Photo Credit: Bruno Guerrero
Stephen King is saying goodbye to several Maine radio stations he helped keep afloat for several years. The impacted radio stations include WKIT 100.3 FM, WZLO 620 AM, and WZON 103.1 FM. All three will stop broadcasting on December 31.
The legendary horror author shared that he and his wife Tabitha King are proud to have helped the radio stations stay on the air for so long. “While radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, I’ve loved being a local independent owner all these years,” King said in statement. “I’ve loved the people who’ve gone to these stations every day and entertained folks, kept the equipment running, and given local advertisers a way to connect with their customers.”
Stephen King first purchased a radio station he rebranded to WZON as a reference to his book ‘The Dead Zone.’ The station went through a few programming changes before closing and then being acquired by King in 1990. King admits that he is feeling his 77 years and feels it is time to “get his business affairs in better order.” King performed with the Rock Bottom Remainders in his youth.
General manager Ken Wood says the stations have consistently lost money over the decades—with Stephen King eating those losses himself. King is a life-long rock and roll fan who bought the radio stations due to his love of music and as a listener in the Bangor area. Wood has served as the general manager of the station group for the past decade.
“Independent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm,” Wood shared. “There’s only a few left in Maine, and we’re lucky we had these three as long as we did.”
The news of the shut down comes as even conglomerates like iHeartMedia are struggling with their radio properties. The mega conglomerate recently announced a restructure that impacted several hundred jobs across the country.