KYQQ
Encyclopedia
KYQQ is a radio station
operating in Wichita, Kansas
, in the United States
, and licensed to Arkansas City, Kansas
. Calling itself "Radio Lobo 106.5," the station airs a Spanish
format and is owned by the Journal Broadcast Group out of Milwaukee, WI.
, Top-40, and Hot AC. From 1980 through 1982 the station was an eclectic mix of album-oriented rock that attempted to strike a balance between the hard-edged KICT-95 and the more mainstream KEYN. The station was programmed by Bruce Adamek. In 1981, it featured an evening show by Kevin Craig, a noted Wichita announcer whose distinctive voice was best known as the voice of the Dillons Grocery store chain on radio and TV. Later in 1983 Jeff Garrett, did a stint in the evening slot.
In the summer of 1983 Violet was approached by a Wichita night club owner through his primary club DJ Joe Turner, who at the time went by the moniker Captain Disco or Captain D. They proposed adding a Sunday evening black-contemporary format. Violet was initially very skeptical. This was at a time when Michael Jackson had only recently breached the color barrier on MTV, leading to a resurgence of black-influenced music on the Top-40 charts. Prince had just begun to emerge as an artist. The proposed format, even for a few hours on Sunday, would be a striking contrast to the rest of the KBUZ air time. However, Turner and his boss successfully convinced Violet that this insurgence of black contemporary music would move beyond the Wichita black community into the young adult and youth demographic. They also promised a tremendous outpouring of commercial support from the black community.
Still not expecting much, Violet turned the project over to Wes Crenshaw, a weekend and fill-in air staff who was at the time covering afternoon drive. Crenshaw trained the new staff and oversaw commercial production through the debut of the show. The new format which followed an Urban Contemporary
design turned out to be a rousing success in both ratings and revenue, creating the first consistent financial stream for KBUZ out of the coveted Wichita market. The success of the format caught Violet by surprise, but he began to recognize a winning formula. Crenshaw trained a second DJ Rochel "R.W." Wright who was then added to the line up (And later moved up to Program Director for KBUZ). When the next Arbitron came out, KBUZ had jumped dramatically, scoring at or near the top of the ratings in the experimental time slots. Violet came to believe that the urban format was the best shot KBUZ had at attaining commercial success and by 1984, KBUZ changed its format giving Wichita its first full-time Urban station. KBUZ had a large following of listeners with its Urban format despite its poor signal into Wichita and the market not having a very large African American population. Turner had been correct. As the number of successful black musicians grew nationally, the appeal of the Urban format carried far beyond the black community.
Around August 1987, The Violets sold KBUZ to Kelsey Broadcasting Corporation, based out of Orlando, Florida
. Kelsey dropped the Urban format and flipped to Adult Contemporary as KWKL "Lite 106.5". KBUZ's audience mostly African Americans were upset over the format change. By this time the station upgraded its signal to broadcast full coverage over Wichita. KWKL's AC format only lasted a year, then it flipped to Oldies
as "Kool 106.5".
Sometime in 1990, KWKL dropped its Oldies format and stunted with David Bowie
's "Changes
" and Bananarama
's "I Heard A Rumor" repeatedly and a drop between the songs saying "All Good Things Must Come To An End, Out With The Old" referring to the demise of KWKL's Oldies format. A few days later, the station flipped the format to Adult Top 40 as KYQQ "Q-106.5". It later moved into a Mainstream Top 40 and briefly a Dance/Rhythmic Top-40 competing against former Top 40 107.3 KKRD (Now Classic rock
KTHR
).
In mid-1992, unable to compete with Top 40 powerhouse KKRD at the time, KYQQ changed format from Top-40 to Country
as "Hot Country 106.5, later back to "Q-106.5" to compete against Country powerhouses KFDI-FM
and KZSN
. KYQQ had limited success against the two stations. KFDI's owners, Great Empire Broadcasting, purchased KYQQ in 1994. Great Empire sold its stations to Journal Broadcast Group in 1999. The Country format was dropped in 2002 for its current Spanish
format. It first signed on as "La Maquia Musical" and later changed to Radio Lobo. KYQQ's only competitor in the market is KANR
"Fiesta 92.7".
On March 28th 2009, the KYQQ 1250' broadcast tower collapsed following more than two inches of freezing rain. The station resumed broadcasting the following day from a backup site at reduced power output.
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...
operating in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and licensed to Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
. Calling itself "Radio Lobo 106.5," the station airs a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
format and is owned by the Journal Broadcast Group out of Milwaukee, WI.
History
Signed on the air in 1979 as KBUZ under owners Gary & Ann Violet. KBUZ was very much a small family business. The Violets literally built the station with their own hands -- Gary being a certified radio engineer. He not only did the engineering but actually designed the building and built much of it at Strother Field between Winfield and Arkansas City. Gary and Ann also ran the station along with Gary's mother. The entire family lived in a set of two mobile homes just a few yards south of the station. Under Gary's ownership, the station tried a number of formats including CountryCountry 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...
, Top-40, and Hot AC. From 1980 through 1982 the station was an eclectic mix of album-oriented rock that attempted to strike a balance between the hard-edged KICT-95 and the more mainstream KEYN. The station was programmed by Bruce Adamek. In 1981, it featured an evening show by Kevin Craig, a noted Wichita announcer whose distinctive voice was best known as the voice of the Dillons Grocery store chain on radio and TV. Later in 1983 Jeff Garrett, did a stint in the evening slot.
In the summer of 1983 Violet was approached by a Wichita night club owner through his primary club DJ Joe Turner, who at the time went by the moniker Captain Disco or Captain D. They proposed adding a Sunday evening black-contemporary format. Violet was initially very skeptical. This was at a time when Michael Jackson had only recently breached the color barrier on MTV, leading to a resurgence of black-influenced music on the Top-40 charts. Prince had just begun to emerge as an artist. The proposed format, even for a few hours on Sunday, would be a striking contrast to the rest of the KBUZ air time. However, Turner and his boss successfully convinced Violet that this insurgence of black contemporary music would move beyond the Wichita black community into the young adult and youth demographic. They also promised a tremendous outpouring of commercial support from the black community.
Still not expecting much, Violet turned the project over to Wes Crenshaw, a weekend and fill-in air staff who was at the time covering afternoon drive. Crenshaw trained the new staff and oversaw commercial production through the debut of the show. The new format which followed an Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
design turned out to be a rousing success in both ratings and revenue, creating the first consistent financial stream for KBUZ out of the coveted Wichita market. The success of the format caught Violet by surprise, but he began to recognize a winning formula. Crenshaw trained a second DJ Rochel "R.W." Wright who was then added to the line up (And later moved up to Program Director for KBUZ). When the next Arbitron came out, KBUZ had jumped dramatically, scoring at or near the top of the ratings in the experimental time slots. Violet came to believe that the urban format was the best shot KBUZ had at attaining commercial success and by 1984, KBUZ changed its format giving Wichita its first full-time Urban station. KBUZ had a large following of listeners with its Urban format despite its poor signal into Wichita and the market not having a very large African American population. Turner had been correct. As the number of successful black musicians grew nationally, the appeal of the Urban format carried far beyond the black community.
Around August 1987, The Violets sold KBUZ to Kelsey Broadcasting Corporation, based out of Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. Kelsey dropped the Urban format and flipped to Adult Contemporary as KWKL "Lite 106.5". KBUZ's audience mostly African Americans were upset over the format change. By this time the station upgraded its signal to broadcast full coverage over Wichita. KWKL's AC format only lasted a year, then it flipped to Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
as "Kool 106.5".
Sometime in 1990, KWKL dropped its Oldies format and stunted with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Changes
Changes (David Bowie song)
"Changes" is a song by David Bowie, originally released on the album Hunky Dory in December 1971 and as a single in January 1972. Despite missing the Top 40, "Changes" became one of Bowie's best-known songs. The lyrics are often seen as a manifesto for his chameleonic personality, sexual ambiguity,...
" and Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
's "I Heard A Rumor" repeatedly and a drop between the songs saying "All Good Things Must Come To An End, Out With The Old" referring to the demise of KWKL's Oldies format. A few days later, the station flipped the format to Adult Top 40 as KYQQ "Q-106.5". It later moved into a Mainstream Top 40 and briefly a Dance/Rhythmic Top-40 competing against former Top 40 107.3 KKRD (Now Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
KTHR
KTHR
KTHR is a radio station operating in Wichita, Kansas. The station runs a rock music format.-History:KTHR's format history includes Easy Listening as KARD, later evolved into an Adult Contemporary format...
).
In mid-1992, unable to compete with Top 40 powerhouse KKRD at the time, KYQQ changed format from Top-40 to Country
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...
as "Hot Country 106.5, later back to "Q-106.5" to compete against Country powerhouses KFDI-FM
KFDI-FM
KFDI-FM is a 100 kW radio station operating in Wichita, Kansas. Identifying as "Today's KFDI-FM 101.3, Wichita's Country Favorites," the station runs a contemporary country music format. KFDI has a strong emphasis on news, weather, and traffic with the largest newsradio team in Kansas and the only...
and KZSN
KZSN
KZSN is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, USA, the station serves the Wichita area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications .-History:...
. KYQQ had limited success against the two stations. KFDI's owners, Great Empire Broadcasting, purchased KYQQ in 1994. Great Empire sold its stations to Journal Broadcast Group in 1999. The Country format was dropped in 2002 for its current Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
format. It first signed on as "La Maquia Musical" and later changed to Radio Lobo. KYQQ's only competitor in the market is KANR
KANR
KANR is an American radio station broadcasting a Spanish language format in Wichita, Kansas. The station is licensed to Belle Plaine, Kansas.-History:...
"Fiesta 92.7".
On March 28th 2009, the KYQQ 1250' broadcast tower collapsed following more than two inches of freezing rain. The station resumed broadcasting the following day from a backup site at reduced power output.