KKSF
Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
---|---|
Frequency | 910 kHz |
Branding | The Bay Area’s BIN 910 |
Programming | |
Format | Black-oriented news |
Affiliations | Black Information Network |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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KIOI, KISQ, KMEL, KNEW, KOSF, KYLD | |
History | |
First air date | July 25, 1922 |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | San Francisco |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 59966 |
Class | B |
Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 37°53′45″N 122°19′25″W / 37.89583°N 122.32361°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
Website | bayarea |
KKSF (910 kHz) is a
The station's transmitter and two-tower array are located on Point Isabel in Richmond, on the San Francisco Bay.[2] KDIA utilizes one of KKSF's two towers during the day. KKSF transmits with 20,000 watts during the day and 5,000 watts at night, using a directional antenna at all times. Because radio waves travel farther at night, KKSF must reduce its power after sunset to protect other stations on AM 910 from interference.
History
This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. |
KLX
KKSF was founded by the
For the first year and a half, KLX shared the studios and transmitter at the Oakland Hotel with KZM. Engineer Roswell Smith remembered that "they used to shut down the transmitter as KZM, and take to the air a half hour later as KLX".[6] As part of the cooperative effort, the Herald arranged to upgrade the KLX's 5-watt transmitter by installing two more powerful transmitters, which were named for characters in the Toonerville Folks comic strip: 50-watt "Little Jimmie", and 250-watt "Powerful Katrinka."[7]
Initially, the 360-meter wavelength was the only "entertainment" frequency available, so stations within various regions had to develop time sharing agreements providing for each station to broadcast for a few hours each week. By November 1, 1922, there were twelve "San Francisco Bay District" stations sharing time on 360 meters, and, after KZM ceded its original hours, KLX was assigned 7:00–7:30 p.m. daily except Sunday, plus 10:00–11:00 a.m. Sunday and 8:00–9:00 p.m. Tuesday.[8]
In the fall of 1923, KLX moved to its own studio on the 20th floor of the recently completed Tribune Tower at Thirteenth and Franklin, it would stay there for thirty years. An antenna was strung between the tops of the Tribune and Oakland Bank buildings, and the transmitter was upgraded to 500 watts.[6]
The station later moved to 590 kHz. The transmitter power was increased to 1,000 watts by the 1930s, with the station moving to 880 kHz. With the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1941, KLX moved to its current frequency of 910 kHz. In 1952, the transmitter was moved to the San Francisco Bay shoreline and increased to 5,000 watts. In late 1956, KLX moved to the Bermuda Building on Franklin Street.
KLX was owned for three decades by
Top 40 KEWB
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (October 2018) |
KLX became KEWB on June 7, 1959. KEWB was owned by Crowell Collier Broadcasting until 1966. KEWB switched to Top 40 hits, pitting it against existing San Francisco Top 40 stations KYA and KOBY. KYA outlasted KEWB, while KOBY couldn't keep up and eventually changed call letters to KKHI, as "The HIGH Spot on Your Radio Dial", playing middle of the road music. It later switched to classical music.
Guided by programmer Chuck Blore, KEWB began the same on-air approach implemented at Los Angeles sister station KFWB, and adopted the slogan "Color Radio - Channel 91". KEWB played the current best-selling hits, added amusing format elements, and employed energetic, funny disc jockeys. Chris Borden's weekend show was a "pool party," complete with sound effects: Casey Kasem dropped in wild tracks, Gary Owens was a stream of one-liners, Bobby Dale was frantic, and Ron Lyons was acerbic. It proved to be a winning combination.
During the early 1960s, KEWB was famous for its on-air slogan "Boss Radio", using the then-current slang for "cool". The station was considered the launching pad for the radio careers of Casey Kasem, "The Real" Don Steele, and Robert W. Morgan. Gary Owens did a humorous morning show at KEWB. He eventually moved it to KFWB, and in the 1960s was featured as the "announcer" on TV's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Casey Kasem did the evening show using the moniker "Casey at the Mike," after the famous
Morgan went by his last name while working the morning drive time at KEWB. Steele worked afternoon drive. Both had short stays, both joining Bill Drake's new "Boss Radio" at KHJ, Los Angeles. Drake's conversion of San Francisco's KFRC to the same format would bring an end to KEWB's Top 40 era.
Other notable KEWB personalities included Don McKinnon, Buck Herring, "Honest" John Trotter, Art Nelson, Bobby Dale, Perry Roberts, Chris Borden, Jim Wayne, Michael Jackson, and Ken Knox. KEWB DJs Ron Lyons and Ron Reynolds returned during the KNEW years.
Talk KNEW
In 1966, the station was purchased by
However, KNEW found it couldn't compete against ABC Radio's long-established news-talk station KGO. In 1969, Metromedia switched to playing adult standards, with personality DJs. The station continued to struggle, as they were now competing against market powerhouse KSFO.
Oldies Channel 91
In 1971, general manager Ken Gaines was transferred to KNEW from Metromedia's
The KNEW staff featured several KEWB veterans including Ron Lyons and Ron Reynolds, board operator Carl "The Caterpillar" Dahlstrom (a nickname given him by Gary Owens), and Casey Kasem's former board operator Jim Tharp. Newcomers to the air team included Bill Collins from WHK, and "Tall" Tom Campbell from KYA and KLOK. Program director John Hawkins did shows on weekends. Other KNEW air personalities during this period include Hal Pickens, Bob Raleigh, Harry Stephens (Osibin), and Eddie Alexander.
In 1972, KNEW general manager Ken Gaines and program director John Hawkins devised a "relationships" talk show that candidly focused on issues important to, and only accepted calls from, women. Hawkins named the show "California Girls" and created a special edit of the Beach Boys song as the theme. They launched the idea as a variation on a Sunday morning public affairs show already hosted by Don Chamberlain, a part-time/weekend KNEW newscaster. Word spread rapidly that KNEW had "sex talk" on the radio, and the show was soon moved to weekdays 9AM - Noon where it became a popular and talked about feature. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote that he walked the entire length of Market Street listening to California Girls, and he didn't miss a word -— yet he didn't have a radio. The station was on in all the stores. Later, KNEW added evening show "California Guys" just for men, hosted by Dee Merritt. Hawkins extended the branding to the "greatest hits" music format, calling it "California Gold".
During the years 1966-1977, KNEW was considered one of the Bay Area's top news stations, known for its aggressive field reporting. Led by News Director Gil Haar (Eugene Gelhaar), the veteran news team included Knowles Robertson, Ron Baker, Barney Lee (continuing from the KEWB days) and Mike Forrest.
Country music
Though "Channel 91" was quite popular, the early 1970s recession and oil crisis made it difficult to get sufficient advertising to support the large operation. Eventually, Metromedia decided it could make more money by adopting a simpler, less-competitive country music format that was working for sister station KLAC in Los Angeles.
In July 1974, KNEW's format changed to "California Country" music, led by new general manager Bill Ward, who was also GM of KLAC. Gaines, Hawkins, Lyons, Reynolds, Campbell, and others left the station. Bill Collins remained with KNEW as a country music DJ, working the mid-day shift. Other airstaff members included morning man Frank Terry and music director Steve Leader in the afternoon slot.[11]
In the 1990s, the format became classic country. In September 1997, the station changed from local DJs to the satellite-fed "
Return to talk
KNEW became the flagship over-the-air affiliate of
In 2003, the station dropped CNET and became a general
On September 10, 2009, KNEW dropped "The Savage Nation" and replaced it with
Clear Channel rebranded KNEW to "Fox Newsradio 910" on July 6, 2010, with the slogan "The Bay Area's Home of
KKSF NewsTalk 910
As part of a far-reaching programming realignment, KNEW obtained the rights to "
ESPN Deportes
On July 22, 2016, KKSF dropped its talk format and switched to Spanish-language sports using the ESPN Deportes Radio Network.[22] Initially, the station was programmed by Deportes Media under a local marketing agreement (LMA). (Deportes Media had previously operated previous ESPN Deportes Radio affiliate 860 KTRB.) By November 2016, iHeartMedia resumed operating KKSF in-house, retaining ESPN Deportes programming for several more months.[23]
Progressive talk
On June 11, 2018, KKSF switched to
KKSF's progressive talk programming on weekdays included
Black Information Network
On June 29, 2020, fifteen iHeart stations in markets with large African American populations, including KKSF, began
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KKSF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "KKSF-AM 910 kHz - Oakland, CA". radio-locator.com.
- ^ KLX and KZM schedules, Oakland (California) Tribune, November 22, 1923, page 14.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, June 1, 1922, page 3. Three month Limited Commercial license, serial #695, issued to Tribune Publishing Company for operation on 360 meters for a three month period.
- ^ "Pinch Hitter for Katrinka Heard Tonight", Oakland (California) Tribune, July 25, 1922, page 30.
- ^ a b "The History of KLX and KZM Oakland, California" by John Schneider, 1996 (theradiohistorian.org)
- ^ "Tribune Will Broadcast From Coast to Coast", Oakland Tribune, July 23, 1922, page 8A.
- ^ "Central California Broadcasting Schedule---Effective Nov. 1, '22" ("San Francisco Bay District" section), Radio magazine, December 1922, page 36.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 22
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1961-1962 page B-21
- ^ "Creative College". Billboard. March 19, 1977. p. SF4. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- R&R. January 7, 2000. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "Schedule". Talk 910 KNEW. Archived from the original on January 3, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Savage says he's sorry -- but stays fired". San Francisco Chronicle. July 9, 2003. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- ^ Garofoli, Joe (September 11, 2009). "Michael Savage hangs up on us: "Why don't you call Mao Zedong? He's your boss"". San Francisco Chronicle Politics Blog. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Michael Savage off the air in S.F." San Francisco Chronicle. September 11, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "KNEW Replaces John And Ken With John Gibson". AllAccess.com. July 6, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ Talk910 (July 6, 2010). "Welcome one & all to the Bay Area's exclusive home for Fox News Radio!!!!". Twitter. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Program Schedule". Fox Newsradio 910. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Dave Ramsey Added At KNEW/San Francisco". AllAccess.com. August 4, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
- ^ "Clear Channel moving Rush Limbaugh from KFI to revamped KTLK". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 2013.
- ^ KKSF Abandons Talk For ESPN Deportes Radioinsight - July 22, 2016
- ^ Venta, Lance (November 11, 2016). "ESPN Deportes Dallas Update". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- ^ Liberal Talk Returns to San Francisco Radioinsight - June 11, 2018
- ^ "iHeartMedia Launches Black Information Network - RadioInsight".
- ^ "Several iHeartMedia Stations Stunting With Speeches, New Format To Be Announced Tomorrow". All Access. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
- ^ "iHeartMedia Debuts All-News BIN: Black Information Network". All Access. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- KKSF in the FCC AM station database
- KKSF in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History cards for KKSF (covering KLX / KNEW from 1927-1981)
- "The History of KZM, KLX and KEWB Oakland, California by John Schneider, 1996