What's in a name?
There's an interesting thread on Radio-Info about the meanings behind the call letters of local radio and television stations. There is a rhyme and reason behind why a station chose its call letters. For example...
WBRE: Baltimore Radio and Engineering, the station's original owners.
WYOU: Working for YOU. Never heard this one, myself.
WNEP: North East Pennsylvania - or - We're North Eastern Pennsylvania.
But given recent developments in this market, perhaps the following would be more appropriate...
WBRE: Bring Resumes, Eeverybody!
WYOU: What, You Operate Understaffed?
WNEP: Where Nobody's Ever Pleased.
But given recent developments in this market, perhaps the following would be more appropriate...
posted by Howard Beale at 12:32 PM
22 Comments:
What about the University of North Texas radio station?
What do its call letters look like?
Probably not much worse than the Hispanic station in Bridgeport CT, WCUM, 1450 (formerly, for many years, WNAB).
KNTU-FM.
KNTU-FM. SIMPLE GOOGLE SEARCH. WHAT'S YOUR POINT?
The "W" does not stand for anything. Every TV and radio station east of the Misssissippi River starts with a "W." All TV and Radio stations west of the Mississippi start with a "K."
Hey wait, I think Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV is east of the Mississippi. I could be wrond though... oh wait...
www.kdka.com
Not so fast... that is generally the rule, save for KDKA in Pittsburgh. I am unsure about the history there, and why they are a Kay and not a Dubya.
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In reply to 7:38pm:
W stands for USA, as does K.
AFAIK, ships operating in the Pacific had "W" callsigns, just like radio/tv stations; b/c stations west of the M River had "K" calls to distinguish them.
The opposite for east of the M River.
ex: WBET, Brockton MA, is owned by the Brockton Enterprise-Times, previously by the Boston Evening Tribune (or Transcript) ... but originally was a ship callsign and I think was in the Pacific "W" area.
I am unsure about the history there, and why they are a Kay and not a Dubya.
KDKA was assigned its call sign in 1920, when the government handed out call signs randomly. When more stations sought licenses, the government came up with the K-for-west and W-for-east scheme. Existing stations with geographically-incorrect call signs were grandfathered into the system. For example:
KDKA, Pittsburgh
KYW, Philadelphia
WCCO, Minneapolis, MN
WOWT, Omaha, NE
WOAI, San Antonio, TX
WHO, Des Moines, IA
Radio stations east of the Mississippi with a K at the beginning of the call sign are as follows:
KYW--Philadelphia
KQV--Pittsburgh
KDKA--Pittsburgh
End of story.
WDAF Kansas City
WDAY Fargo
WHB Kansas City
WBAP Dallas
WFAA Dallas
WRR Dallas (I think that's still there)
KDKA and KYW are also TV stations...
Now, you know the rest of the story...
KDKA - First licensed radio station in the country, correct?
KYW - Was part of some sort of ownership swap ordered by the FCC. Details a little fuzzy right now.
KLM, Netherlands.
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9:31 said: KDKA - First licensed radio station in the country, correct?
AFAIK, there are three, depending on how you slice it.
KCBS is listed in the Broadcasting Yearbook as the oldest, at 1909. It was Doc Herrold's high school ham station which evolved into a b/c station and now regarded as the first.
KKDA was --I forget whose; Conrad's?-- ham station in Pittsburgh which had the choice of staying amateur or going b/c. It was the first to do real b/c stuff, basically the election returns.
WWJ was, I think, the first station to have a regular sked; something like three times a week. They say this makes them the first b/c station in the sense that you could tune in and listen regularly.
WBAX is supposedly the sixth licensed station in the US.
KLM, Netherlands.
10:04 PM
Nice!
This website has all of the information about the history of the "K" and "W" calls.
http://earlyradiohistory.us/
Pretty fascinating stuff for radio geeks.
WBRE stands for...
Where
Beginners
R'
Encouraged
WBRE stands for...
Where
Beginners
R'
Encouraged
7:13 PM
More like Exploited.
WBRE...
Where
Bullshit
Reigns
Eternal
Not true, Meester 7:38 p.m. Ever hear of KDKA in Pittsburgh?
Only one like it. First radio station and all that ya know.
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