KQV to go silent at year’s end
December 15, 2017
The staff of KQV-AM (1410) found out today that the station will suspend broadcasting at year’s end. The key word in this is “suspension” suggesting the station could return if an investor or two come to the table.
Bob Dickey, Jr. told the Post-Gazette this afternoon, “it’s fair to say we’ve been trying to provide a community service. The bottom line is I just can’t sustain the business model. We are in independent, labor-intensive format, and we were happy to take it on as long as we could financially do it.”
KQV switched to all news in 1975 and Mr. Dickey’s father was a station manager who later received financial backing from Richard Mellon’s Scaiffe to purchase the station in 1982. Mr. Dickey, Sr. died in 2011 and Mr. Scaiffe sold his shares to the family in 2013. The junior Mr. Dickey and his sister, Cheryl Scott, ran the station together until her death last month.
Whoa! So sad. The late George Hart must be rolling over in his grave.
WOW! A historic loss. Let\’s hope that some investors can put together a business model that can work for KQV.
If they sell the Transmitter site the license is worthless as 1410 is a tight fit between WHAG hagerstown WING Dayton ,on 1400 WBBD Wheeling with a good signal in southern allegheny county, and 1420 WHK Cleveland. an axcess road would need to be built to get to the Transmitter site for Development, and the people in that area would fight that. they stopped a right turning lane from siebert road to babcock bvd from being built.
It is a shame that such a legendary radio station may (most likely will) go dark. I do remember the tail end of KQV playing music when I was a very young child and I do remember Jeff Christie who is now Rush Limbaugh. Would be nice to see if Rush could save it if he would invest. If we lose 1410 kc, we might not get it back again as Phil above made the point where we have other stations on 1410 relatively close by as well as WBBD here in the Ohio Valley on 1400. I do remember the stories Jim Quinn told of his KQV days as well as him telling the story when he would turn up the radio when the Beatles song, \”A Day in the Life\” where at night, he could hear WING\’s signal under KQV when AM skip would come in.
BTW, Babcock and Siebert intersection is a very dangerous place, a right turn lane would be a great idea. I know this because mother and I get hit in a car accident there in 1994. I live just northwest of Wheeling on the Ohio side of the river but I\’m from Moon Township originally and go to work near Pittsburgh. I have relatives in the North Hills and when I come upon that intersection, I am very careful. Getting back on the subject, I always admired those 5 towers since I was a kid. I remember seeing them behind Zayre\’s when it was there.
I wish I had the resources, I\’d love to save KQV. It wold be a nice idea of Jim Quinn, Rose, Rush and a few others would do something or pitch in if they could.
You actually saw the tower site behind Gimbel’s…
Sadly I think there is about as much chance of Rush Limbaugh buying KQV as there is of him buying the Rams and moving them back to St. Louis.