WPKL
 |
|
| City |
WPKL: Uniontown, Pennsylvania WKPL: Ellwood City, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Branding | 92.1-99.3, The Pickle |
| Slogan | Classic Rock and Roll from the 60's and 70's |
| Frequency |
WPKL: 99.3 MHz WKPL: 92.1 MHz |
| First air date |
WPKL: 1968 (as WPQR-FM) WKPL: 1968 (as WFEM) |
| Format | Classic hits |
| ERP |
WPKL: 3,000 watts WKPL: 2,500 watts |
| HAAT |
WPKL: 90 meters WKPL: 156 meters |
| Class |
WPKL: A WKPL: A |
| Facility ID |
WPKL: 33828 WKPL: 24999 |
| Callsign meaning |
WPKL: W PicKLe WKPL: W K PickLe |
| Former callsigns |
WPKL: WPQR-FM (1968-2001) WKPL: WFEM (1968-1988) WKST-FM (1988-2000) WJST (2000-2004) |
| Owner | FM Radio Licenses, LLC |
| Website | picklefm.com |
WPKL is a classic hits-formatted radio station licensed to Uniontown, Pennsylvania at 99.3 FM. WPKL's programming is simulcast on WKPL in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania at 92.1 FM. Both stations are owned by FM Radio Licenses, LLC of Pittsburgh, and each has a power output of 3,000 watts.
WPKL first signed on the air December 20, 1968 as WPQR-FM, licensed to Warman Broadcasting Inc.; founded by Edwin Warman, with Ed Olesh serving as the station's first vice president and general manager. For many of its early years, the station operated from an office building at 540 Morgantown Road in Uniontown. WKPL first signed on the air as WFEM on August 4, 1968, and was owned by Ellwood City Broadcasting Company, a company owned by Herbert Scott, who also owned Great Scott Broadcasting Company, licensee of WKST in New Castle, about eight miles north of Ellwood City. Studios and offices for WFEM were located at 226 Fifth Street in Ellwood City, from where it broadcast an easy listening music format.
WPQR was purchased by Pittsburgh attorney Geoffrey P. Kelly on May 21, 1987, who operated the station under the corporate name Kel Com Broadcasting, Inc. The Kel Com endeavor was a joint partnership between Kelly and Monroeville broadcaster Marlene J. Heshler, who had bought WCVI (AM) in nearby Connellsville (as Mar Com Broadcasting) two years before. For many years following the sale, WPQR maintained a separate sales office in Uniontown, with on-air operations moving to WCVI's facilities at 133 East Crawford Avenue in downtown Connellsville. In 1986, WFEM came under the control of Faye Scott following the death of Herb Scott in 1984. Not long afterwards, WFEM's operations were moved to those of WKST at 219 Savannah-Garder Road in New Castle.
By the end of the 1980s, WFEM changed its call letters to WKST-FM, to mirror that of its AM sister, but adopting the slogan "Star 92.1" after signing an affiliation agreement with the Satellite Music Network and adopting its "Starstation" adult contemporary format. The early 1990s marked a period of financial distress for WPQR, but the circumstances surrounding it are still unknown. Heshler and Kelly dissolved their partnership in 1991, but Heshler stayed on as General Manager for WPQR and sister station WCVI for a couple of years afterward, with Kelly taking ownership and control of both WCVI and WPQR. Heshler left those stations for good by 1994. At around the time of the dissolution, legal action had been taken against both stations by ASCAP/BMI over alleged unpaid music licensing fees.
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