WQXK is a commercial radio station

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...

 in Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...

, USA, serving the Mahoning Valley

Mahoning Valley

The Mahoning Valley is a geographic valley encompassing the area of northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania that drains into the Mahoning River. The Mahoning River empties into the Beaver River, which empties into the Ohio River. The Mahoning River flows through Lawrence and Mercer counties in...

 market broadcasting at 105.1 MHz with a country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 format. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media

Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...

 with studios in "The Radio Center" in Youngstown.

History

The station was founded in 1947 as WFMJ-FM by William F. Maag, Jr. from whose initials the call letters were derived. Maag was also publisher of The Youngstown Vindicator

The Vindicator

The Vindicator, also known at times as The Youngstown Vindicator, is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio and the Mahoning County Region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. Founded in 1869, the newspaper currently has a circulation of 62,100 daily and 87,000...

, and owned WFMJ(AM)

WNIO

WNIO — branded 1390 WNIO — is an AM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 1390 kHz with an Sports talk radio format dubbed "The Sports Animal." WNIO also carries Ohio State University football and basketball, Cleveland Cavaliers basketball, and Pittsburgh Steelers...

, and WFMJ-TV. WFMJ-FM was issued a construction permit in 1947, but the station did not go on the air until January 1950.

Only a few years later, WFMJ Broadcasting Company requested to the FCC that the WFMJ-FM license be canceled, a request which was granted January 5, 1954.
WSOM-FM, a new station in Salem, OH signed on the air on November 25, 1958. WSOM-FM was owned by Salem Broadcasting Company. WSOM-FM's call was changed to WQXK in January 1980, which was done shortly after Rust Communications Group purchased the station and sister station WSOM(AM) on December 13, 1979. This was the first of many ownership changes that occurred over the next several years.

Grandfathered Status

While the station broadcasts 88,000 watts that would today exceed the FCC

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

's maximum power output, the station is grandfathered

Grandfather clause

Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...

 from the excess power due to operating the station before current power limits were instituted. Nevertheless, the 88,000 watt station is the most powerful in the region, not only covering Youngstown but is also easily reachable in the Akron

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

/Canton

Canton, Ohio

Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, Erie

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

, 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...

, and Wheeling

Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...

/Steubenville

Steubenville, Ohio

Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 markets. Because of the station's strong signal, WQXK is the highest-rated station in the Youngstown market, often attracting out-of-market listeners. K105's signal can be picked up clearly in over 20 counties in 3 states ( Ohio, Pennsylvania, & West Virginia.

The station primarily competes with the Froggy

Froggy (brand)

Froggy is a brand name radio format used for a variety of radio stations in numerous broadcast markets in the United States, most of which are country music formatted stations, with a few playing adult contemporary. Froggy is a brand name radio format used for a variety of radio stations in...

 stations for country music listeners. To a lesser extent, the station also competes with out-of-market stations such as WDSY-FM

WDSY-FM

WDSY-FM is located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and broadcasts at 107.9 FM. It is a country music station commonly known as Y108. Its slogan is: "Pittsburgh's Best Country Variety."-History:...

due to WQXK's strong signal.

K105 won the CMA Small Market Radio Station of the year award in 2005.

K105 features an hour long flashback weekdays at 6 pm. "The Classics At 6" includes country songs from the 1950s–1990s. This is a highly listened to hour of music.

External links

• List of "grandfathered" FM radio stations in the U.S.