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 Dan McKay Shares Internet Radio with Kentland Rotary

 

Rotarian Tim Lohr, left, hosted guest speaker Radio Guy Dan McKay at the Monday noon luncheon meeting of the Kentland Rotary Club.  McKay who grew up in Los Angeles got his start and acquired his passion for radio as a 19 year old working for the cowboy-singer, Gene Autry.  Autry, who owned a television station, also owned several radio stations and a baseball team.  In 1992 after receiving a job offer from a client, he traveled to Indiana to work as a DJ and programing manager, first for WGLN in Lafayette and later for WIBN FM.  The latter position he held for 10 years before its broadcasting tower fell in 2009 after a guide wire was severed by a farm machine.  Since WIBN's broadcasting capabilities were then zero, they no longer needed Dan's talents and he found himself without a job.  Because no one was hiring at the time, in 2010 Dan decided to launched Greater Lafayette's first Internet radio station network.  His 479xx.com Internet station has an adult contemporary format and features Dan McKay in the mornings, News Channel 18 local headlines, National Network Radio news, Paul Poteet weather and Clayton Duffy sports.  The station has gained much popularity and has grown to a daily average of 8,200 hits per day.  A typical AM or FM station for the most part has no accurate way of measuring how many people are listening.  Since launching 479xx, Mc Kay has started a second station, BoilerRadio.com, that features Today's Hits and programing that is more in tune with the Purdue student crowd. To listen to 479xx.com and BoilerRadio.com, all you need is your laptop, desktop, smartphone, or mobile device. 

 

The two Internet stations are Dan McKay's first entrepreneurial venture.  According to Dan, it has been going well even though it is pretty much a one man show.  Dan does the programing, is a DJ, an advertising salesman, a bookkeeper and a billing clerk.  An Internet station doesn't need a tower and has superior broadcasting capabilities to an AM or FM station and has an almost unlimited range.  McKay feels that it is the wave of the future.  New cars will soon be equipped to access the Internet.  The URLs are 479xx.com and boilerradio.com.  Check them out!  And last but not least, Dan McKay is a member of the Fowler Rotary Club.         

 

Brandt Stum

Kentland Rotary Club