"Golden Age of Radio." For many years, WKBN was one of only two radio stations licensed to Youngstown. (WFMJ, now WNIO, signed on in 1939.) The station also broadcast some shows on Radio Luxembourg to American troops in Europe during World War II. On February 8, 1943, Alan Freed started his early radio career on WKBN. He later went on to a career as a noted rock and roll disc jockey. MOR and talk As network programming moved to TV from radio in the 1950s, WKBN switched from CBS shows to a middle of the road format of popular music, news, sports and talk. As listeners increasingly tuned to FM for music, WKBN added more talk programming. By the 1990s, the music shows had ended as WKBN transitioned to all talk, with frequent news updates and sports coverage. FM and TV stations Warren Williamson started 98.9 WKBN-FM in 1948. At first, it simulcast the same programming as the AM station. In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it carried an automated beautiful music format. The FM station is now adult contemporary WMXY. He also started WKBN-TV in 1953, which became a predominantly CBS-TV affiliate in part due to the AM station's long history with the radio network. WKBN-TV to this day has retained the CBS-TV affiliation. In 1997, the TV station was sold to Gocom, while WKBN-AM-FM would later be sold to a different owner. Changes in ownership On January 22, 1999, the Williamson family sold WKBN and WKBN-FM to Jacor Communications, ending 73 years of family ownership. Jacor, however, did not own the stations very long. On April 29, 1999, Clear Channel Communications completed its $6.5 billion purchase of Jacor and its 454 stations, including WKBN and WKBN-FM. In September 2014, Clear Channel Communications became iHeartMedia, Inc. Former staff members Jack Berch began his radio career at WKBN. He went on to have The Jack Berch Show, which ran at various times on four networks (1935-1954). Alan Freed began his radio career at WKST in New Castle, PA. before moving on to WKBN in Youngstown,Ohio. He went on to become a disc jockey on stations such as 850 WJW Cleveland and 1010 WINS New York City. Leo Mintz, owner of Record Rendezvous and sponsor of the first Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 21, 1952, is credited with calling young people's popular music by the term "Rock and