Did you know the Master of Horror, Stephen King, has his own rock radio station? The prolific author of It, Misery, The Shining, Pet Semetary, Carrie, and much more went into the terrestrial radio business in 1983, when he purchased WLBZ - later renaming it WZON in homage to his 1979 novel The Dead Zone. He then acquired the stations WZLO and WKIT, the latter of which has become successful in the Bangor area of Maine for its rock broadcasting.
King announced he was planning on having WKIT (and his two other sister stations) go silent after New Year's Eve, since they were losing money for King and he had to personally cover the deficits. But two businessmen have purchased the station from him, and promise to not let the broadcast go silent.
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According to a report from Billboard, the buyers are the Maine-based duo Greg Hawes and Jeff Solari, who formed Rock Lobster Radio Group to run the station. “WKIT is the most legendary station in the region. It has tremendous history. We couldn’t let it die,” they said in a statement.
General manager Ken Wood, who has been with the stations for 10 years, also acknowledged the end of an era but appreciated Kings’ commitment to local broadcasting.
“Independent, locally owned radio stations used to be the norm,” Wood said. “There’re only a few left in Maine, and we’re lucky we had these three as long as we did.”
King is a lifelong rocker and performed with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band that featured literary icons performing for charity. He announced earlier in December 2024 that at age 77, he thought it was time to say goodbye to the radio stations.
“I’m sorry as hell to be closing down WKIT and its sister stations,” King posted earlier this month on social media. “I held off the suits for as long as I could.”
It wasn't the first time King had lost his stations either; WZON was sold in 1990 but re-acquired by the author three years later.
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King has not publicly commented yet on the recent purchase of WKIT. The author published his last book - a collection of short stories called You Like It Darker - in May, 2023. His next book, Never Flinch, is set for release on May 27, 2025. He's also working on a new Dark Tower story and may continue the Talisman series.
You can visit WKIT's website here.
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Article Image: Stephen King at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. (Kevin Payravi [CC BY 4.0] via Wikimedia Commons)
