KZ's Country

Hey, it doesn't affect me.  Yet why do I still care?
Local AM radio stations have been leaving the dial en masse since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that mandated that radio stations listed as 'silent' had so many days to power back up or see their licenses expire.
Many of said stations were small-town operations that were licensed to operate only between sunrise and sunset.  Over time, they lost their relevance and were supplanted by FM stations or other media altogether.
On May 16, 2013, it was the end of the line for a forty-two-and-a-half-year-old AM daytime station licensed to the city of Washington, Pennsylvania.
WKZV originally took to the air on October 1, 1970 as WKEG.  The one thousand watt AM daytimer came on the air at a rather odd time, when FM radio was starting to gain momentum (though automakers weren't entirely sure at that time).  Nonetheless, this little station pressed on and was a pretty impressive little powerhouse through the late 1980s, when its owner of 16 years decided to retire and sell to another owner.
Said owner ran said station into the ground faster than a pile driver at a Boston loading dock.  It went off the air indefinitely until another owner was found.  That owner eventually cut his losses after a year, unable to overcome the stigma created by previous mismanagement, and also went off the air until a new owner could be found.
In the business, we call a radio station that's gone off the air indefinitely as one that has 'gone dark'.  The term  applies to the broadcast tower, usually lighted, as 'dark' because there's no more money to pay the electric bill.
And that owner found making a tough go of the station.  But this time, the station did not go dark.  Other investors were found to take it over.  After some tweaking, the station began to finally recover and prosper over time.
Then as the owners got older, they got tired. Tired of the hard work involved in keeping a station like this on the air and staying competitive as technology around them evolved.
Local radio stations require a lot of hands-on care by an operator willing to 'wear a lot of hats' as part of keeping such operations profitable.
Many radio stations have found themselves relying more on promotions-based revenue as a means to make money.  Advertisers today are no longer buying straight commercial ads in the traditional sense, but rather, the 'value-added', or 'buy-this-and-you'll get-that' mentality.
When you get to a certain age, and you're facing health issues, many of which are business-related, you're less willing to do this.  And if you're less willing to do this, you're even less willing to embrace new technology...spending money to make it back down the road.
Unfortunately, this will cost you in the long run.  And it did them.
The original Collins transmitter, purchased in 1968 after the permit to build the station was first issued, had limped along for years, breaking down more frequently as parts to maintain it were not purchased in advance and had to be 'rush-ordered' at the last minute, and very costly.
This proved to be the last straw for the sole remaining owner, the other two having passed on, one day, when it was learned that two tubes were going to need replaced.
This meant an investment of about $8,000.  Just five years ago, you could buy a brand-new solid-state transmitter for that amount.
The transmitter site was sold to recoup years of losses.  The doors were shuttered and the sole two employees left at the station were released.
No deep corporate pockets.  No unlimited line of credit.  Just a mom and pop operation determined to press on.
Many speculate on what could have been done to save WKZV.  It no longer matters.  But to this radio veteran, it's an example of the American spirit.
To try even at the risk of failure.
To try and fail is far more admirable than to not try at all.


NEXT WEEK:  His World Was Our World