WHKZ (1440 AM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Warren, Ohio, featuring a Catholic–based Christian format as an owned-and-operated station in the Relevant Radio network. The station serves both Sharon, Pennsylvania, and Youngstown, Ohio. WHKZ's transmitter resides on Calson-Salt Springs Road in Warren, operating at a continuous power of 5,000 watts; the directional antenna pattern uses two towers during the day, and six towers at night.

WHKZ
Broadcast areaYoungstown, Ohio
Frequency1440 kHz
BrandingRelevant Radio
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatCatholic-oriented talk
NetworkRelevant Radio
Ownership
OwnerRelevant Radio, Inc.
History
First air date
November 11, 1941
(83 years ago)
 (1941-11-11)
Former call signs
  • WRRN (1941–1948)
  • WHHH (1948–1981)
  • WRRO (1981–1998)
  • WRBP (1998–2001)
  • WHKW (2001)
  • WFHM (2001)
  • WHKW (2001–2005)
Call sign meaning
artifact of former WHKW simulcast
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID57235
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°09′52″N 80°50′47″W / 41.16444°N 80.84639°W / 41.16444; -80.84639
Translator(s)107.5 W298CX (Youngstown)
Links
Public license information
Websiterelevantradio.com

History

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The station originally signed on November 11, 1941, at 250 watts on 1400 kHz., as WRRN, the call letters being a contraction of "Warren." In 1946, the power was increased to 5000 watts and the frequency got changed to 1440 kHz. In 1948,[2] it was purchased by Helen Hart Hurlburt, publisher of the Tribune-Chronicle, and the call sign was changed to WHHH, to reflect her initialsUnder her ownership, a construction permit was obtained for a television station, WHHH-TV on channel 67 in the early 1950s.[3]

 
Former logo as "1440 AM The Word"

Agreement was reached for Pittsburgh's Pentecostal Temple Church to acquire WHKZ for a reported sale price of $550,000[4] and was eventually approved by the FCC, but eventually fell through. The station remained owned and operated by Salem Communications until August 15, 2019, when WHKZ and the construction permit for its forthcoming FM translator was included in a multi-station purchase by Immaculate Heart Media, Inc. valued at $8,732,125; it became an owned and operated station of the Relevant Radio network upon the deal's closing.[5]

The sale closed on November 14, and WHKZ switched programming to the Relevant Radio network.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WHKZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Helen Hurlbert, 94, Ex-Warren Publisher". January 27, 1987.
  3. ^ "DuMont Television Network | Historical Web Site".
  4. ^ Fybush, Scott (2008-03-03). "This Week's Bloodbath: Citadel". NorthEast Radio Watch.
  5. ^ Venta, Lance (August 15, 2019). "Immaculate Heart Media Acquires Nine More Stations In Eight Markets From Salem". RadioInsight.com. RadioInsight. Retrieved August 15, 2019. The Catholic "Relevant Radio" operator will add presently unknown stations from Salem in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Houston, San Antonio, and St. Louis as well as "The Word" 1440 WHKZ/107.5 W298CX Youngstown OH. Following the closing of these deals, Immaculate Heart Media will have a national reach of 220,000,000 people over 163 owned or affiliated stations including 22 of the top 25 markets.
  6. ^ "The Word 1440 AM WHKZ - Cleveland, OH". November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019. As of November 14, 2019, WHKZ-AM is no longer broadcasting as The Word in the Warren, OH area. We invite you to listen to some of our other Salem stations in Cleveland.
  7. ^ "Relevant Radio Stations". Relevant Radio. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
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