at 1000 watts during the day and 250 watts at night, which made its nighttime audience reach extremely limited. On this date the
FCC granted DKM the ability to broadcast the 1230 frequency at 1000watt s 24 hours a day. Incidentally, for many years the 1230 frequency broadcast from a tower located on top of a 5-story building on the eastern edge of downtownCincinnati and was partially inhibited by the hillside ofMount Adams, Ohio which rose right behind and to the east of the building.External links
* [http://www.1230thebuzz.com/ 1230 The Buzz Official Website]
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