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The U-47 Mic that was in KIX Control for many years

A WKIX Ad from the early 60s

This is the WKIX "Tunedex" from August 23, 1970. Note the smiling and amazingly young "Men of Music".
Below are pictures and their captions from Southern Broadcasting's November 1967 newsletter, "STATION BREAK". The full text is below.
To see the a scan complete newsletter, click here--and if you have a dial-up connection, prepare for a wait.
THE IMPRESSIVE FOUR-TOWER ARRAY in the background has become a landmark for travelers on the Raleigh-Chapel Hill highway.
BUILDING AND TOWERS - The home of WKIX and WKIX-FM. The building formerly housed the transmitters of WNAO-TV, a now-defunct UHF station. Several additions to the building provided studio space, offices and rest rooms for WKIX, which moved to its pressent location in 1959.
WHO'S MINDING THE STORE?
CONTROL ROOM--For the moment, at least. Sweeping proposed renovations by Southern Brodcasting promise new, comfortable, up-dated facilities, some of which have already begun to materilize.
KIX Music Men Look for a Hit
PRODUCTION ROOM--KIX's Charlie Brown auditions a new hit single with Tommy Walker and Russ Spooner in the production room. All commercial and promotional productions are taped in this studio, as well as WKIX's religious and farm programs.
ENGINEERING DEPT. - KIX's new chief engineer Floyd Houpt, and his 10,000-watt responsibility. In addition to the main AM transmitter, WKIX maintains a 1,000-watt standby AM transmitter, a 29,500-watt ERP FM transmitter, and a husky diesel-operated standby power generator. Houpt, formerly of Channel 8 television, was promoted to WKIX in September. Houpt worked for Channel 8 as a day supervisor of studio engineering from January 1966 until his promotion to WKIX in September.
OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT - Tommy Walker assignes a production order to Bob Jones (no relations to the boss!) This is the nerve center (in more ways than one) of WKIX. All start orders and production orders must pass through this department and be assigned to the announcer best qualified to handle the project.
ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENT - The new boss, Mr. Carl Glicken, General Manager, and his helpful secretary, Bonnie Yeargan, Mr. Glicken has already instituted a number of changes in WKIX policy, including shorter work week for employees, improved working conditions, a new rate schedule, and the purchase of new, much-needed equipment. Needless to say, the staff of WKIX looks forward to his frequent memorandums. (Next step: More pay?)
TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT - Marge Karafa, Traffic Manager, inspecting a start order for a schedule which should have started yesterday. (How did that happen, Margie?) Sympathizing with Margie is Jackie Buckner, Bookkeeper, who panics at the thought of what this dilemma will do to her day's postings.
SALES DEPARTMENT -- J. Harold Vester, Salesmanager, explains to Al Smith and Bob Kelly how to explain to their clients the increase in the WKIX rate card. Each man handles 50 to 75 accounts. WKIX's Broadcasting range covers a large territory, 26 counties from Greensboro on the West to Wilson on the East, so each salesman really has to work.
HERE IS THE TEXT OF THE NEWSLETTER
The Giant of the South (November 1967)

In January, 1959, the FCC approved the transfer of ownership of radio station WKIX and WKIX-FM from Ted Oberfelder to a group of Greensboro investors headed by Hugh H. Holder, a veteran CBS announcer, for the consideration of $215,000. Eight and a half years later, WKIX again changed hands. This time, the consideration was one and a half million dollars. This is the story of those eight and a half years.

In those days the WKIX studios were located in the Carolina Hotel in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and transmitters were between Cary and Raleigh in a remote area known as Asbury. One of the new manager-owner's first decisions was to move the studios to the transmitter building, eliminating the need for rent and a full-time transmitter engineer. Administrative offices were moved from the hotel to the transitter building two years later.

The modernization of WKIX's format began in August of 1959 with the hiring of J. Harold Vester as Station Manager. Under "Mr. V's" iron-fisted format policies, the new WKIX began to emerge as a leader in the contemporary radio sound.

One of the biggest North Carolina radio coups of the decade was the hiring of Jimmy Capps, whose late-evening request program, "Our Best to You", had been heard on rival station WPTF for fifteen years.

Jimmy's winning personality and innate knowledge of radio served as inspiration to his fellow employees and excitement to his local fans until he succomed to cancer in August of this year. Jimmy's program had been syndicated with WKIX serving as originating station to a network of almost twenty stations.

In 1960 a part-time announcer joined WKIX on a full-time basis. Tommy Walker has been a permanent fixture at KIX ever since.

A local drive-in restaurant became a favorite gathering place for teens and a valuable WKIX "billboard" with KIX's popular request program, "The Music Box Show", a four-hour remote broadcast. Bob Jones replaced Mike Reneiri on the program in 1960 and has remaind with WKIX ever since, with the exception of a two-year sabbatical in the ussed car business.

It was during this period, 1959-1962, that the addition of offices and new equipment was made, and "The Giant of the South" began to grow.

In January of 1964, Mr. Holder negotiated the sale of WKIX to Henderson Belk of Charlotte for what ammounted to $825,000, and the Giant of the South continued to grow.

WKIX was added to the growing family of Southern Broadcasting Company in August of this year (1967) and the future has never seemed brighter.


KIX COUNTRY GAINS CARL GLICKEN

WKIX's new General Manager is Carl Glicken. he assumes his duties of the 10,000 watt Raleigh, North Carolina operation in August. Glicken, a native of New York, is genuinely excited about Southern Broadcasting's newest facility, saying, "of all the facillities we have WKIX has the greatest potential, in my opinion. Certainly, WKIX is the most important facility in the state of North Carolina and we will make certain that it continues to be."

The personable new manger atteneded the University of Oklahoma, NYU an dCity College in New York. Glicken earned a degree in accounting and did post-graduate work in radio, television and advertising. Before coming to WKIX, Carl was associated with the Rounsaville Radio Group for almost twelve years. Rounsaville's home office is located in Atlanta, Georgia. Before joining Southern and WKIX, he was General Manager of WDAE in Tampa, Florida. Since Glicken has become General Manager, WKIX has gone to full-time broadcasting twenty-four hours a day. The station operates on 10,000 watts during daylight hours and 5,000 watts at night, holding the enviable dial position of 850 kilocycles.

Further plans for WKIX are in the offering. "We are expanding the News Department right now with the projected plan being three full-time newsmen, including a News Director," Glicken noted. A separate newsroom and office is now being built at wikix; the present facility is in the control room.

In addition, two new offices are being built. One will be used by the new Program Director, John Stanton; the other, by copywriter Sue Taylor.

Glicken and his lovely wife Connie are the parents of three boys, ages 12, 10, and 8, and a six year old daughter. The family resides at 4922 Quail Hollow Drive in Raleigh.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

The Program Director at WKIX is John Stanton. The former program director at WTOB, "Honest" John is gatehring an even wider audience at WKIX with his "bumper-to-bumper" music and chatter in the afternoon drive time slot.

John and his charming wife Pat have bought a home in Raleigh and are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child in February.



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