KDKA, Now With Frequency Modulation
• Entercom is proud to celebrate 100 years of the legendary News Radio 1020 KDKA/Pittsburgh. To help commemorate the station’s centennial anniversary, KDKA is adding an FM simulcast for the first time ever and will be heard on 100.1 FM (W261AX) as 100.1 FM & 1020 AM KDKA, effective November 2. Concurrent with this move, the current occupant of 100.1, Martz Rhythmic WAMO 100.1 will relocate to 107.3.
“KDKA Radio is part of the radio history books not just here in Pittsburgh, but on a national level,” said Michael Spacciapolli, SVP/Market Manager, Entercom Pittsburgh. “What started back in 1920 as an opportunity to instantaneously provide news and information about the presidential election returns has blossomed into a key part of our listeners’ lives. After serving Pittsburghers on our AM dial for the last 100 years, we are thrilled to expand the reach of historic KDKA on FM. It’s an honor to be part of the team carrying the torch from those before us into the next 100 years.”
On October 27, 1920, the Department of Commerce issued the first commercial radio station license under the call sign KDKA. The station launched on November 2, 1920 when Frank Conrad, an engineer at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, started 8ZZ and broadcast the results of the presidential election returns between Warren G. Harding and James Cox. The station’s yearlong centennial celebration also included various original recordings, historical vignettes and a special weekly program every Wednesday.
