City Hempstead, New York Frequency 98.3 MHz | Branding K 98.3 First air date 1947 | |
Broadcast area Long Island
Eastern New York City & suburbs Slogan Music That Makes You Feel Good | ||
WKJY (98.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Hempstead, New York. It broadcasts an adult contemporary format. The station, whose studios are located at 234 Airport Plaza Suite 5 in Farmingdale, New York, is owned by Connoisseur Media.
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About
While the majority of the station's focus is on Long Island (predominantly Nassau and Western Suffolk), it also provides city-grade coverage to the eastern portion of New York City--specifically, Queens and eastern Brooklyn. It provides grade B coverage to most of the rest of New York City, though in some parts in interferes with similarly-formatted station WMGQ of New Brunswick, New Jersey, owned by Greater Media and also on 98.3.
Along with WBZO, WHLI, and WIGX, WKJY was purchased by Connoisseur from Barnstable Broadcasting for $23 million in 2012.
Local competitors with the same format and similar playlists in the New York Metro area include WLTW, 106.7 Lite FM, as well as hot adult contemporary stations WPLJ & WWFS. By 2012, WKJY became one of two Mainstream AC stations transmitting to Long Island following rival WALK-FM's shift to hot adult contemporary. (The other is WBAZ 102.5, although the two have vastly different signal coverage).
Previously known as "K-Joy 98.3," the station changed its branding to the current "K 98.3" in July 2013. This might have something to do with the station known as KJOY in Stockton, California.
Controversy
On February 13, 2014, an anti-gay note allegedly sent by a Baldwin mother in response to a birthday party invite from two gay dads was a hoax carried out by two local radio DJs. The hosts of the K-98.3 Morning Show, Steve Harper — also the station's program director — and Leanna Karlson, admitted the weekend after that the story was "totally fictitious" and that they fabricated it to "spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic." An apology was posted on the radio station's website.
The statement said that the hoax was perpetrated without the knowledge of the station's management. The fabricated RSVP was first posted to the radio station's Facebook page. The photo of the party invite had been scrawled with a response supposedly from a homophobic mother that included statements such as, "I will not subject my innocent son to your 'lifestyle.'" The radio station's management issued a statement saying it has a responsibility to its listeners to be accurate, and is looking at "all courses of action." The station announced on the evening of February 16 that the two hosts were suspended.