13Q

13Q was the top 40 radio station WKTQ 1320 AM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1973 to 1980. Formerly WJAS, which first went on the air in 1922, 1320 AM was sold in 1973 to Heftel Communications, who changed the call letters and turned the new format into a major ratings success during the 1970's. In 1973, Pittsburgh's 50,000 watt radio station KDKA accounted for approximately 25% of listeners, while smaller competitors such as KQV used a music playlist based on contemporary hits aimed at younger listeners to gain their market share. 13Q sought the same kind of listener, the market of nighttime teenage listeners, with more innovative marketing techniques, such as the station's hipper image. The non-traditional identification "13-Q," for example, was a novel twist on the call letter identification, which the station only made as "WKTQ" once per hour per FCC rules. The station's promotion material, such as the free music surveys it distributed throughout the Pittsburgh area, also connoted a hippie subculture that by 1973 was commercially mainstreamed, though not used by 13Q's more traditionally oriented competitor, KQV. 13Q also relied for its appeal on a commercial load of eight minutes per hour to garner a large enough audience to justify to ad buyers a profitable rate for advertising time. At one point, 13Q achieved ratings second only to KDKA, but with the new and rising popularity of FM Rock, 13Q's popularity declined by the late 70's. Heftel sold the station in 1981 when it returned to its former WJAS call letters and a format consisting of adult standards.

13Q was known in Pittsburgh for its "Cash Call," an ongoing radio contest via which one could win a jackpot that started at $1300 by answering the telephone "I listen to the new sound of 13Q" when the station's disc jockey called. If the party did not answer the phone with the prize winning phrase, 13Q increased the jackpot $100 for the next prize. Thus, perhaps thousands of Pittsburghers answered their telephone with the unique phrase, though the chances of winning were slight.

13Q's disk jockeys and newscasters

Jackson Armstrong

Ed Barrett

Don Bombard

Andrea Bray

Buzz Brindle

Dave Brooks

Brother Al

Eric Chase

Don Cox (d. 2003)

Mike Dineen

Gary Drake

Mark Driscoll

Jack Forsythe

Don Geronimo

Bob Gray

Dick Grimes (deceased)

Sam Holman (d. 1986)

Rick Hughes

Jessie

Batt "Batman" Johnson

JoJo Kincaid

Kelly Kristian

Earl "The Pearl" Lewis

Marcus

Michael Henry Martin

Dave Mason

Bob McClain "Your Breakfast Flake"

Cary Pall

Jim Quinn

Eddie Rodgers

Dr. Sarzynski (deceased)

Mark Shands

Greg Stevens

Patte Sullivan

Bill Tanner in the Morning

Vicki

Dennis Waters

Ray Zoller ("The Ray City Zollers")

External Links

Jeff Roteman's 13Q web site.[1]

Scans of some of 13Q's music surveys.[2]