PA Radio: FCC Says WQZS Must Sign-Off Within 40-Days

 The FCC may have written the final chapter in the saga of the FM station WQZS 93.3 in Meyersdale, PA.

The commission has issued a revocation order Wednesday stripping Roger Wahl, owner of WQZS, of his broadcast license.

For those who tune into WQZS at 93.3 FM on their radio for community news and oldies and classic rock, it will no longer exist. Wahl, 72, went on the air for the first time on Oct. 26, 1992, after he built the radio station, physically putting in the station's foundation himself. 

His voice and persona as "The Commander" became a well-known feature in Somerset County over the three decades.

But that changed when he was charged with sexual assault in 2019. Among the initial seven charges brought by state police were disseminating intimate images of a woman on social media without her knowledge and consent and tampering with the evidence after he learned the state police were investigating. His case divided the community, some vocally backing him and others turning their backs and taking away advertising funds.

Richard Wahl

Wahl has continued to keep WQZS on the air since the charges, guilty plea and the part of his probationary sentence that forbid him from being part of the radio station for the months he was on electronic monitor. He received help from his family to keep it on the air during that time.

For the FCC, however, the time came this week to voice what more than likely will be a permanent action in this proceeding.

"We find that Mr. Wahl lacks the qualifications to be or remain a Commission licensee," wrote Loyaan Egal, chief, FCC enforcement bureau, in the order.

The revocation order, rarely issued by the FCC, states that WQZS will go off the air effective within 40 days from the date of the order. Wahl will need to turn off the WQZS transmitter on Mount Davis by May 22.