Ray Rossi

WKXW (101.5 FM, "New Jersey 101.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Trenton, and broadcasting to most of the state of New Jersey. It is owned by Townsquare Media with studios and offices on Walters Avenue in Ewing. On weekdays, the station has a talk radio format, sometimes bordering on hot talk. On weekends and major holidays, it switches to classic hits.

WKXW is a Class B FM station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 16,500 watts. Its transmitter tower is shared with 103.3 WPRB and is near the Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. WKXW broadcasts using HD Radio technology and airs oldies on its HD2 subchannel.

History

Easy Listening, AC and Oldies

The station signed on the air on . Its original call sign was WBUD-FM, the sister station of WBUD 1260 AM (now WFJS). WBUD-FM had an automated easy listening format. The call letters changed in 1967 to WBJH, which stood for Bill and Joy Hardin, the son and daughter-in-law of the owner.

The station's call sign changed to WTRT in 1979 and rebranded as ''"The New T-101 FM"''. In 1980, the station's call sign was changed to WKXW-FM, under its new owner Fidelity Communications. It was playing a hot adult contemporary format as ''"The All New Kix 101 & A 1/2 FM"'' and later ''"Kix 101.5"''. By the late 80s, the station evolved into a gold-based adult contemporary format. Its weekend Saturday oldies show evolved into an all oldies format from the 1950s through early 70s on overnights and weekends.

Switch to Talk

In 1990, WKXW-FM was sold to Press Communications, parent company of the ''Asbury Park Press'' newspaper. On March 1, 1990, at 5 pm, "New Jersey 101.5" became the first full-time FM talk station in America targeted for a younger audience. The format was conceived by Walter Sabo, the CEO of Sabo Media. Mark Sheppard, who later went to middays, kicked off the format playing Bill Haley & The Comets' "Rock Around The Clock".

Since the 1990s, the station has a talk format during the week, with oldies music on the overnights and weekend. Initially, the oldies playlist was 1960s-based with a few pre-1964 oldies and a 1970s oldie or two each hour. By the early-to-mid-1990s, more 1970s music was added and by the early-2000s, 1980s music from 1980 to 1982 was added occasionally. Between 2000 and 2005, music from between 1986 and 1989 was added to the lineups. Gradually, at the same time, songs from 1964 and older were gradually reduced in the late-1990s and gone by 2000. In September 2007, 1960s music was removed from the "60s, 70s, and 80s" weekend music programming ID, and nearly all 1960s music had been removed from the playlist.

In the mid-to-late-1990s, music was ended on weekday overnights. That shift now has replays of daytime shows. Music is now heard only on weekends and some holidays.

The Millennium Radio Group acquired the station in 2001.''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010'' page D-364. Retrieved Jan. 22, 2025.
/REF> A decade later, in 2011, California-based Oaktree Capital signed a deal to buy the Millennium Radio Group. After taking over, Oaktree transferred the Millennium stations to Townsquare Media, the owner of multiple radio stations around the U.S.

Simulcasts and news network

The station has, at times, provided a simulcast on various AM and FM stations in the Atlantic City area, beyond the reach of its main transmitter. The most recent simulcast ceased in June 2009 when 97.3 FM in Millville (now WENJ) changed formats to ESPN Sports Radio. WKXW-FM's morning show was also simulcast for a time on regional cable network CN8 in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Cameras were mounted in the radio studio showing the station's personalities to TV viewers.

WKXW-FM is the flagship station of the "Townsquare New Jersey News Network" as heard on twelve radio stations throughout the state. The network consists of WPST in Trenton, WOBM-FM in Toms River, WJLK (AM) in Lakewood, WCHR-FM in Manahawkin, WJLK-FM in Asbury Park, WOBM (AM) in Asbury Park, WFPG in Atlantic City, WSJO in Egg Harbor City, WPUR in Atlantic City, and WENJ in Atlantic City. Various bureaus throughout the state share stories with the Ewing headquarters.

Controversies

In 2008, the station's parent company was sued by a photographer for copyright infringement, and defamation with regards to the online posting of a photocopy of a ''New Jersey Monthly ''magazine photograph. Photographer Peter Murphy sent a notice of copyright infringement to the station to remove a photo Craig Carton and Ray Rossi, which had been photocopied from a March 2006 issue of the magazine; the station also posted edited versions of the picture that were submitted by listeners. While the station complied with the takedown request, Carton and Rossi complained on-air about Murphy's conduct, allegedly saying that Murphy was "not to be trusted" and that people "should avoid doing business" with him. Carton and Rossi also alleged that Murphy "was a homosexual." In April 2008, Murphy brought suit for direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement, violation of the DMCA, and defamation of character against Millennium Radio Group, Carton, and Rossi. The Third Circuit ruled that the station's actions did constitute both a violation of the DMCA and copyright infringement, which vacated the district court's judgment.

On July 26, 2018, the station came under fire after hosts Judi Franco and Dennis Malloy referred to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal as "turban man" while on air. The hosts were suspended for 10 days.

In December 2018, Judi Franco garnered controversy when called the state's "Move Over" law "silly" and unnecessary in an opinion piece she posted on the station's website under the headline "Dead cops make bad laws."

Some of the station's personalities have garnered attention for their promotion of anti-vaccination viewpoints (including opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and COVID-19 vaccine mandates), including morning host Bill Spadea, and host Dennis Malloy of the midday show ''The Dennis & Judi Show''. In September 2022, Spadea and station owner Townsquare Media were sued for defamation by Steven Tobias—a child psychologist who had made appearances on the station to discuss the impact of the pandemic on schools—after Spadea called for him to be "indicted for child abuse" for promoting the wearing of face masks in schools.

New Jersey-centric branding

The station strongly brands its New Jersey identity with its bumper messages intoning "Not New York. Not Philadelphia. Proud to be New Jersey!" It calls its traffic reports ''New Jersey Fast Traffic'' and weather forecasts are ''New Jersey Instant Weather''. In reporting traffic, the station refers to traffic direction on bridges and tunnels as "entering New Jersey" or "leaving New Jersey" instead of the more traditional designations of "into the city/inbound" or "out of the city/outbound".
Current temperatures of different towns in New Jersey are given after the weather reports.

Despite the station's branding, the 101.5 signal does not reach some parts of the state. Most of Cape May, Salem and Sussex Counties are outside the station's signal. Coverage of Atlantic, Bergen, Cumberland and Hudson Counties is spotty at best. Listeners in New Jersey not in the signal range and even out-of-state listeners can hear the station via streaming.

Notable alumni

* Craig Carton, former member of ''The Jersey Guys'', later co-host of '' Boomer and Carton in the Morning'' at WFAN in New York and CBS Sports Network
* ''John and Ken'' (John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, later at KFI Los Angeles)
* Philadelphia radio Hall of Famer Hy Lit and his son Sam Lit, who anchored the air staff in the early 80s
* Ray Rossi, teamed with Craig Carton in afternoons and later heard in evenings
* Bill Spadea, morning host and political candidateInsideRadio.com "NJ Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Spedea to Step Down from NJ 101.5 Morning Show" Jan. 21, 2025
/REF>

HD Radio

On May 31, 2024, WKXW launched an oldies format branded "Beach Radio" on its HD2 subchannel.Beach Radio Heads to Trenton
Radioinsight - May 31, 2024

References

External links

*

{{Trenton, New Jersey, state=collapsed

1962 establishments in New Jersey
Ewing Township, New Jersey
Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Oldies radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1962
KXW
Townsquare Media radio stations
Trenton, New Jersey