WQZS
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Broadcast area | Somerset County (limited) |
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Frequency | 93.3 MHz |
Branding | QZ-93 |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Defunct (was Oldies/Classic rock) |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 57424 |
Class | A |
ERP | 630 watts |
HAAT | 294 meters (965 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°47′49″N 79°10′4″W / 39.79694°N 79.16778°W |
Links | |
Public license information |
WQZS (93.3 FM) – branded QZ-93 – was a commercial oldies and classic rock radio station licensed to serve Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Locally owned by Roger Wahl, the station served Somerset County, along with nearby Cumberland, Frostburg, and Oakland, Maryland, and was the regional affiliate for CBS News Radio. The founder of WQZS, Wahl also acted as both the station's operations manager and morning host, billed on-air as "The Commander".[2]
The station only operated via an analog transmission, with a Facebook page being its lone online presence.
History
Beginnings
The station was founded by Roger Wahl, a Somerset County native who worked in the Altoona radio market during the early and mid-1970s. He gave up working in radio to care for an ailing family member in the late 1970s, and returned to the Meyersdale area as a result. He was working as a regional sales manager for a Maryland beer distributor when he began planning WQZS. One of Wahl's customers on his account list owned a radio station, and the two men struck up a friendship which frequently included radio shop talk. One day, the conversation led to Wahl's client informing him of a window of new FM applications, including a drop-in frequency at 93.3 MHz in Meyersdale.[3]
Wahl applied for a construction permit on August 8, 1988, but it was not until July 1990 that the FCC granted the application, turning away another applicant for the frequency.[4] From a transmitter on Mount Davis, the state's highest point,[5] WQZS began broadcasting on October 26, 1992,[6] with an oldies format. The station operated with a staff of nine: three sales consultants, a receptionist, a news director, three announcers, and Wahl, taking the title of Station Director. WQZS has changed little since going on the air, having the same owner, format, and studio location at 128 Hunsrick Road in Summit Township, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Meyersdale and in the foothills of the Meyersdale Wind Energy Center.
Legal Issues
Wahl was arrested in September 2019 amid accusations that he created a fake dating profile and used it to solicit men to rape a 61-year-old woman known to him. Wahl was further accused of placing a trail camera in the woman's bathroom without her knowledge or consent.[7] The victim also obtained a protection from abuse order against Wahl.[8] Wahl waived his right to a preliminary hearing in November 2019 and negotiated a guilty plea in Somerset County Court in June 2020.[9]
In March 2020, Wahl filed an application to transfer control of WQZS to his daughter, Wendy Sipple, for $10. The FCC approved the transfer on June 1, 2020; after the guilty plea, it reversed its decision in a July 13 order, returning the application to pending status.[10] Wahl was sentenced November 17, 2020, on felony charges of criminal use of a communications facility, misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, tampering with evidence, and identity theft; however, he was not incarcerated due to his age, health, and risks involved with incarceration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was instead sentenced to three years of restricted probation, with four months of electronic monitoring. He was also forbidden from being on the air during the electronic monitoring.[11]
On October 19, 2021, the FCC issued a hearing designation order beginning a proceeding to revoke WQZS's license as a result of his multiple misdemeanors; it also held the application to transfer WQZS to Sipple in abeyance.[12] On August 2, 2022, the Administrative Law Judge overseeing the case terminated hearing proceedings deciding that Roger Wahl had failed to participate as required and effectively waived his right to a hearing. The license for WQZS expired on August 1, 2022 and a renewal application is in a pending status. A 180-page "Petition to Deny" the renewal was filed by another Meyersdale radio station, WHYU-FM and will be dismissed as moot only if the revocation in existing proceeding becomes final. If the license is permitted to be transferred to Wendy Sipple, the denial petition will be considered by the FCC.
On April 12, 2023, Radio Insight announced that the Chief of the Enforcement Bureau at the FCC ordered WQZS’s license revocation. [13] On April 14, 2023 an "Application for Review" was filed by Roger Wahl and his new attorney. WHYU-FM filed an "Opposition" to that appeal.
On April 4, 2024, Wahl's "Application for Review" was formally denied, thus upholding the initial revocation order. WQZS was ordered to cease broadcasting immediately or risk forfeiture. As of April 10, 2024, the station is dark.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WQZS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Murray, Ashley (November 24, 2018). "Meyersdale: Ready and eager for small-town tourism". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Hackleman, Kathy (December 2013). "On the air: Local radio keeps rural communities connected" (PDF). Penn Lines. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ "New Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 30, 1990. p. 78. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ "Somerset County Radio". Somerset Daily American. April 17, 1995. p. Bicentennial 35. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ "Broadcasting begins". Maple Valley News. October 28, 1992. p. Shopper 4. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ "Police: Meyersdale man created dating profile to get strangers to rape his friend". WJAC-TV. September 9, 2019. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ Buchnowski, Patrick (September 21, 2019). "PFA issued against Somerset County radio station owner". The Tribune-Democrat. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ Venta, Lance (July 8, 2020). "WQZS Owner Pleads Guilty To Multiple Charges Of Trying To Solicit Strangers To Rape Friend". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Venta, Lance (July 19, 2020). "FCC Report 7/19: Guilty Plea To Rape Charges Leads To Rescinding Of Sale Approval". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Buchnowski, Patrick (November 17, 2020). "Meyersdale radio station owner sentenced in sex case". The Tribune-Democrat. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ Carey, Michelle M. (October 19, 2021). "Hearing Designation Order, Order to Show Cause, and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (DA 21-1305)" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Radio Insight; April 12, 2023, “FCC REVOKES ROGER WAHL’S LICENSE FOR WQZS MEYERSDALE PA”; retrieved April 12, 2023.
External links
- Facility details for Facility ID WQZS ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database