WFUZ (1240

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 ...

) is an AM radio station in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

. It simulcasts the

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

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, ...

of WEZX in

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 ...

, filling in the gaps in WEZX's signal outside

Lackawanna County Lackawanna County (; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton. The county is part of the Northeast region of the commonwealth. The county was ...

. It is owned by

Times-Shamrock Communications Times-Shamrock Communications is an American media company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The company, owned by the Lynett and Haggerty families of Scranton, lists among its assets nine radio stations. Assets Radio stations * WZBA, Baltimore ...

of Scranton.

History

WFUZ is the oldest radio station in northeast Pennsylvania, founded as WBAX on April 29, 1922United States Pioneer Broadcast Service Stations: Oldest Surviving Broadcasting Stations in the United States
/ref> by John H. Stenger Jr. WFUZ is also the fifth-oldest station in Pennsylvania. WBAX originally broadcast on a frequency of 833

, the common local broadcast frequency used in 1922. The call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs. By 1925, the station changed frequency to 1170 kHz. In 1928, WBAX changed frequencies to 1200 kHz, which it shared with Wilkes-Barre's other station,

WBRE WBRE-TV (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States, serving Northeastern Pennsylvania as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which provides certain services to Scranton-license ...

. The time-sharing arrangement between WBAX and WBRE ceased by 1930 when WBAX moved to 1210 kHz and WBRE moved to 1310 kHz. WBAX stayed at 1210 kHz until the great nationwide frequency reassignment mandated by the Federal government took place in 1941 moving the station to its current dial position of 1240 kHz. WBAX was an affiliate of the Mutual radio network during its early historyAM Network-Affiliated AM Radio Stations, 1949
/ref> and for a period of time in the 1970s and 1980s was owned by Merv Griffin Group Radio. In 1994, the Lynett family of Scranton, publishers of ''The Scranton Times'' (now '' The Times-Tribune''), bought WBAX and turned it into a full simulcast of

WEJL WEJL (630 AM) is a radio station broadcasting in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The station, known on-air as "Sports Radio WEJL", carries sports radio programming from Fox Sports Radio. WEJL is owned by Times-Shamrock Communications, former publishe ...

(630 AM). Although WEJL's daytime signal decently covers Wilkes-Barre, much of the southern part of the market (for instance, Hazleton) gets only a grade B signal due to the area's rugged terrain. At night, WEJL must power down to 32 watts, effectively limiting its nighttime coverage to Lackawanna County. The station changed its call sign to WQFM on October 1, 2018, then to WFUZ on December 28, 2020. As of December 2021, WFUZ switched to a simulcast of classic rock-formatted WEZX (106.9 FM).

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WFUZ
(covering 1927-1981 as WBAX)
WFUZ official website
* * {{Times-Shamrock FUZ (AM) Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1922 1922 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

See also

References

External links