KZZU-FM (92.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

92.9 ZZU) is a

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FM radio station in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. The station airs an

adult top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

which the station describes as "Today's Modern Hit Music". KZZU-FM is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, with the license held by QueenB Radio. KZZU-FM has studios and offices with other Morgan Murphy stations on West Boone Avenue in Spokane. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is also in Spokane, off South Krell Ridge Lane, on Krell Hill, also known as "Tower Mountain".

History

KREM-FM

In September 1955, the station signed on as KREM-FM, the first FM station in Spokane. KREM-FM was co-owned with AM 970 KREM (now KTTO). KREM had been founded by Cole E. Wylie in 1946 and operated as a 250-watt station in Spokane. In a 1977 interview with radio broadcaster historian Richard Dunning, KREM was described as the "first non-network, independent, all music station" in Spokane. KREM had also put a television station on the air in 1954, a year before KREM-FM signed on. KREM-TV carried ABC and

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

programming at first, but today is a CBS

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

. In the 1950s and 1960s, when few people owned FM radios, KREM-FM

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the AM station's programming. In 1958, KREM-AM-FM-TV were acquired by the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based King Broadcasting Company. Under King Broadcasting ownership, KREM-AM-FM became a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

station, vying with KJRB for Spokane's young radio listeners. KREM-FM switched to a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

format in the late 1960s, while the AM continued its Top 40 format. Around 1980, KREM-FM moved to a more structured

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

format, with a

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

of the top tracks from the best selling rock LPs.

Switch to KZZU

In 1984, the radio stations were sold to Highsmith Broadcasting, while King Broadcasting kept KREM-TV. At the time, different stations could not share the same

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

if they had different owners, with the AM becoming KHIT, while the FM station became KZZU-FM. The station called itself "KZZU The Zoo" and "93 Zoo FM", spearheaded by Program Director Bill Stairs. The Top 40 format once heard on the AM was switched to the FM station, complete with a " morning zoo". The "Breakfast Boys Morning Show" (first hosted by Jim Arnold and Craig Johnson, then Arnold and Dave Sposito, then later with Sposito and Ken Hopkins) played the top hits and discussed

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

. Popular KZZU DJs at the time included Jamie Patrick, Lyn Daniels, Casey Christopher, Sean Rivers, Kevin James, Steve Hawk, Paul Gray, Rachel Brooks, Doug Inman and Jeffrey Parker. Through the 1980s and 1990s, KZZU aired a mainstream top 40 format. As the 1990s went on, the format shifted toward a more

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

direction with a slight focus on

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artists from the Inland Northwest. In the early 2000s, changing tastes towards rock music and increased competition caused KZZU to move more towards a rock-leaning Top 40 as hip hop fell to the lower end of its playlist. In its last year as "93 Zoo FM", the station was noted in having an all-female DJ line up with the exception of Rick Dees and Hollywood Hamilton on Sundays.

From Zoo FM to ZZU

On October 17,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, KZZU dropped the "Zoo FM" moniker in favor of "92.9 ZZU", and shifted to

in order to more effectively compete with KCDA. The new format left Spokane without a mainstream top 40 outlet for five years. The new format initially leaned alternative as KZZU removed all the hip hop from its playlist. Core artists included The Killers, Audioslave, Switchfoot and Green Day. Co-owned "Wired 96.9" KEZE became Spokane's station for hip hop, R&B and rhythmic pop and dance product. KZZU's new format reunited the Breakfast Boys with Molly Allen, although the station stopped using "The Breakfast Boys" moniker. Dave, Ken, Molly and producer Dan Roberts host the station's morning show, targeting an 18 to 49 year old

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, after KEZE flipped from rhythmic top 40 to

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, KZZU somewhat returned to its CHR roots by adding some rhythmic music during the evening hours while maintaining the Adult Top 40 format during the daytime. In 2011, KEZE dropped AAA (who adopted the format from KXLY-FM the year prior as part of a format swap) and returned to rhythmic contemporary music as "Hot 96.9". The format flip on KEZE resulted in KZZU dropping most (though not all) rhythmic music to avoid overlapping with KEZE. For a time, Mediabase and Nielsen BDS described KZZU as a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

outlet. KZZU was reclassified as adult top 40 when Mapleton Communications-owned KZBD dropped

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

for CHR, becoming "105.7 Now FM".

Notable personalities

*Molly Allen- Former morning radio personality with Dave Sposito and Ken Hopkins. Also daughter of actress Ellen Travolta and niece of actor

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

References

External links

* * {{coord, 47.595, N, 117.299, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Morgan Murphy Media stations ZZU-FM ZZU-FM Adult top 40 radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1955 1955 establishments in Washington (state)