City Key West, Florida | Broadcast area Florida Keys | |
Branding KONK 1500 AM Community Radio for Key West Slogan "The little station with the big voice!" Frequency 1500 kHz (WKIZ, brokered) First air date May 26, 2009 (2009-05-26) | ||
KONK is a community radio operation in Key West, Florida. As of May 2010, it broadcasts through a brokering agreement with licensed AM broadcasting station WKIZ on 1500 kHz. Program material originating from the station's White Street studio is broadcast via 3 towers located on 5th Avenue on Stock Island.
Contents
The station is owned by Overseas Radio, LLC, and managed by founder Guy deBoer.
History
KONK originally signed on May 26, 2009 as an unlicensed station operating under U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Part 15 low power rules, broadcasting on 1630 kHz (and later, 1680 kHz) at 1 milliwatt from a single 130 ft. tower in Cow Key Channel on Simonton Street, covering only the island of Key West. KONK's venture into community radio was a first for Key West, as is the all-talk format.
In May 2010, Overseas Radio began brokering broadcasting time on WKIZ, a 250-watt radio station owned by Seattle Streaming Radio, dramatically increasing its coverage area to the entire Florida Keys and even to Havana, Cuba.
Programming
KONK's programming consists of live talk radio with callers and guests covering a variety of topics of local and larger interest. Shows, topics, and hosts change every hour from 7am to 6pm weekdays, with local music aired outside of those times. Special productions, including live music performances, are aired on weekends.
The show ArtWaves is broadcast weekdays by community arts advocate and producer Michael Shields. The daily show focuses on the Key West arts community, showcasing artists from every discipline, arts administrators and policy makers, the arts business community and non-profit sectors, alike.
The radio station was called "The Best Talk Radio Station in Florida" by Florida Monthly magazine (September 2010).