- East Kentucky Broadcasting
East Kentucky Broadcasting is a network of
radio station s serving the Eastern Kentucky area.Current stations
History
On
December 23 ,1948 ,articles of incorporation were drafted to create a new radio station in Pikeville, Kentucky. This radio station became WPKE-AM.July 31 ,1949 , the first broadcast from WPKE was transmitted at 250watt s.During the early 1950s, Jack Hatcher bought out stockholders O.T. Hinton, Mitchell Preston, Alvis P. Keene, Dr. O.W. Thompson, Clyde Childers and Edward Venters, becoming the sole owner of the radio station. Burton Robinson, the business manager of WPKE, hired 16 year old
Walter E. May as the firstrock and roll disc jockey . After his death in 1960, his heirs sold all of the controlling stock to three men fromMorehead, Kentucky .Two years after the death of Hatcher, May bought a third of the company, and was subsequently named General Manager of East Kentucky Broadcasting. May increased the transmittal power of WPKE from its original 250 watts to 1,000 watts. In 1965, two businessmen from Pikeville bought the remaining two-thirds of WPKE, organized by May. May then bought some stock from both businessmen, bringing his total interest in the company to 50%. The remaining stock was owned by five other businessmen, Henry Stratton, Hobert Clay Johnson, C.D. Roberts, Herman G. Dotson, and T.T. Colley, each with an equal 10% of the stock.cite web |title=East Kentucky Broadcasting - About Us |date=2007 |url=http://www.ekbradio.com/index.php?n=26&id=26 |accessdate=2007-04-25 ]
In 1966, Eastern Kentucky Broadcasting added another station, WPKE-FM, which later became WDHR. Between 1966 and 1980, EKB owned radio stations in Lexington, Hindman, Louisa, Nicholasville, Virgie, Prestonsburg, Coal Run, Jellico, Williamson, WV and
Tennessee . [cite book |last=Greenfield |first=Thomas Allen |title=Radio: A Reference Guide (American Popular Culture) |publisher=Greenwood Press |date=1989-07-17 |isbn=0-3132-2276-2]On
July 16 ,1969 , Walter E. May provided live coverage of theApollo 11 launch fromCape Canaveral .Since 1990, Walter E. May has served as the mayor of Pikeville and President of the Board of Directors at
Pikeville Medical Center (throughout the years, EKB has raised over $50,000 for the hospital), in addition to his duties as President of East Kentucky Broadcasting. Currently, day-to-day operations of East Kentucky Broadcasting is the responsibility of Keith Casebolt, the Vice President and General Manager.References
External links
* [http://www.ekbradio.com East Kentucky Broadcasting]
* [http://www.wdhr.com WDHR]
* [http://www.1075zrock.com WZLK]
* [http://www.wpke.com WPKE FM]
* [http://www.900wlsi.com WLSI]
* [http://www.coalcountry965.com WXCC]
* [http://www.myoldiesradio.com WPKE AM]
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