KONK (AM)

KONK
City Key West, Florida
Broadcast area Florida Keys
Branding KONK 1500 AM Community Radio for Key West
Slogan "The little station with the big voice!"
Frequency 1500 kHz (WKIZ, brokered)
First air date May 26, 2009
Format Community radio
Power 250 watts (WKIZ)
Callsign meaning KONK = Conch Republic
Former frequencies 1680 kHz (June 2009–May 2010)
1630 kHz (May 2009)
Owner Overseas Radio, LLC
Webcast Listen Live
Website konknet.com

KONK is a community radio operation in Key West, Florida. As of May 2010, it broadcasts through a brokering agreement with licensed AM broadcasting station WKIZ on 1500 kHz.[1] Program material originating from the station's White Street studio is broadcast via 3 towers located on 5th Avenue on Stock Island.[2]

The station is owned by Overseas Radio, LLC, and managed by founder Guy deBoer.[2]

History

KONK originally signed on May 26, 2009 as an unlicensed station operating under U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Part 15 low power rules, broadcasting on 1630 kHz (and later, 1680 kHz) at 1 milliwatt from a single 130 ft. tower in Cow Key Channel on Simonton Street, covering only the island of Key West.[3] KONK's venture into community radio was a first for Key West, as is the all-talk format.

In May 2010, Overseas Radio began brokering broadcasting time on WKIZ, a 250-watt radio station owned by Seattle Streaming Radio, dramatically increasing its coverage area to the entire Florida Keys and even to Havana, Cuba.[1]

Programming

KONK's programming consists of live talk radio with callers and guests covering a variety of topics of local and larger interest.[4] Shows, topics, and hosts change every hour from 7am to 6pm weekdays, with local music aired outside of those times.[5] Special productions, including live music performances, are aired on weekends.

The show ArtWaves is broadcast weekdays by community arts advocate and producer Michael Shields.[4] The daily show focuses on the Key West arts community, showcasing artists from every discipline, arts administrators and policy makers, the arts business community and non-profit sectors, alike.

The radio station was called "The Best Talk Radio Station in Florida" by Florida Monthly magazine (September 2010).[6][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Keys radio station stregthens signal". Florida Keys Keynoter. Marathon, Florida. February 24, 2010. Station owner Guy de Boer has entered into a lease/management agreement with WKIZ-1500, owned by Washington state-based Seattle Streaming Radio, which has a 250-watt transmitter on 5th Avenue on Stock Island.
  2. 1 2 Kinney, Sean (May 3, 2009). "New radio station in Key West: KONK 1680 AM to compete with US 1 Radio". Florida Keys Keynoter. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  3. ↑ Menge, Margaret (May 30, 2009). "Old time radio returns to Key West - KONK 1630 AM starts broadcasting: talk all day, music all night". Key West Keynoter. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "KONK AM Personalities". Station website. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Program Schedule". Station website. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Best of Florida Awards 2010". Altamonte Springs, Florida: Florida Media, Inc. 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  7. ↑ "Best of Florida Awards 2010". Florida Monthly. Altamonte Springs, Florida: Florida Media, Inc. September 2010.
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