WKEZ-FM (96.9 FM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

broadcasting a

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

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, ...

, known as "Keys Talk 96.9/102.5."

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 ...

Tavernier, Florida Tavernier is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States on Key Largo, the largest island in the upper Florida Keys. Tavernier's population was 2,530 at the 2020 census, up from 2,136 i ...

, the station serves the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

. The station is owned by Magnum Broadcasting, which also owns 105.7 WGAY in

Sugarloaf Key Sugarloaf Key is a single island in the lower Florida Keys that forms a loop on the Atlantic Ocean side, giving the illusion of separate islands. Although frequently referred to simply and with technical accuracy as "Sugarloaf Key", this island ...

. The station airs a local news block in morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

, followed by

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

shows from

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American conservative television presenter, broadcaster and writer. He hosts ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a radio syndication, nationally syndicated talk radio show, has hosted a Hannity, sel ...

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, ...

Buck Sexton James Buckman Sexton (born December 28, 1981), known professionally as Buck Sexton, is an American radio and television talk show host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the co-host of ''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' ...

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...

with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...

and

This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. I ...

. WKEZ-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 25,000

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. 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 on Wellington Drive in Tavernier, off

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, ...

. Programming is also heard on 102.5 MHz.

History

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air as WIFL on November 21, 1997. On May 6, 1999, the station changed its

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 ...

to the current WKEZ-FM. The EZ in the call letters referred to the station's

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 ...

format and the K stood for Keys. On June 8, WKEZ-FM changed its format from easy listening to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

, branded as "True Oldies". On April 1, 2017, WKEZ-FM changed its format from oldies to classic hits, branded as "Mix 96.9". (info taken from stationintel.com) The station was most recently owned by Jonathan Smith's Choice Radio Keys Corporation. Due to an inability to pay outstanding debts, the company assigned the licenses of WGMX and sister stations WFFG, WGMX, and WKEY-FM to a trustee on June 4, 2018, to be sold for the benefit of creditors. Effective July 27, 2020, WKEZ-FM was sold to Magnum Broadcasting, Inc. for $100,000. On September 29, 2020, WKEZ-FM dropped its simulcast with WGMX and changed its format to conservative talk, branded as "Keys Talk 96.9/102.5" in a simulcast with WPIK.Magnum Debuts Keys Talk 96.9/102.5
Radioinsight - September 29, 2020

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References

External links

* KEZ-FM Radio stations established in 1997 1997 establishments in Florida Talk radio stations in the United States {{Florida-radio-station-stub