# Radio call letters that have local significance **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799 "2007-12-04T17:54:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/101 "2016-12-03T21:52:37Z")
KRUX in Las Cruces, NM. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/102 "2016-12-04T00:25:27Z")
KVIE TV in Sacramento is Channel six, and PBS, therefore educational TV. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/103 "2016-12-04T01:15:23Z")
KUOI was the University of Idaho radio station located on the Moscow campus. If I remember correctly, its range was not much farther than the campus boundary. KWAL is headquartered in Wallace, Idaho. The studio and transmitter are located in Osburn. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/104 "2016-12-04T01:51:44Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > WLUP was mentioned. Prior to those call letters, it was WCFL, owned by the Chicago Federation of Labor. Who remembers Larry Lujack? Fond memories of WCFL coming in late at night after the tubes warmed up in the radio by my bed. Which was weird, because I was way up north in Wisconsin. Weirder was that after midnight we got KAAY, Little Rock, Arkansas (anyone remember their show “Bleeker Street”? First time I heard ‘hippie music’ broadcast). So, any logic behind KAAY… or KDKA (Pittsburgh – I understand they had some exemption from the “Stations east of the Mississippi must start with a W” rule)? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/105 "2016-12-04T02:51:49Z")
Houston’s public (FM) radio and TV stations are KUHF and KUHT, broadcast from the University of Houston. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/106 "2016-12-04T17:21:19Z")
> [@digs](#): > > So, any logic behind KAAY… or KDKA (Pittsburgh – I understand they had some exemption from the “Stations east of the Mississippi must start with a W” rule)? [The Perfect Master says nobody really knows what happened with KDKA.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2303/why-do-u-s-radio-call-letters-start-with-w-in-the-east-and-k-in-the-west-revisited) ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/107 "2016-12-04T22:19:58Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > For example, 96.5 KOIT makes sense in SF, which has Coit Tower. Similarly, 104.5 KFOG is a good way to allude to the fog that’s a pervasive part of life in the City here. > > What other examples can you think of? In SF there was KSAN and KIOI (both the frequency 101.3 and the 101 Freeway?). Further south was the eclectic country K **FAT** (the wide spot on the dial) later replaced by the current K **PIG** - two of my all time favorite stations. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/108 "2016-12-05T00:53:13Z")
Prior to 1978, MIT’s student radio station was WTBS, which they said stood for Tech Broadcasting Station. Then Ted Turner “bought” it so the call letters could stand for Turner Broadcast Station, and MIT changed its to WMBR, for Walker Memorial Basement Radio. (The studio always was in the basement of Walker Memorial, the old student center prior to the Julius Adams Stratton building going up on Mass Ave.) > **[WMBR](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMBR)** > > WMBR is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's student-run college radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and broadcasting on 88.1 FM. It is all-volunteer and funded by listener donations and MIT funds. Both students and community members can apply for positions, and like many college radio stations, WMBR offers diverse programming ranging from talk shows to music including RnB to electronic music. > As of 2022, the general manager is Claire McLellan-Cassivi and the program dire... ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/109 "2016-12-05T13:03:15Z")
No mention yet of WGN (World’s Greatest Newspaper)? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/110 "2016-12-05T14:01:00Z")
None at all, except in the sixth post. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/111 "2016-12-05T15:22:59Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Indianapolis must be the all-time winner in word callsigns, having had at one time or another WIRE, WISH, WIFE, WTHR (channel THiRteen), and WNDY (W-Indy). You forgot WNAP for Naptown. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/112 "2016-12-05T16:04:41Z")
WHRB is Harvard Radio Broadcasting. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/113 "2016-12-05T17:49:08Z")
I just thought of another one. [KORN](http://www.1490korn.com/) in Mitchell, SD, home of the world’s only [corn palace](http://cornpalace.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/114 "2016-12-05T18:58:23Z")
WGBH (public radio and TV in Boston) is named after Great Blue Hill, where the radio transmitter is and original TV transmitter was. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/115 "2016-12-05T21:10:10Z")
Some more local university stations: KUSC is the University of Southern California (aka USC) station KLON used to be **LON** g Beach School District, then Cal State **Lon** g Beach’s station. They’ve since changed the call letters to KJZZ (they play jazz) KCSN - Cal State Northridge KNHS - North High School - yep, a high school station. It had a range of about 3 miles, and I could just barely pick it up at my house. And while there was no local significance that I know of, San Jose’s KOME-FM had the best promos. “Don’t touch that dial, it’s got KOME on it” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/116 "2016-12-05T21:21:29Z")
KENI in Anchorage, AK. Kenai (pronounced ‘KEEN-eye’ is the name of a town, a river and a peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/117 "2016-12-05T21:31:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Kenai (pronounced ‘KEEN-eye’ is the name of a town, a river and a peninsula. [You forgot one.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenai_Mountains) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/118 "2016-12-06T21:33:45Z")
WBAL for Baltimore is pretty obvious. WNAV for Annapolis named for the Naval Academy. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/119 "2016-12-06T22:02:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Classic / hard rock station [WAPL](http://www.wapl.com/)’s call sign is a reference to its location in Appleton, WI. > > TV station [WBAY](http://wbay.com/) is located in Green Bay, WI. WAPL gained some noteriety when prince William (William Arthur Philip Lewis) was born – IIRC the radio station set a T-shirt (wikipedia sais they sent “gifts”) WKAU (no longer in exitance) refered th Kaukauna, WI though wikipedia says the FM station (now WPCK - packers) is in Denmark, WI. The AM station (was WJOK now also off teh air) was in Kaukauna WLAX (Fox 25) refers to La Crosse, WI not Los Angeles Brian ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799/120 "2016-12-06T22:46:23Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > WAPL gained some noteriety when prince William (William Arthur Philip Lewis) was born – IIRC the radio station set a T-shirt (wikipedia sais they sent “gifts”) > > WKAU (no longer in exitance) refered th Kaukauna, WI though wikipedia says the FM station (now WPCK - packers) is in Denmark, WI. The AM station (was WJOK now also off teh air) was in Kaukauna I remember WAPL sending Prince William the t-shirt, and being amused by it. WKAU was my favorite station when I was in high school in Green Bay in the early 80s. I’m sad that it’s gone. Another radio station in the Green Bay area: WNFL, which got those call letters in the 1960s, when the Packers were winning NFL championships. The station has carried Packers broadcasts in the past, as well, though they don’t do so today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-call-letters-that-have-local-significance/428799.md?page=5)