Time running out for WGBN
July 18, 2016Time is running out on the STA for WGBN (1360 McKeesport). The station was granted special temporary authority to remain silent on February 1 and the permit expires on July 30 after which it is likely the licence will be deleted. Nobody seems to know why WGBN and it sister station WMNY (1150 New Kensington) have been off the air for so long. Many suspect it is due to financial distress of the stations’ owner Pentecostal Temple Development Corporation.
PBRTV has had reports that WMNY has been on the air at times in the last six months, but reports have been inconsistent despite the fact that a resumption of operations was granted on April 13. WMNY has been for sale for quite some time. Meanwhile it’s still possible that WGBN could sign on for a day or two merely for the purpose of extending the STA.
Several people interested in the matter have tried to reach out to Pentecostal Temple Development, but most have reported that there was no answer and that they have received no reply.
1150 was donated to Pentecostal Temple Development in the early 1990s by Salem Communications. At the time the station was WKPA and shortly thereafter became the original WGBN. 1360 was donated in 2013 by Renda Broadcasting who operated the station under several call letters, but the most recent being WMNY. Renda Broadcasting still owns the daytime tower site for 1360 and has rented the space out to PTDC since donating the station.
Maybe they’re concentrating on WMNY. I have heard that station several times in recent weeks at AM 1150.
I hear WMNY a lot on 1150, with light talk, and announcements like ‘Gospel music is here to stay’ and similar. I liked them on 1360, way better signal here in Greentree by day.
I also noticed a format change on WJPA, which I hear on 1450, they have more variety and an ‘expect the unexpected’ format. I heard Blondie’s ‘Rapture’ this morning, haven’t heard that on any AM station for years!
Boomer
I doubt there’s any mystery. Most likely they just don’t have the money to operate.
Ideally it should return to being a community station for McKeesport. Drip down to 1kW nondirectional day and night from the current night site. That would reduce its operating costs. Then let the people at WMCK.fm program it.
I’d like to see that, WMCK seems to be so dedicated to local radio and information, and they’re not just someone who pops up and says they’ll do something, they’ve been in the game programming radio for a long time.
Not long ago I heard a piece of WMCK’s show on ham radio Field Day on KQV, it was the last 5 minutes or so, and later went to WMCK’s site to listen to it all, on the podcast version.
The question is, could they afford to acquire it and keep it going? A kilowatt on a single tower wouldn’t seem to be too hard. I’d like to hear more local, real radio voices.
Boomer
I know that attempts to Purchase Both 1150 and Especially 1360 Had been made to Loran Mann. But he is not Responding.
According to the FCC website, the license would not be deleted until December. An STA is the easiest thing to extend. A good example is WKGE in Johnstown. They have been on a silent STA for a couple of years with supposed transmitter trouble. They have even gotten a renewal thru the commission while silent. I wouldn\’t discount WGBN yet.