WPGR (AM)
Encyclopedia
WPGR is a radio station
serving the Pittsburgh
area. The station, which is owned by St. Joseph Ministries, broadcasts at 1510 kHz, with a transmitter power of 5,000 watt
s daytime, 2,500 watts critical hours, and only 1 watt at nighttime. The city of license is Monroeville, Pennsylvania
. WPGR is a non-commercial Catholic radio station.
WPSL, operating under its first ownership structure as Monroeville Broadcasting Company, was primarily a broadcast outlet for an announcer training school managed by Pittsburgh radio great Bill Lynch, who served as the station's first general manager. The station later evolved into a commercial enterprise, maintaining its same ownership until being silenced in 1979, after the deaths of Leib and her father, who was one of the other owner principals of the station. The station would remain silent until its sale to Barua Communications of Monroeville the following year.
WXVX's presentation was that of inmates running the asylum, with concerts being held outside the station's ramshackle studio building (whose address by this time was unofficially renamed One Progressive Alley), by up and coming new rock acts. Though the station proved popular with listeners, and introduced acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Lenny Kravitz to the market, it didn't meet its financial goals and the station reverted back to Barua's control in 1992. A volunteer airstaff, dedicated to the format, kept the station going by working for free and selling airtime, including its new general manager, Paul Goodman.
Goodman managed to keep WXVX afloat until it was sold to another local doctor who owned several properties in the area. The new doctor leased the station to Chae Communications, a broadcast company controlled by former WLOA General Manager Del King, who programmed a format of adult urban contemporary. Unable to make a go of the operation, King let the contract lapse. WXVX was then sold in 1997 to Westmoreland County broadcaster Michael Horvath, who later purchased WPLW in Carnegie. Horvath changed from the WXVX urban format, and put an automated format of 80's music on the air, soliciting the airtime for sale to those interested in their own radio programs. After a few years, the station was sold to Mortenson Broadcasting from Kentucky. Mortenson carried an automated gospel music format from Sheridan Broadcasting during his tenure and eventually sold the station to Sheridan several years later. Sheridan still continues to run the format as their "Flagship" station with their offices located in close by Pittsburgh, PA.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
area. The station, which is owned by St. Joseph Ministries, broadcasts at 1510 kHz, with a transmitter power of 5,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s daytime, 2,500 watts critical hours, and only 1 watt at nighttime. The city of license is Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroeville, Pennsylvania
Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located about east of the city of Pittsburgh, Monroeville is a bustling suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments...
. WPGR is a non-commercial Catholic radio station.
Beginnings as WPSL
This station first went on the air as WPSL back in 1964, and operated as a daytime-only operation with a power output of 250 watts, non-directional. The call letters stood for Punchy Sylves Leib, the station's founder. The station's studio and transmitter location, where it had operated for many years, was located at One Sylves Lane within the municipality of Monroeville. It would remain at this location until 1999.WPSL, operating under its first ownership structure as Monroeville Broadcasting Company, was primarily a broadcast outlet for an announcer training school managed by Pittsburgh radio great Bill Lynch, who served as the station's first general manager. The station later evolved into a commercial enterprise, maintaining its same ownership until being silenced in 1979, after the deaths of Leib and her father, who was one of the other owner principals of the station. The station would remain silent until its sale to Barua Communications of Monroeville the following year.
The X-15 Experiment
The station returned to the air in 1980 under a new set of call letters, WRUA, and a new owner, Barua Communications of Monroeville, founded by Dr. Subrata Barua, a local podiatrist of Indian origin, taking control of the station in April 1980. The station operated with a format of MOR music and talk under these same call letters until 1989, when Barua leased the station to another operator (Julco Enterprises), Robert Julian. WRUA took on a new set of call letters, and WXVX (the last three standing for the Roman numeral 1510) was born. The new WXVX, marketed as "X-15" was created as an outlet for progressive and alternative rock after New Kensington-licensed FM station WXXP switched its format from this kind of music to adult contemporary and adopted the slogan "Mix 100.7".WXVX's presentation was that of inmates running the asylum, with concerts being held outside the station's ramshackle studio building (whose address by this time was unofficially renamed One Progressive Alley), by up and coming new rock acts. Though the station proved popular with listeners, and introduced acts such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Lenny Kravitz to the market, it didn't meet its financial goals and the station reverted back to Barua's control in 1992. A volunteer airstaff, dedicated to the format, kept the station going by working for free and selling airtime, including its new general manager, Paul Goodman.
Goodman managed to keep WXVX afloat until it was sold to another local doctor who owned several properties in the area. The new doctor leased the station to Chae Communications, a broadcast company controlled by former WLOA General Manager Del King, who programmed a format of adult urban contemporary. Unable to make a go of the operation, King let the contract lapse. WXVX was then sold in 1997 to Westmoreland County broadcaster Michael Horvath, who later purchased WPLW in Carnegie. Horvath changed from the WXVX urban format, and put an automated format of 80's music on the air, soliciting the airtime for sale to those interested in their own radio programs. After a few years, the station was sold to Mortenson Broadcasting from Kentucky. Mortenson carried an automated gospel music format from Sheridan Broadcasting during his tenure and eventually sold the station to Sheridan several years later. Sheridan still continues to run the format as their "Flagship" station with their offices located in close by Pittsburgh, PA.