KZNU

Infobox Radio station
name = KZNU


city = St. George, Utah
area = St. George
branding =
slogan = "Fox News 1450"
airdate = 1956 (as KDXU)
frequency = 1450 kHz
format = News Talk Information
power = 1,000 watts unlimited
erp =
haat =
class = C
facility_id = 12325
coordinates = coord|37|2|17.00|N|113|38|12.00|W|region:GB_type:city
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns = KDXU (1956-1985)
KATJ (1985-1987)
KDLX (1987-1988)
KSLI (Nov. 1988-Dec. 1988
KSGI (1988-1998)
KTSP (1998-2001)
owner = Canyon Media Corporation
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = [http://www.1450newsradio.com 1450newsradio.com]
affiliations = Fox News Radio, Westwood One, ABC Radio

KZNU (1450 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format to the St. George, Utah, USA area. The station is owned by Canyon Media Corporation and features programming from Fox News Radio, Westwood One and ABC Radio . [ cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=KZNU |title=KZNU Facility Record |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division ]

History

The 1450 frequency was the home to KDXU from 1956 until 1985. In September 1985 KDXU switched frequencies to 890 kHz and increased power to 10,000 watts.

KDXU broadcast engineer and local cable-TV owner Ray Carpenter filed for a new radio station on 1450, which was granted by the FCC in early 1986 and became KATJ. In November of 1986, former Bonneville International executives Joseph A. Kjar, Donald Bybee and Blaine W. Whipple purchased the station from Carpenter changing the call sign to KDLX on 1987-01-01.

Kjar, Whipple, and Bybee sold the station in November of 1989 to Las Vegas broadcaster Jack London (Paul G. Maziar) who subsequently filed bankruptcy. London's partner in the purchase was veteran broadcast executive E. Morgan Skinner, Jr., a former Bonneville employee, who purchased the station from bankruptcy and changed the call sign to KSLI and changed again to KSGI in December at the request of Bonneville.

On New Year's Eve 1989, the Quail Creek Reservoir Dam near Hurricane broke, sending a 12' wall of water down the Virgin River and causing over 11-million dollars of damage to homes, farms, roads and utilities including KSGI whose transmitter site was located near the river in St. George. The dam breach destroyed the transmitter building and tower site sending parts of the transmitter down stream nearly 10 miles.

Skinner returned the station back to the air within 2-weeks with the assistance of Las Vegas broadcaster Steve Gold, Las Vegas based tower builder Dennis Todd and Las Vegas broadcast engineer Patrick O'Gara.

Skinner sold the station together with KZEZ (FM) 99.9 MHz, which Skinner built with partner Lavon Randall to Simmons Media Group of St. George in 1998. Simmons operated KSGI under an LMA changing the call sign to KTSP in 1998 and again to KZNU in 2001. Simmons was unsuccessful at getting FCC approval of the purchase resulting from multiple ownership issues and partnered with M. Kent Frandsen to organize Canyon Media Corporation of which Western Broadcasting, LLC (Simmons) retained a thirty-percent (30%) non-attributable interest. Canyon Media Corporation acquired KZNU 1450 kHz, St. George, UT and KZEZ 99.9 MHz in 2005. 99.9FM is currently broadcasting country music with the call letters KONY.

References

External links