WITK

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Wikipedia

WITK
Broadcast areaWilkes-Barre - Scranton
Frequency1550 kHz
BrandingLife Talk 94.7 and 1550
Programming
FormatChristian talk and teaching
Ownership
Owner
  • Wilkins Communications Network
  • (Steel City Radio, Inc.)
KLNG, WLMR, WSKY (AM), WFAM, WBXR, WELP, KCNW, WWNL, WBRI, KXKS, WYYC, WIJD, WNVY, WVTJ, WCPC
History
First air date
June 21, 1953; 72 years ago (1953-06-21) as 1540 WPTS
Former call signs
WKQV, WARD, WPTS
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70868
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts day
  • 500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°20′47″N 75°47′05″W / 41.34639°N 75.78472°W / 41.34639; -75.78472
Translator(s)94.7 W234CY (Pittston)
Links
Public license information
WebcastWITK 1550 Listen Live
WITK 94.7 Listen Live
WebsiteWITK 1550 Online
WITK 94.7 Online

WITK (1550 AM) is a radio station licensed to Pittston, Pennsylvania, and serving Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in Northeast Pennsylvania. The station airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format and is owned by the Wilkins Communications Network, with the license held by Steel City Radio, Inc.

By day, WITK is powered at 10,000 watts. But 1550 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A CBEF in Windsor, Ontario. So at night, WITK must reduce its power to 500 watts to avoid interference. Programming is also heard on FM translator W234CY at 94.7 MHz.

History

The station signed on the air on June 21, 1953. Its call sign was WPTS, owned by the Midway Broadcasting Company.[2] WPTS was a daytimer, required to leave the air at night. In the 1980s, the station was authorized to move one notch up the dial to 1550 AM. That allowed it to increase its daytime power to 10,000 watts and add nighttime service at 500 watts.[3]

The station was sold in 2007 by Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro.[4][5] Steel City Radio, Inc. is part of the Wilkins Communications Network, Inc. of Spartanburg, South Carolina, whose owners, Robert and Luann Wilkins, own 15 other stations in cities such as WWNL (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), WYYC (York, Pennsylvania), KCNW (Kansas City, Missouri), WELP (Greenville, South Carolina), WBRI (Indianapolis, Indiana), and WBXR (Huntsville, Alabama).[6]

Former logo

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WITK". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1956 page 266. Retrieved Aug. 9, 2025.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995 page B-356. Retrieved Aug. 9, 2025.
  4. ↑ Tom Taylor. "Taylor on Radio-Info, July 12, 2007 - Sound Bytes - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton" (PDF). Radio-info.com (Chicago, Illinois). Retrieved July 12, 2007.
  5. ↑ Borys Krawczeniuk. "Cordaro bows out of radio biz". Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania). Retrieved October 1, 2007.
  6. ↑ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - October 15, 2007 - Pennsylvania". Northeast Radio Watch (Rochester, New York). Retrieved October 15, 2007.