WQZS

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WQZS
WQZS.jpg
CityMeyersdale, Pennsylvania
Broadcast areaSomerset County (limited)
Frequency93.3 MHz
BrandingQZ-93
Programming
Language(s)English
Format
AffiliationsCBS News Radio
Ownership
OwnerRoger Wahl
(d/b/a Target Broadcasting, Inc.)
History
First air date
October 26, 1992
(29 years ago) (1992-10-26)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID57424
ClassA
ERP630 watts
HAAT294 meters (965 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°47′49″N 79°10′04″W / 39.79694°N 79.16778°W / 39.79694; -79.16778
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS

WQZS (93.3 FM) – branded QZ-93 – is a commercial oldies and classic rock radio station licensed to serve Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Locally owned by Roger Wahl d/b/a Target Broadcasting, the station services Somerset County along with nearby Cumberland, Frostburg, and Oakland, and is the regional affiliate for CBS News Radio. The founder of WQZS, Wahl also acts as both the station's operations manager and morning host, billed on-air as "The Commander".[1]

The station only currently operates via an analog transmission, with a Facebook page being their lone online presence.

History[]

The station was founded by Roger Wahl, a Somerset County native who worked in the Altoona radio market during the early and mid-1970s. He gave up working in radio to care for an ailing family member in the late 1970s and returned to the Meyersdale area as a result. He was working as a regional sales manager for a Maryland beer distributor when he began planning WQZS. One of Wahl's customers on his account list owned a radio station, and the two men struck up a friendship which frequently included radio shop talk. One day, the conversation led to Wahl's client informing him of a window of new FM applications, including a drop-in frequency at 93.3 MHz in Meyersdale.[2]

Wahl applied for a construction permit on August 8, 1988, but it was not until July 1990 that the FCC granted the application, turning away another applicant for the frequency.[3] From a transmitter on Mount Davis, the state's highest point,[4] WQZS began broadcasting on October 26, 1992,[5] with an oldies format. The station operated with a staff of nine: three sales consultants, a receptionist, a news director, three announcers, and Wahl, taking the title of Station Director. WQZS has changed little since going on the air, having the same owner, format, and studio location at 128 Hunsrick Road in Summit Township, about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Meyersdale and in the foothills of the Meyersdale Wind Energy Center.

Arrest[]

Wahl was arrested in September 2019 amid accusations that he created a fake dating profile and used it to solicit men to rape a 61-year-old woman known to him. Wahl was further accused of placing a trail camera in the woman's bathroom without her knowledge or consent.[6] The victim also obtained a protection from abuse order against Wahl.[7] Wahl waived his right to a preliminary hearing in November 2019 and negotiated a guilty plea in Somerset County Court in June 2020.[8]

In March 2020, Wahl filed an application to transfer control of WQZS to his daughter, Wendy Sipple, for $10. The FCC approved the transfer on June 1, 2020; after the guilty plea, it reversed its decision in a July 13 order, returning the application to pending status.[9] Wahl was sentenced November 17, 2020, on felony charges of criminal use of a communications facility, misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment, unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, tampering with evidence, and identity theft; however, he was not incarcerated due to his age, health, and risks involved with incarceration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was instead sentenced to three years of restricted probation, with four months of electronic monitoring. He was also forbidden from being on the air during the electronic monitoring.[10]

On October 19, 2021, the FCC issued a hearing designation order beginning a proceeding to revoke WQZS's license as a result of his multiple misdemeanors; it also held the application to transfer WQZS to Sipple in abeyance.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Murray, Ashley (November 24, 2018). "Meyersdale: Ready and eager for small-town tourism". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. ^ Hackleman, Kathy (December 2013). "On the air: Local radio keeps rural communities connected" (PDF). Penn Lines. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  3. ^ "New Stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 30, 1990. p. 78. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  4. ^ "Somerset County Radio". Somerset Daily American. April 17, 1995. p. Bicentennial 35. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  5. ^ "Broadcasting begins". Maple Valley News. October 28, 1992. p. Shopper 4. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  6. ^ "Police: Meyersdale man created dating profile to get strangers to rape his friend". WJAC-TV. September 9, 2019. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Buchnowski, Patrick (September 21, 2019). "PFA issued against Somerset County radio station owner". The Tribune-Democrat. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Venta, Lance (July 8, 2020). "WQZS Owner Pleads Guilty To Multiple Charges Of Trying To Solicit Strangers To Rape Friend". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (July 19, 2020). "FCC Report 7/19: Guilty Plea To Rape Charges Leads To Rescinding Of Sale Approval". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Buchnowski, Patrick (November 17, 2020). "Meyersdale radio station owner sentenced in sex case". The Tribune-Democrat. Archived from the original on May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
  11. ^ Carey, Michelle M. (October 19, 2021). "Hearing Designation Order, Order to Show Cause, and Notice of Opportunity for Hearing (DA 21-1305)" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.

External links[]

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