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KFIZ (AM)

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KFIZ
Frequency1450 kHz
BrandingNews Talk 1450
Programming
FormatNews/Talk/Sports
AffiliationsFox News Radio
Ownership
Owner
WCLB, WFON
History
First air date
May 1922[1]
Technical information
Facility ID36419
ClassC
Power1,000 watts (unlimited)
Transmitter coordinates
43°47′28″N 88°28′16″W / 43.79111°N 88.47111°W / 43.79111; -88.47111
Links
Websitekfiz.com

KFIZ (1450 AM, "News Talk 1450") is a radio station licensed to serve Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, US. The station is owned by Randy Hopper's Mountain Dog Media and the license is held by RBH Enterprises, Inc. KFIZ features programming from Fox News Radio.

Programming

KFIZ airs a News/Talk/Sports format including some programming from Fox News Radio.[2] KFIZ is a member of the Wisconsin Radio Network for local and regional news and sports programming.[3] KFIZ also airs programming from Pam Jahnke, Clark Howard, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Jim Bohannon, and George Noory.

Sports programming on KFIZ includes local high school football, high school basketball, and college basketball, plus Major League Baseball as part of the Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network,[4][5] NBA basketball as part of the Milwaukee Bucks Radio Network,[6] and NFL football as a member of both the Green Bay Packers Radio Network[7] and the Westwood One NFL Network.

History

Founded in May 1922 by Fond du Lac businessman Oscar A. Huelsman,[8] KFIZ was one of the first commercial radio stations in Wisconsin.[1] One of the few American radio stations east of the Mississippi River with a "K" callsign,[9] this station was assigned the KFIZ call letters by the United States Department of Commerce.[8]

KFIZ began experimental broadcasting at 1100 kHz and 100 watts of power in May 1922 with licensed operation beginning in July 1923.[10][11] In 1928, the station changed frequencies to 1120 kHz and again in 1930 to 1420 kHz, still at 100 watts.[10][12] In 1942, KFIZ moved to its current frequency of 1450 kHz[10] and in the mid-1940s the station increased signal power to 250 watts.[13] KFIZ currently broadcasts with 1,000 watts of power.

Ownership

KFIZ was founded in May 1922 under the ownership of Oscar A. Huelsman, a local automobile dealer, as a way to advertise his dealership.[8] Soon afterward, the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter assumed joint ownership of the station.[12] KFIZ was owned by Reporter Printing Co. in the mid-1930s.[13] KFIZ Broadcasting Company acquired the station in May 1946 and owned the station through the early 1960s.[13]

In November 1986, Wisconsin Cablevision & Radio Co., Inc., completed a merger by transferring the license for this station to Donald G. Jones and Wisconsin Cablevision Inc., a partnership doing business as the Wisconsin Cablevision Partnership. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 19, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on December 28, 1986.[14]

In September 1987, the Cablevision Partnership made a deal to sell KFIZ to Independence Broadcasting Wisconsin Corp. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 3, 1987, and the transaction was consummated on January 20, 1988.[15]

In June 1993, Independence Broadcasting Wisconsin Corp. contracted to sell this station to Lakeside Cablevision Limited Partnership (doing business as Star Cablevision, a forerunner business to Charter Communications's Wisconsin operations). The deal was approved by the FCC on August 24, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on September 30, 1993.[16]

In January 1997, Lakeside Broadcasting Wisconsin Limited Partnership reached an agreement to sell KFIZ to current owner RBH Enterprises, Inc., which does business as Mountain Dog Media and is operated by former state senator Randy Hopper.[17] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 23, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on the same day.[18]

KFIZ used CNN Radio for its national news coverage in the 1990s; around 2007, KFIZ switched affiliations to Fox News Radio. Talk show hosts like Sean Hannity replaced former local hosts.

On-air staff

  • Wade Bates - The Breakfast Club, lead high school sports play-by-play
  • Bob Nelson - news director
  • Bob "Hoffy" Hoffmaster - The Morning Show, high school sports
  • Jerry St. John - The Breakfast Club (fill-in)
  • James "Hollywood" Flynn - The Breakfast Club (fill-in), high school sports
  • Nick Van Nocker - high school sports
  • Jerry Schneider - The Jerry Schnieder Polka Show
  • Rae Nell Halbur - 4H Report

References

  1. ^ a b "About KFIZ". News-Talk KFIZ. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  2. ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. ^ "Radio Stations". Wisconsin Radio Network. November 5, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ "Brewers Radio Network". MLB.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ^ "MLB '08 Radio Network". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. March 30, 2008.
  6. ^ "Bucks Radio Network - 2008-09 Affiliate List". NBA.com. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  7. ^ "Station Listing". Packers.com. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Kelly, Anne (2002). "KFIZ: Fond du Lac County's Original AM Radio Station". In Clarence B. Davis (ed.). Source of the Lake: 150 Years of History in Fond du Lac. Fond du Lac, WI: Action Publishing. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  9. ^ White, Thomas H. (January 1, 2008). "K/W Call Letters in the United States". United States Early Radio History.
  10. ^ a b c "History of Wisconsin AM stations". QSL.net. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  11. ^ Radio Broadcast, Volume IX (May 1926 to October 1926). Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company. 1926. Retrieved December 11, 2008. KFIZ Fond du Lac, Wis. 1100 273 100
  12. ^ a b The Chicago Daily News Almanac and Yearbook. Chicago, IL: The Chicago Daily News. 1928. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ a b c "Radio Stations 40 or More Years Old in 1962". Broadcasting. May 14, 1962.
  14. ^ "Application Search Details (BAL-19861202EA)". FCC Media Bureau. December 28, 1986.
  15. ^ "Application Search Details (BAL-19870914EC)". FCC Media Bureau. January 20, 1988.
  16. ^ "Application Search Details (BAL-19930622GH)". FCC Media Bureau. September 30, 1993.
  17. ^ "Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations". Federal Communications Commission. December 21, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  18. ^ "Application Search Details (BAL-19961023EA)". FCC Media Bureau. January 23, 1997.
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