WPXZ-FM is a commercial FM

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

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania Punxsutawney (; Unami language, Lenape: ') is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in southern Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 5,769. It is located approximately ...

, known as the "Weather Capital of the World". The station operates at a federally assigned frequency of 104.1 MHz and 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 ...

of 3,000 watts. WPXZ, and its co-located sister stations,

WECZ WECZ (1540 AM) is an American commercially licensed daytime-only radio station, licensed to serve the community of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The station operates with a power of 5,000 watts daytime, and 1,000 watts during critical hours. WECZ ...

and

WKQL WKQL (103.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a classic hits formatted radio station. The station is licensed to Brookville, Pennsylvania. Owned by Renda Media,https://rendabroadcasting.com/our-markets/punxsutawney-pa it maintains its transmitter facili ...

, are all owned by Pittsburgh-based Renda Media.

History

WPME

Signing on at 105.5 MHz, WPXZ originated in December 1973 as WPME-FM, simulcasting with its then same-named daytime-only AM sister station, known today as

. The stations were owned by the Punxsutawney Broadcasting Company, headed by Clearfield County native and Punxsutawney resident Charles M. "Charlie" Erhard Jr. (April 30, 1928 - July 12, 2004), who sold the stations to its present owner in 1981. That year, the station pair would both be rebranded as WPXZ-AM-FM, continuing with simulcasting until 1989, when management finally began separate broadcasts. Seeing the FM station as the driving force of the two, the AM station would be rebranded under the

call sign. While WECZ would adopt a format featuring big band, swing, and other types of nostalgia music aimed at an older demographic and branded as "Easy 1540," WPXZ-FM continued operating under an adult contemporary format, albeit with a full-service mindset. In addition to its music, the station's programming featured hourly national news from

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News (United States), ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five-minute newscasts on the hour ...

, high school sports, Pittsburgh Pirates baseball broadcasts,

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

with

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

(later

Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (born Terry Ingstad; November 3, 1946) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of ''American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio sho ...

) broadcasts on weekends, and a wide variety of other locally-themed programming. The station went under the slogan name of "Music & More", and would also operate a second studio/office location in nearby Brookville for a period of 15 years, ending in the mid-1990s. Then and now, WPXZ has provided a unique proving ground for young, up-and-coming radio talent. Dave Walters, Alan Freed, D.P. McIntire, Lou Jordan, and numerous others would take to the air and thrive in the format. In 1996, Renda received permission to put another FM station on the air. In order for the new station to go on the air, many existing FM stations would have to shuffle their frequencies in order to fit the channel in its assigned community of Brookville, some 15 miles away from Punxsutawney. One of the affected stations was WPXZ. Renda gave up the 105.5 frequency for WPXZ to move to 104.1. In a 2004 management change, WPXZ moved to a more CHR-based adult contemporary format in an effort to hip up WPXZ's stodgy image of tired music. The change also resulted in scaling back the station's news content, which did not go over well with listeners.

WPXZ today

In April 2005, WPXZ underwent management changes at the administrative, programming, and sales levels. Increased efforts at local news and sports, as well as community-oriented events, resulted in a very successful turnaround for all three stations. The music also shifted from a CHR-based AC to a 1980s oldies-based AC, which improved listenership.

External links

WPXZ-FM official websiteFCC History Cards for WPXZ
{{coord, 40.960, N, 79.002, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title PXZ-FM Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Renda Broadcasting radio stations