WDXR (1450 AM), along with FM translator W242CX at 96.3, 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 A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to serve

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

, United States. The station, established in 1957, is currently owned by Virginia-based Bristol Broadcasting Company, Inc. and airs a classic hits format, supplied via satellite from

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

History

The beginning

This station began regular operation on December 24, 1957, broadcasting with 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s of power on a frequency of 1560

kHz 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 uni ...

. The station was assigned the

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 ...

WDXR by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

. WDXR was originally owned by Earl Weaks McKinney-Smith, serving as both company president as the station's first

news director A news director is an individual at a broadcast station or network who is in charge of the news department. In local news, the news director is typically in charge of the entire news staff, including journalists, news presenters, photographers, ...

. McKinney-Smith had the FCC transfer the WDXR

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which va ...

to a new company called WDXR, Inc., which was owned by both E. Weaks McKinney-Smith and his wife, Lady Sarah McKinney-Smith. After E. Weaks McKinney-Smith died in February 1974, control of WDXR, Inc., passed solely to Lady Sarah McKinney-Smith.

Move to 1450

In December 1978, WDXR, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Paducah Broadcasters, Inc. The deal, contingent on a simultaneous transaction for WPAD, was approved by the FCC on February 14, 1979. WDXR formerly broadcast on a frequency of 1560 kHz, before exchanging frequencies with WPAD (1450 AM) in February 1979. At the time of the swap, WDXR broadcast a middle of the road music format. In April 1989, Pollack Communications, Inc., agreed to sell WDXR to Metro Media of Kentucky, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on June 30, 1989, and the transaction was consummated on July 11, 1989. This would prove short-lived as Metro Media of Kentucky, Inc., reached an agreement in June 1991 to sell this station to the Mason-Dixon Broadcasting Company. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 19, 1991, and the transaction was consummated on September 5, 1991. In January 1996, the Mason-Dixon Broadcasting Company contracted to transfer the

for this station to Hilltopper Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 28, 1996, and the transaction was consummated on March 19, 1996. In August 2000, Hilltopper Broadcasting, Inc., announced an agreement to sell WDXR to Forever Communications, Inc., subsidiary WRUS, Inc., as part of a five-station deal valued at a reported $5 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 13, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on February 2, 2001. At the time of the sale, WDXR aired a mix of

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

and

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

programming.

WDXR today

In December 2003, Forever Communications, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Bristol Broadcasting Company, Inc., as part of a five-station deal for a cash price of $3.15 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 20, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on March 15, 2004. At the time of the sale, WDXR broadcast a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format. WDXR adopted an

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

music format in April 2005. Bristol Broadcasting Company broke ground on an expansion on its existing

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

and office complex in May 2008. Company officials cited continuing growth at the nine-station complex as the reason for the new construction.

Previous logo

References

External links

Bristol Broadcasting Company - Paducah
* * {{Classic Hits Radio Stations in Kentucky DXR Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1957