• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

WONX AM 1590 GOT THE GREEN LIGHT TO BOOST THEIR POWER

Prais said:
Well, this programming is legal, and Kovas is an innovator with a good track record.

If Harvard was that essential, why was it sold? Money? Nothing wrong with that. That's what BUSINESS is!
Click to expand...

Actually, WMCW was not sold, but the license was turned in. Kovas tried to relocate the station, but the FCC denied their request, due to WMCW Harvard being the only station licensed to Harvard. WCGO Chicago Heights was able to move, due to WCFJ 1470 also being licensed to Chicago Heights. WKKD Aurora was able to move, due to WLEY & WERV also being licensed to Aurora. Kovas had hoped to move WMCW as well, but in order to get the power increase they wanted for WONX, they were forced to silence the Harvard station.
 
I think WCGO will move also. They just applied to the FCC August 22,2008 for a minor change to triplex into an existing broadcast antenna in the market. I am surprised they are already testing.

I am glad Dr. White is working on WONX. The latest time I listened to WONX in Evanston it seemed scarely legal.

How is Kovas an Innovator after 1980?
 
Well Frank Kovas could be considered a pioneer in FM stereo radio with WKFM 103.5. He was also lucky enough to be able to sell the station for $1 million + and use part of that cash to purchase WLTD from Cummings Communications. He will also go down in history as the guy who dropped WKFM's stick down to Randolph St.! How no one was hurt or killed is a mystery and a miracle. He did try and program WLTD similar to WKFM but the weaker AM signal and the station's daytimer status at the time made that impractical. He then chose to broker the station, originally focusing on the Puerto Rican communities but at the same time kept an active involvement with the station through promotions, live remotes, etc. However Frank eventually left the operation to others while he concentrated on his Indiana stations. And that is when the station (now called WONX- for "1-X"- a grammatical insult) began to go down hill. Then just a few years prior to his death, Frank retook control of the station and thats when the gradual improvements began to take place.
 
WKFM, (slogan) "where the K makes the big difference" (K for for Kovas) was an interesting place. I listened because my mom loved it. I remember this in my high school years, 63-67.

It ran 7am til midnight for a long time. It did go 24 hours, but I bet that was in '68 or '69. WKFM played "semi-classical" music; Leroy Anderson, Command Stereo albums, and the like. Music repeated alot and was not announced.

It had only a few sponsors. "The House of Mena" - a ritzy furniture store was one. There was also a "stereo store" name forgotten.

At the time, there were competing stereo systems. WEFM (owned b Zenith) used the "system that eventually won." WKFM was stereo a few weeks AFTER WEFM and used the "other" system. It was a HIGHLY promoted event. Kovas paid lots of attenton to having a "great sound."

The programs all had names; "Rendezvous with Rhythm" was one. Each "named show" had a "theme song." News was NOT hourly - maybe every few hours.

Bob Burns was the 7am til noon dj, then Ned Jaus all afternoon, and Bob Longbons at night.

It was in a horrible building, the 188 w.Randolph Tower. A filthy dirty, small, dark place. I bet rent was cheap.
 
I agree he was a pioneer. And he likely was an innovator early on. That was before my time.

IMO if they would have just sold WONX instead of buying 1580's and 1600's to upgrade 1590, they would have gottten more money for it then, than they will now that it is upgraded.

The only people I've seen pay top dollar for an AM station in Chicago lately is Newsweb and the Catholics. I don't see who would pay top dollar in this market. The Catholics don't need another station. Perhaps newsweb would buy it. However they already have an extra station 850 that is doing very little. If they low ball a station it devalues all their AM stations. Does Multicultural want to get back into Chicago after selling 950? My guess is WONX won't sell, because they will not lower the price for a long time.
 
Actually Fred "You'll Never Find My Picture On The Internet" Eychaner of Newsweb expressed interest in WONX some years back but was turned down for unknown reasons. I've no doubt he's been watching but if he is still interested, who knows? It wouldn't surprise me if some religious group bought it, Catholic or otherwise. They never seem to be short on cash.
My parents also were avid listeners of WKFM. It was the first set of call letters I remember as a child. Our Motorola Hi-Fi console's FM tuner was always set to "The Big K." I still have that same Hi-Fi today and the tuner is still tuned to 103.5!
 
Didn't they also used to have ads with "Bob ... for Diamond Bell Ranch, Tucson"?

It was a great sounding station in its day!
 
You guys remember more details about the station than I do. My recollection is the deep voiced laid back announcers that were such polar opposites to the the jocks on WLS and WCFL! FM was so "high brow" back then!
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom