WZON (was:Clear Channel cuts do include on air positions)

[SteveOrdinetz <steveord@bit-net.com>]

Dan Billings wrote:
>As I remember it, at some point in the last 1980s/early 1990s, King sold
>WZON to new owners that switched it to talk.  For short time, WZON was
>simulcast on the 1590 out of Gorham (possibly illegally?).  I'm not sure if
>King ended up with the station directly from the group he sold it to or if
>there was another owner in the interim that switched it to sports talk.


I believe that the switch to talk came right at the end of the first time 
King owned WZON.  I believe he sold it to some nonprofit organization who 
may have operated it under LMA for a year or so before they actually bought 
the station.  Not sure if they sold it to someone else who defaulted on the 
payments or if it was the group King sold it to who defaulted, but King got 
it back because of that (apparently he financed the sale).  I think once it 
reverted back to King is when the sports format debuted.  By this time he 
already owned WKIT (which had those calls long before he bought it).  The 
way I understand it, King originally bought 620 (then WACZ) fairly cheaply 
because the station wasn't making any money...he kept the CHR format for a 
year (I have an aircheck from 1984 where they had the WZON calls, but were 
still CHR) or so then switched to a heavy metal/very hard rock format 
because he wanted a station he could get that played music he liked.  Of 
course, by 1985 it was tough to make it with music on AM, much less hard 
rock, and apparently he got sick of throwing money away and sold the place.

BTW, his interest in 620 goes back to the late 70s/early 80s.  I have an 
article he wrote for Playboy (who says they don't buy it for the articles?) 
where he's lamenting the lack of rock music on AM, and points to Z-62 (and 
specifically PD/afternoon drive jock Mighty John Marshall) as an exception 
to the rule.