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WKBO
WKBO (1230 kHz, "Fortress 1230 AM") is an AM radio station licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by One Heart Ministries, Inc. and broadcasts a Christian contemporary format. Studios are located at Stage and Studio Cafe in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and the station's tower is located at the Harrisburg Water plant.
Although some accounts state that WKBO's origin dates back to as early as 1922, official government records date the station's establishment as taking place in 1925.
WKBO was first licensed, as WPRC, on September 23, 1925, to the Wilson Printing & Radio Co. at Fifth and Kelker Streets in Harrisburg, transmitting on 1390 kilohertz. It made its formal debut broadcast on October 12, 1925. WPRC was the fourth radio station to be licensed to Harrisburg, with WBAK (1922–1934), WABB (1923–1927), and WHBG (February 1925 to present, now WHP) leading the way. It was owned by W. Arthur Wilson of the Wilson Printing and Radio Company of Harrisburg. Wilson operated WPRC from his property at 1738 N 5th Street. (Some records indicate that it was 1740 N 5th Street.) The transmitter was located a few blocks away at Reel and Schuylkill Streets. WPRC offered a limited programming schedule of live performances by local musicians and "talks" by community leaders, which was typical in the very early days of radio.
Before putting WPRC on the air, the 38-year-old Wilson was the printer and editor of "Progress", a publication for railroad employees.
WPRC moved to 1430 kilohertz in 1927, then to 1200 kilohertz with the November 11, 1928 implementation of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40. (WHP and WBAK, the two other stations operating in Harrisburg in 1929, swapped frequencies with WPRC and shared time on 1430 kHz.) WKBO switched to 1230 kHz in 1941, as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement realignment of the AM band.
Wilson sold WPRC to local coal dealer Norman R. Hoffman in 1929. Hoffman changed the call sign to WCOD and moved the studios and transmitter to the Governor Hotel at 4th and Market Streets in downtown Harrisburg. (The building remains part of the city landscape today.) Although Federal Radio Commission records show only Norman Hoffman as the station owner, newspaper articles indicate that Hoffman's father Benjamin was part owner of the station.
The Hoffmans sold WCOD to the Keystone Broadcasting Corporation in 1930. Keystone was originally the partnership of J.D. Pannell, J.S. Blankenhorn, and G.J. Plasey, all of the Harrisburg area.
In 1932, it was revealed that the Stackpole family, the owners of the Telegraph Press, Harrisburg Telegraph newspaper, and WHP, Inc. (WCOD's competitor), had purchased 75% of Keystone's stock. Telegraph Press treasurer Col. Edward J. Stackpole appeared before the Federal Radio Commission in Washington to answer allegations the Telegraph was involved in a radio monopoly in Harrisburg. The exact outcome of Stackpole's testimony is unclear since the Telegraph organization continued to hold its majority interests in both WHP and WCOD.
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WKBO
WKBO (1230 kHz, "Fortress 1230 AM") is an AM radio station licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by One Heart Ministries, Inc. and broadcasts a Christian contemporary format. Studios are located at Stage and Studio Cafe in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and the station's tower is located at the Harrisburg Water plant.
Although some accounts state that WKBO's origin dates back to as early as 1922, official government records date the station's establishment as taking place in 1925.
WKBO was first licensed, as WPRC, on September 23, 1925, to the Wilson Printing & Radio Co. at Fifth and Kelker Streets in Harrisburg, transmitting on 1390 kilohertz. It made its formal debut broadcast on October 12, 1925. WPRC was the fourth radio station to be licensed to Harrisburg, with WBAK (1922–1934), WABB (1923–1927), and WHBG (February 1925 to present, now WHP) leading the way. It was owned by W. Arthur Wilson of the Wilson Printing and Radio Company of Harrisburg. Wilson operated WPRC from his property at 1738 N 5th Street. (Some records indicate that it was 1740 N 5th Street.) The transmitter was located a few blocks away at Reel and Schuylkill Streets. WPRC offered a limited programming schedule of live performances by local musicians and "talks" by community leaders, which was typical in the very early days of radio.
Before putting WPRC on the air, the 38-year-old Wilson was the printer and editor of "Progress", a publication for railroad employees.
WPRC moved to 1430 kilohertz in 1927, then to 1200 kilohertz with the November 11, 1928 implementation of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40. (WHP and WBAK, the two other stations operating in Harrisburg in 1929, swapped frequencies with WPRC and shared time on 1430 kHz.) WKBO switched to 1230 kHz in 1941, as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement realignment of the AM band.
Wilson sold WPRC to local coal dealer Norman R. Hoffman in 1929. Hoffman changed the call sign to WCOD and moved the studios and transmitter to the Governor Hotel at 4th and Market Streets in downtown Harrisburg. (The building remains part of the city landscape today.) Although Federal Radio Commission records show only Norman Hoffman as the station owner, newspaper articles indicate that Hoffman's father Benjamin was part owner of the station.
The Hoffmans sold WCOD to the Keystone Broadcasting Corporation in 1930. Keystone was originally the partnership of J.D. Pannell, J.S. Blankenhorn, and G.J. Plasey, all of the Harrisburg area.
In 1932, it was revealed that the Stackpole family, the owners of the Telegraph Press, Harrisburg Telegraph newspaper, and WHP, Inc. (WCOD's competitor), had purchased 75% of Keystone's stock. Telegraph Press treasurer Col. Edward J. Stackpole appeared before the Federal Radio Commission in Washington to answer allegations the Telegraph was involved in a radio monopoly in Harrisburg. The exact outcome of Stackpole's testimony is unclear since the Telegraph organization continued to hold its majority interests in both WHP and WCOD.