Former Western Cities, Prism Radio Partners Chief Bill Phalen Dies

Phalen

BILL PHALEN, the founder of radio groups WESTERN CITIES BROADCASTING and PRISM RADIO PARTNERS, died THURSDAY (5/19) at 73, according to PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL.

Since 1997 owner of CITIES WEST PUBLISHING, publishers of city and regional magazines including PHOENIX MAGAZINE, PHALEN owned WESTERN CITIES, which owned KZZP-A-F/PHOENIX, KRQQ-KMGX (later KNST)-A/TUCSON, KZAP/SACRAMENTO, KWSS/SAN JOSE, and KLUC-KMJJ-A/LAS VEGAS, and sold it to NATIONWIDE in 1984 for $40 million; he then founded PRISM, which had 16 stations including WTFX-WVEZ-WWKY-A/LOUISVILLE, WKQL-WIVY-WPDQ-A-WOKV-A/JACKSONVILLE, WZZU-WDCG/RALEIGH, KRZZ-KKRD/WICHITA, and KRQQ-KNST-A-KWFM-KCEE-A/TUCSON when he sold it to SFX for $105.25 million in 1996.  PHALEN was honored with induction into the ARIZONA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION Hall of Fame in 2013, the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI's Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007, and the USM Mass Communications And Journalism Hall of Fame in 2008.

« see more Net News