KFIZ (AM)

KFIZ (1450 kHz, "News-Talk 1450") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The station is owned by Randy Hopper's Mountain Dog Media and the license is held by RBH Enterprises, Inc. KFIZ airs a News/Talk radio format. The studios and offices are on Winnebago Drive and the transmitter site is off West Scott Street. KFIZ currently broadcasts with 1,000 watts of power.

KFIZ
CityFond du Lac, Wisconsin
Frequency1450 kHz
BrandingNews-Talk 1450
Slogan"The One You Depend On"
Programming
FormatNews/Talk
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Westwood One Network
Fox News Radio
Ownership
OwnerMountain Dog Media/Randy Hopper
(RBH Enterprises, Inc.)
WCLB, WFON
History
First air date
May 1922[1]
Call sign meaning
none (randomly assigned from an alphabetic list normally used for stations west of the Mississippi River)
Technical information
Facility ID36419
ClassC
Power1,000 watts (unlimited)
Transmitter coordinates
43°47′28″N 88°28′16″W
Links
Websitekfiz.com

KFIZ is among Wisconsin's oldest commercial radio stations, beginning experimental broadcasts in 1922.

Programming

The station features local talk, farming and information shows on weekday mornings, followed by syndicated programs the rest of the day. National hosts include Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey, Mark Levin, Jim Bohannon and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. On weekdays, local news updates are heard every hour, with world and national news from Fox News Radio. KFIZ is a member of the Wisconsin Radio Network for regional news and sports programming.[2]

Sports programming on KFIZ includes local high school football, high school basketball, and college basketball, plus Major League Baseball as part of the Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network.[3] KFIZ also airs NBA basketball as part of the Milwaukee Bucks Radio Network.[4]

KFIZ used CNN Radio for its national news coverage in the 1990s. Around 2007, it switched its affiliation to Fox News Radio. Its on-air staff as of January 6, 2020 included Jon DeMaster (News Director), Pam Jaenke (Wisconsin Farm Report (5 AM-6 AM)), Jerry St. John (The Early Show (6 AM-8 AM)), Spencer Wagen (Fond du Lac Today (8 AM-11 AM) and High School Sports), and Jerry Schneider (The Jerry Schnieder Polka Show (Saturdays 9 AM-Noon)).

History

According to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records, KFIZ's first license was granted in July 1923.[5] However, the station has traditionally traced its origin to earlier broadcasts by a possibly unlicensed station operated beginning in May 1922 by Fond du Lac businessman Oscar A. Huelsman, who operated a Dodge automobile dealership at 22 Forest Avenue.[6] The station's studio was located on the third floor of the Haber Printing Company building at 18 Forest Avenue, next to Huelsman‘s auto showroom and garage. Edward "Cap" Conley was responsible for the technical side of the operation.[7]

On July 6, 1923,[5] a license for a new broadcasting station operating on 1100 kHz in Fond du Lac was issued jointly to the Daily Commonwealth newspaper and Oscar A. Huelsman.[8] The station was randomly issued the call letters KFIZ from an alphabetical roster of available call signs, however, this was a rare exception to the standard practice of only stations west of the Mississippi River receiving call letters starting with "K", as stations east of this boundary normally received call letters starting with "W".[9] No reason was given for this exception.[10]

Ownership changed the next year to the Daily Commonwealth and Seifert Radio Corp.,[11] and the year after that was changed to the Daily Commonwealth and Wisconsin Radio Sales (Inc.), located at 22 Forest Avenue.[12] In 1926 this was modified to just the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter.[13] On June 15, 1927, KFIZ was assigned to 1120 kHz,[14] and on November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40, the station moved to 1420 kHz, still at 100 watts.[15] Ownership was changed again in 1929 to the Reporter Printing Company, and in 1931 the station moved to studios on the second floor of the Reporter Building at 18 West First Street.[16]

In March 1941, with the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, KFIZ moved to its current frequency of 1450 kHz,[17] and in the mid-1940s the station increased transmitter power to 250 watts.[1] The KFIZ Broadcasting Company acquired the station in May 1946[1] and owned the station through the early 1960s.

In November 1986, Wisconsin Cablevision & Radio Co., Inc. completed a merger by transferring the license for this station to Donald G. Jones and Wisconsin Cablevision Inc., a partnership doing business as the Wisconsin Cablevision Partnership. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 19, 1986, and the transaction was completed on December 28, 1986.[18] In September 1987, the Cablevision Partnership made a deal to sell KFIZ to the Independence Broadcasting Wisconsin Corp. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 3, 1987, and the transaction was consummated on January 20, 1988.[19]

In June 1993, Independence Broadcasting Wisconsin Corp. contracted to sell this station to Lakeside Cablevision Limited Partnership (doing business as Star Cablevision, a forerunner business to Charter Communications's Wisconsin operations). The deal was approved by the FCC on August 24, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on September 30, 1993.[20]

In January 1997, Lakeside Broadcasting Wisconsin Limited Partnership reached an agreement to sell KFIZ to current owner RBH Enterprises, Inc., which does business as Mountain Dog Media and is operated by former State Senator Randy Hopper.[21] The deal was approved by the FCC on January 23, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on the same day.[22]

References
  1. "Radio Stations 40 or More Years Old in 1962: KFIZ Fond Du Lac, Wis". Broadcasting. May 14, 1962. p. 137.
  2. "Radio Stations". Wisconsin Radio Network. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. "Brewers Radio Network". MLB.com. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  4. "BMO Harris Bucks Radio Network". NBA.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. FCC History Cards for KFIZ (FCC.gov)
  6. Kelly, Anne (2002). "KFIZ: Fond du Lac County's Original AM Radio Station" (PDF). In Clarence B. Davis (ed.). Source of the Lake: 150 Years of History in Fond du Lac. Fond du Lac, WI: Action Publishing. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  7. "Car Dealer With Radio Sideline Sought Business, Started KFIZ" by Stan Gores, Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter, March 24, 1967, Section 2, page 4.
  8. "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, August 1, 1923, page 3.
  9. The same month that KFIZ received its initial license, the other new stations in the eastern U.S. received call signs starting with "WSA" and "WTA". "KFIY" was assigned to a station licensed to Brott Laboratories in Seattle, Washington.
  10. White, Thomas H. (January 1, 2008). "K/W Call Letters in the United States". United States Early Radio History.
  11. "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, October 1, 1924, page 5.
  12. "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, July 1, 1925, page 9.
  13. "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, October 30, 1926, page 8.
  14. "Broadcasting Stations Alphabetically by States and Cities" (effective June 15, 1927), Radio Service Bulletin, May 31, 1927, page 10.
  15. "Broadcasting Stations, Alphabetically by Call Signals" (effective November 11, 1928), Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the United States, page 167.
  16. "Fifty-Year History of KFIZ Detailed", Fond du Lac Reporter, November 22, 1972, page 2.
  17. List of Radio Broadcast Stations, Alphabetically by Call Letters as of March 29, 1941, Federal Communications Commission, page 9.
  18. "Application Search Details (BAL-19861202EA)". FCC Media Bureau. December 28, 1986.
  19. "Application Search Details (BAL-19870914EC)". FCC Media Bureau. January 20, 1988.
  20. "Application Search Details (BAL-19930622GH)". FCC Media Bureau. September 30, 1993.
  21. "Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations". Federal Communications Commission. December 21, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  22. "Application Search Details (BAL-19961023EA)". FCC Media Bureau. January 23, 1997.
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