On The Cover-What's The Deal?

[trainman]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Aug 14 2004, 08:36 AM\'] Since it seems like more than 98% of all calls are 4 letters, why allow 3-letter calls in the first place?  They just seem out of place. [/quote]
 Those stations all got their call letters in the early days of licensed commercial radio, before the FCC decided they were only going to allow commercial radio stations to have 4-letter call letters.  Actually, speaking of being out of place, it's the same deal with the "K" stations that exist east of the Mississippi and the "W" stations that exist to the west.

Topic:  While I was in college, I watched "Jeopardy!" on WLS.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'trainman\' date=\'Aug 14 2004, 08:40 PM\'] [quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Aug 14 2004, 08:36 AM\'] Since it seems like more than 98% of all calls are 4 letters, why allow 3-letter calls in the first place?  They just seem out of place. [/quote]
Those stations all got their call letters in the early days of licensed commercial radio, before the FCC decided they were only going to allow commercial radio stations to have 4-letter call letters.  Actually, speaking of being out of place, it's the same deal with the "K" stations that exist east of the Mississippi and the "W" stations that exist to the west.

Topic:  While I was in college, I watched "Jeopardy!" on WLS. [/quote]
 Iowa seems to have exception to all of these...

WHO13 (NBC, Des Moines) has 3 call letters...however...several station in Iowa have "K" stations, including KCCI-8 (Des Moines) and KGAN-2 (CBS, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo).

[trainman]

[quote name=\'Dsmith\' date=\'Aug 14 2004, 10:11 PM\'] KGAN-2 (CBS, Cedar Rapids/Waterloo). [/quote]
 Which was originally WMT-TV.  WHO, WMT, and WOI (in Ames) are all radio stations dating back to the early 1920s.