Good morning, Pittsburg!

[twickster]

The clock radio went off this morning at 6, to the all-news station – all hunky-dory, except it seemed to be the Pittsburg all-news station. I live in Philly, which is, I dunno, 400 miles or so from Pittsburg.

I did clean my bedroom yesterday, including dusting off the clock radio – I might have nudged the tuner dial a bit – but how the hell would I be getting a station from that far away? Except it was 6 AM, and still darkish out, and I’m sure it’s a high-powered station. Or maybe they’re owned by the same corporation and someone in Philly toggled a switch and got the wrong feed?

All way too complicated for me to figure out now – but it’s a hell of a way to start the morning.

[ShibbOleth]

Isn’t it Pittsburgh?

[BiblioCat]

@ShibbOleth

Isn’t it Pittsburgh?

Yes, it is.

[twickster]

Hey, I told you this all happened too freakin’ early for me to wrap my mind around!

[MsRobyn]

I’m going to make two educated guesses.

First, your clock radio was set to an AM station. Second, it was set to 1020 AM, or somewhere near there, instead of 1060 AM. 1020 in Pittsburgh is KDKA-AM. 1060 is KYW-AM. Both are high-power “clear channel” stations.

On the other hand, unless you bumped your clock radio and changed the frequency or hit the AM/FM switch; or it’s old, in which case the frequency tuner circuit isn’t as precise as it used to be, it could just be that atmospheric conditions were particularly good for a Pittsburgh station to be heard in Philly. It happens.

Robin

[Terrifel]

KDKA is owned by Clear Channel these days? Wow, that kind of blows.

Still, a few Iron City vibes can’t help but be a good influence on Philadelphiah.

[twickster]

Yeah, I have a vague foggy recollection of the letters “KDKA” being tossed around like they were meaningful. Must have jiggled the tuner while I was dusting yesterday.

What a (n appropriately) mundane explanation…

[MsRobyn]

@twickster

Yeah, I have a vague foggy recollection of the letters “KDKA” being tossed around like they were meaningful. Must have jiggled the tuner while I was dusting yesterday.

What a (n appropriately) mundane explanation…

It’s nice to know that four years of college and a year and a half of graduate school are good for something.

FTR, KDKA is owned by CBS Radio, not by Clear Channel Communications. A “clear channel” (lower-case Cs) is a high-powered AM radio station that is intended to cover a large region. They operate at 50,000 watts.

Furthermore, KDKA is one of the first radio stations in the United States to begin operations; the “K” letters were assigned before “K” became assigned to stations west of the Mississippi River. As a so-called legacy station, they are entitled to keep their call letters.

Robin

[Kalhoun]

I remember back in the early 70s, when the weather was juuuuust right we could get a really cool radio station out of Little Rock, Arkansas. I’m in Chicago, so…yeah, it was a long way for those little waves to travel.

[BiblioCat]

@twickster

Hey, I told you this all happened too freakin’ early for me to wrap my mind around!

Sounds like you need some coffee and chocolate.

[whitetho]

@MsRobyn

the “K” letters were assigned before “K” became assigned to stations west of the Mississippi River.

Have we learned nothing from Uncle Cecil? For he clearly reported that the KDKA assignment was actually a fluke, according to his Why do U.S. radio call letters start with W in the east and K in the west (revisited)? column:

But the clerks weren’t done yet. In 1920, Thomas says, “perhaps caught up in a burst of egalitarianism,” or else laboring under a misapprehension as to where the applicants were, they began assigning calls starting with KD to everybody, including the now famous KDKA in Pittsburgh. This lasted only a few months before the old W/K policy was resumed. What happened is not known, but one suspects a memo stating in essence, all right, you morons, enough is enough.

[MsRobyn]

@whitetho

Have we learned nothing from Uncle Cecil? For he clearly reported that the KDKA assignment was actually a fluke, according to his Why do U.S. radio call letters start with W in the east and K in the west (revisited)? column:

I apologize for spreading that bit of ignorance. In my defense, however, I hadn’t read that second column.

Robin, who will make a note to correct her History of Radio PowerPoint.

[Sternvogel]

@ShibbOleth

Isn’t it Pittsburgh?

Hey, had she gotten a radio station from Pittsburg, it would have been thrice as impressive as pulling in a broadcast from Pittsburgh…

Besides Pittsburgh’s KDKA and Philadelphia’s KYW, another exception to the general east/west divide between “W” and “K” stations is WACO-FM, located (appropriately enough) in the Texas city of Waco.

[MsRobyn]

@Sternvogel

Hey, had she gotten a radio station from Pittsburg, it would have been thrice as impressive as pulling in a broadcast from Pittsburgh…

Besides Pittsburgh’s KDKA and Philadelphia’s KYW, another exception to the general east/west divide between “W” and “K” stations is WACO-FM, located (appropriately enough) in the Texas city of Waco.

And WLOL and WCCO in the Twin Cities. Of course, the Mississippi runs right through it, but still.

Robin