WBSX (97.9 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

licensed to the city of

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second-most populous city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on ...

, broadcasting to the

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

/ Wilkes Barre/ Hazleton radio market. WBSX airs an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

music format branded as "97-9 X" (pronounced as "Ninety-Seven Nine X").

History

The radio station first signed on the air in 1949 as WAZL-FM, the FM sister station to WAZL AM also located in the city of Hazleton. During the early 1970s, the station switched to what was branded as a "beautiful music" format (which was a form of

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

Elevator Music Elevator music (also known as Muzak, piped music, or lift music) is a type of background music played in elevators, in rooms where many people come together for reasons other than listening to music, and during telephone calls when placed on ho ...

) and the call sign WVCD. The station was automated with no live DJs or announcers during this time. The station evolved their music format slightly by 1985 when the station changed call signs to WWSH and branded on air as "Wish 98". The station made a dramatic switch in 1994 to a

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

format and another call sign change to WZMT to reflect the new on air branding as "The Mountain". In 1996, it was renamed "98 Rock". In 1997, under

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

, the name changed to "The Bear", with the call letters WXBE, and featuring the syndicated ''

Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' in mornings. In October 2001, the station shifted to a format branded as "classic hard rock", name change to "Z-Rock", and call letters to WAOZ. 7 months later, in May 2002, the station returned to a more current-based rock format under the call sign of WBSX, and branding as "97-9 X" with an

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 ...

format (which was moved over from 93.7 FM). By

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, the station adopted its current

format. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.

Trivia

97.9X is known for being the first commercial station to play

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

, who started in local Wilkes-Barre. The station's Breaking Benjamin promotion is also briefly featured in Breaking Benjamin's video for "

Breath Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the neuroscience of rhythm, rhythmical process of moving air into (inhalation) and out of (exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the Milieu intérieur, internal environment, mostly to flu ...

", which was recorded at

Stabler Arena Stabler Arena is a 6,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. Owned and operated by Lehigh University, it is located on the school's Goodman Campus. Stabler Arena bears the name of Donald ...

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in early 2007.

References

External links

WBSX Official Website
*

{{Cumulus Media BSX Active rock radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations