Jump to content

KFAX: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 37°37′56″N 122°07′49″W / 37.63222°N 122.13028°W / 37.63222; -122.13028
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
Mdann52 bot (talk | contribs)
Bots
29,706 edits
Task 15 - deleting templates AMQ/FMQ per TFDs
 
(23 intermediate revisions by 18 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{More citations needed|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox radio station
{{Infobox radio station
| name = KFAX
| name = KFAX
| image = KFAX-AM.jpg
| logo = KFAX-AM logo.png
| city = [[San Francisco, California]]
| city = [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]]
| area = [[San Francisco Bay Area]]
| area = [[San Francisco Bay Area]]
| branding = AM 1100 K-F-A-X
| branding = AM 1100 K-F-A-X
| airdate = January 3, [[1925 in radio|1925]]<ref name="KJBSWins">"[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1935/Broadcast-Weekly-1935-05-19.pdf KJBS Wins Radio Honors During Ten Years Broadcasting]", ''Broadcast Weekly''. May 19–25, 1935. pp. 6, 7, 11. Retrieved August 31, 2019.</ref>
| slogan = Life with Purpose
| airdate = January 3, [[1926 in radio|1926]]
| frequency = 1100 [[kHz]]
| frequency = 1100 [[kHz]]
| format = [[Christian radio|Christian talk and teaching]]
| format = [[Christian radio|Christian Teaching and Talk]]
| power = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| power = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| erp =
| facility_id = 24510
| class = B
| class = B
| callsign_meaning = '''K F'''ast '''A'''ccurate e'''X'''clusive (previous format)
| callsign_meaning = '''K F'''ast '''A'''ccurate e'''X'''clusive (previous format)
| former_callsigns = KFUQ one month then KJBS (until 1959)
| former_callsigns = KFUQ (1925)<br>KJBS (1925–1960)
| owner = [[Salem Media Group]]
| owner = [[Salem Media Group]]
| licensee = New Inspiration Broadcasting Company, Inc.
| licensee = New Inspiration Broadcasting Company, Inc.
| sister_stations = [[KDOW]], [[KTRB]]
| sister_stations = [[KDIA]], [[KDOW]], [[KDYA]], [[KTRB]]
| webcast = [http://saleminteractivemedia.com/listenlive/player/kfaxam Listen Live]
| webcast = [http://saleminteractivemedia.com/listenlive/player/kfaxam Listen Live]
| website = {{URL|http://kfax.com}}
| website = {{URL|http://kfax.com}}
| affiliations = [[Salem Radio Network]]
| affiliations = [[Salem Radio Network]]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
}}
⚫
'''KFAX''' (1100 [[AM broadcasting|AM]]) is a commercial [[radio station]] [[City of license|licensed]] to [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]], and heard around the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]]. Since 1984, the station has been owned by [[Salem Media Group]] and programs a [[Christian radio]] teaching and talk [[radio format|format]].


⚫
The studios and offices are in suburban [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] and the [[transmitter]] is in nearby [[Hayward, California|Hayward]], near the [[San Mateo–Hayward Bridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=KFAX-AM|title=KFAX-AM Radio Station Coverage Map|work=Radio-Locator|access-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> KFAX broadcasts with 50,000 [[watt]]s, the highest power permitted for AM stations, but because [[1100 AM]] is a [[Clear-channel station|clear-channel frequency]] reserved for [[List of North American broadcast station classes|Class A]] [[WTAM]] in [[Cleveland]], KFAX must use a [[directional antenna]] to avoid interference, aiming most of its signal away from the east. The station is the most powerful Christian-formatted AM station west of the Mississippi.{{cn|date=February 2023}}
⚫
'''KFAX''' (1100 [[Hertz|kHz]]) is a commercial [[AM broadcasting|AM]] [[radio station]] [[City of license|licensed]] to [[San Francisco]], [[California]], and heard around the [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]]. {{As of|2014}}, the station is owned by [[Salem Media Group]] and programs a [[Christian radio]] teaching and talk [[radio format|format]].

⚫
The studios and offices are in suburban [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] and the [[transmitter]] is in nearby [[Hayward, California|Hayward]] near the [[San Mateo–Hayward Bridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=KFAX-AM|title=KFAX-AM Radio Station Coverage Map|author=|date=|work=Radio-Locator.com|access-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref> KFAX broadcasts with 50,000 [[watt]]s, the highest power permitted for AM stations. But because [[1100 AM]] is a [[Clear-channel station|clear-channel frequency]] reserved for [[List of North American broadcast station classes|Class A]] [[WTAM]] in [[Cleveland]], KFAX must use a [[directional antenna]] to avoid interference, aiming most of its signal away from the east. The station is the most powerful Christian-formatted AM station west of the Mississippi.


== History ==
== History ==

=== As KJBS ===
=== As KJBS ===
The station now assigned the KFAX [[Call sign|call letters]] was first licensed in 1925 as KFUQ, and made its first broadcast on January 3, 1926.<ref>[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 pg. C-27]]</ref> Its meager five-[[watt]] [[radio transmitter]] provided an advertising gimmick for Julius Brunton & Sons, operators of an automobile service station and local distributor of [[Exide|Willard Storage Batteries]], which were popularly used in both experimental transmitters and receivers during radio's early days. A month after making its debut, KFUQ became KJBS.
The station now assigned the KFAX [[Call sign|call letters]] was first licensed in 1925 as KFUQ, and made its first broadcast on January 3, 1925.<ref name="KJBSWins"/> Its five-watt [[radio transmitter]] provided an advertising gimmick for Julius Brunton & Sons, operators of an automobile service station and local distributor of [[Exide|Willard Storage Batteries]], which were popularly used in both experimental transmitters and receivers during radio's early days. Shortly after making its debut, KFUQ became KJBS.<ref name="KJBSWins"/>


The station's first address was 1380 Bush Street, a building which remains an auto-service facility today. KJBS was the first all-night radio station in the Bay Area, broadcasting music along with police dispatch calls, in the days before police departments could afford their own radio transmitters.
The station's first address was 1380 Bush Street, a building which remains an auto-service facility today. In its early years, the station broadcast police dispatch calls, among its regular schedule, in the days before police departments could afford their own radio transmitters.<ref name="KJBSWins"/>


In 1927, KJBS's power was increased to 50 watts and, on March 1, 1928, to 100 watts.<ref name="KJBSWins"/> On April 5, 1929, the station's frequency was changed to 1070&nbsp;kHz.<ref name="KJBSWins"/> On April 19, 1930, KJBS debuted its ''Owl'' program, signing on at midnight.<ref name="KJBSWins"/> In the mid-1930s, its power was increased to 500 watts.<ref name="KJBSWins"/>
In 1927, after struggling to be heard on the crowded radio dial with its tiny transmitter, KJBS was permitted to upgrade its power to fifty watts.


In the 1940s in order to increase its range of coverage, KJBS was assigned to 1100&nbsp;kHz, sharing time with the dominant station in North America on 1100&nbsp;kHz, which was in [[Cleveland]]. This required that KJBS go off the air at local sunset, but allowed it to come back on the air when Cleveland signed off at 1:00&nbsp;a.m. in the East, 10:00&nbsp;p.m. local time. By this time, KJBS had moved to 1470 Pine Street, a building incorporating a stand-alone vertical transmitting tower at the front entrance to the building.
In the 1940s, in order to increase its range of coverage, KJBS was assigned to 1100&nbsp;kHz, sharing time with the dominant station in North America on 1100&nbsp;kHz, which was in Cleveland. This required that KJBS go off the air at local sunset, but allowed it to come back on the air when Cleveland signed off at 1:00&nbsp;a.m. in the East, 10:00&nbsp;p.m. local time. By this time, KJBS had moved to 1470 Pine Street, a building incorporating a stand-alone vertical transmitting tower at the front entrance to the building.

⚫
In 1959, KJBS was granted a construction permit to increase its daytime power to 50,000 watts.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-07-27-BC.pdf "Government notes"], ''[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]]'', July 27, 1959, p. 76. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref> This change in broadcasting power required the station to operate one of the most distinctive schedules in the history of broadcasting. It operated from a directional set of four towers in the suburban town of Hayward from 6:00 a.m until local sunset, then from the Pine Street 1,000 watt transmitter from 10:00&nbsp;p.m. until 3:00&nbsp;a.m. (when Cleveland's [[WTAM]] would come back on the air, at 6:00&nbsp;a.m. Eastern time). During the summer, this meant that KFAX was off the air for only 1.5 hours (8:30 sunset until 10:00&nbsp;p.m.).


===As KFAX===
===As KFAX===
[[File:KFAX Newsradio logo.png|thumb|right|190px|Logo as an all-news station]]
⚫
In 1959, KJBS was sold to an investment group {{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}; its [[call sign]] was changed to KFAX and its daytime power was increased to 50,000 watts. This change in broadcasting power required the station to operate one of the most distinctive schedules in the history of broadcasting. KFAX operated from a directional set of 4 towers in the suburban town of Hayward from 6:00 a.m until local sunset, then from the Pine Street 1,000 watt transmitter from 10:00&nbsp;p.m. until 3:00&nbsp;a.m. (when Cleveland's [[WTAM]] would come back on the air, at 6:00&nbsp;a.m. Eastern time). During the summer, this meant that KFAX was off the air for only 1.5 hours (8:30 sunset until 10:00&nbsp;p.m.).
In 1960, KJBS was sold to Argonaut Broadcasting for $425,000.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-05-09.pdf "Changing Hands"], ''Broadcasting'', May 9, 1960, p. 80. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref> On May 16, 1960, its [[call sign]] was changed to KFAX and it changed formats from music, news and sports to become the first [[all-news radio]] station in the US.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-05-16.pdf "It's All News — No Music"], ''Broadcasting'', May 16, 1960, p. 102. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref> This format drew listeners but was unprofitable and it was changed the following year.<ref>Garay, Ronald (1992). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=8aZFvxDSxIQC&pg=PA130 Gordon McLendon: The Maverick of Radio]'', [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], p. 130. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref> KFAX later adopted a religious format, with [[Christian music]] and religious talk.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1964/1964-12-14-BC.pdf "Big Markets Offer Something for All"], ''Broadcasting'', December 14, 1964, p. 62. Retrieved August 30, 2019.<br>- [https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-03-26.pdf "Stations By Format"], ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', March 26, 1966, p. 26. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref>


In 1977, KFAX began operating with 50,000 watts full-time, using a directional array.<ref>[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-06-20.pdf "Facilities changes"], ''Broadcasting'', June 20, 1977, p. 67. Retrieved August 31, 2019.<br>- [https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1977/BC-1977-08-29.pdf "Facilities changes"], ''Broadcasting'', August 29, 1977, p. 60. Retrieved August 31, 2019.</ref>
The KJBS call sign had been changed to KFAX in late 1959 when it changed formats from music, news, and sports, to become the nation's very first all-news radio station ("Fast, Accurate and eXclusive"). This experiment proved unsuccessful, and soon KFAX changed to a [[brokered programming|brokered]] religious format, where program producers bought 15-minute and half-hour blocks of air time.


⚫
In 1984, KFAX was sold to Salem Media Group, an operator of both religious and secular talk stations. KFAX runs programs such as Dr. [[Charles Stanley]], [[Jay Sekulow]] and "Life! Line" with Craig Roberts (the Bay Area's longest running conservative talk show).{{cn|date=February 2023}}
Eventually KFAX was permitted to operate with 50,000 watts full-time, using a directional antenna.

⚫
In 1984, KFAX was sold to Salem Media Group, an operator of both religious and secular talk stations. KFAX runs programs such as Dr. [[Charles Stanley]], [[Jay Sekulow]] and "Life! Line" with Craig Roberts (the Bay Area's longest running conservative talk show).


== Trivia ==
== Trivia ==
In light of a radio often being the first electrical device in a home not connected to centrally generated electric power, both the [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]]-based Willard Storage Battery Company and a local outlet for Willard Batteries founded and owned stations in the early 1920s, as with [[WTAM]] in Cleveland (9 months' ownership) and KJBS (apparently for several decades). In this case, however, these two stations with an early link began in 1941 sharing [[Clear-channel station|clear channel]] use of the 1100 [[kilohertz|kHz]] frequency.
In light of a radio often being the first electrical device in a home not connected to centrally generated electric power, both the Cleveland-based Willard Storage Battery Company and a local outlet for Willard Batteries founded and owned stations in the early 1920s, as with [[WTAM]] in Cleveland (9 months' ownership) and KJBS (apparently for several decades). In this case, however, these two stations with an early link began in 1941 sharing [[Clear-channel station|clear channel]] use of the 1100 [[kilohertz|kHz]] frequency.


==References==
==References==
Line 54: Line 52:


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://kfax.com/ KFAX Web Site]
*[http://kfax.com/ KFAX web site]
{{AM station data|KFAX}}
{{AM station data|24510|KFAX}}
*[https://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kjbs "History of KJBS and KFAX"] from the Bay Area Radio Museum.
*[https://bayarearadio.org/sf-radio-history/kjbs "The History of KJBS Radio San Francisco, California"] from the Bay Area Radio Museum
*[https://bayarearadio.org/kjbs/kjbs_ad_aug-1930 Advertisement for KJBS (1930)], showing coverage map.
*[https://bayarearadio.org/kjbs/kjbs_ad_aug-1930 Advertisement for KJBS (1930)], showing coverage map
*[https://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kjbs-pine Photograph of KFAX building entrance] at 1470 Pine Street, San Francisco.
*[https://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kjbs-pine Photograph of KFAX building entrance] at 1470 Pine Street, San Francisco



{{San Francisco Radio}}
{{San Francisco Radio}}
Line 65: Line 64:
{{coord|37|37|56|N|122|07|49|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
{{coord|37|37|56|N|122|07|49|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}


[[Category:Christian radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian radio stations in California|FAX]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area|FAX]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area|FAX]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1925]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1925]]
[[Category:Salem media properties]]
[[Category:1925 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Salem Media Group radio stations]]

Latest revision as of 06:29, 24 July 2024

KFAX
Broadcast areaSan Francisco Bay Area
Frequency1100 kHz
BrandingAM 1100 K-F-A-X
Programming
FormatChristian talk and teaching
AffiliationsSalem Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
KDIA, KDOW, KDYA, KTRB
History
First air date
January 3, 1925[1]
Former call signs
KFUQ (1925)
KJBS (1925–1960)
Call sign meaning
K Fast Accurate eXclusive (previous format)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID24510
ClassB
Power50,000 watts
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitekfax.com

KFAX (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, and heard around the Bay Area. Since 1984, the station has been owned by Salem Media Group and programs a Christian radio teaching and talk format.

The studios and offices are in suburban Fremont and the transmitter is in nearby Hayward, near the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge.[3] KFAX broadcasts with 50,000 watts, the highest power permitted for AM stations, but because 1100 AM is a clear-channel frequency reserved for Class A WTAM in Cleveland, KFAX must use a directional antenna to avoid interference, aiming most of its signal away from the east. The station is the most powerful Christian-formatted AM station west of the Mississippi.[citation needed]

History

[edit]

As KJBS

[edit]

The station now assigned the KFAX call letters was first licensed in 1925 as KFUQ, and made its first broadcast on January 3, 1925.[1] Its five-watt radio transmitter provided an advertising gimmick for Julius Brunton & Sons, operators of an automobile service station and local distributor of Willard Storage Batteries, which were popularly used in both experimental transmitters and receivers during radio's early days. Shortly after making its debut, KFUQ became KJBS.[1]

The station's first address was 1380 Bush Street, a building which remains an auto-service facility today. In its early years, the station broadcast police dispatch calls, among its regular schedule, in the days before police departments could afford their own radio transmitters.[1]

In 1927, KJBS's power was increased to 50 watts and, on March 1, 1928, to 100 watts.[1] On April 5, 1929, the station's frequency was changed to 1070 kHz.[1] On April 19, 1930, KJBS debuted its Owl program, signing on at midnight.[1] In the mid-1930s, its power was increased to 500 watts.[1]

In the 1940s, in order to increase its range of coverage, KJBS was assigned to 1100 kHz, sharing time with the dominant station in North America on 1100 kHz, which was in Cleveland. This required that KJBS go off the air at local sunset, but allowed it to come back on the air when Cleveland signed off at 1:00 a.m. in the East, 10:00 p.m. local time. By this time, KJBS had moved to 1470 Pine Street, a building incorporating a stand-alone vertical transmitting tower at the front entrance to the building.

In 1959, KJBS was granted a construction permit to increase its daytime power to 50,000 watts.[4] This change in broadcasting power required the station to operate one of the most distinctive schedules in the history of broadcasting. It operated from a directional set of four towers in the suburban town of Hayward from 6:00 a.m until local sunset, then from the Pine Street 1,000 watt transmitter from 10:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m. (when Cleveland's WTAM would come back on the air, at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time). During the summer, this meant that KFAX was off the air for only 1.5 hours (8:30 sunset until 10:00 p.m.).

As KFAX

[edit]
Logo as an all-news station

In 1960, KJBS was sold to Argonaut Broadcasting for $425,000.[5] On May 16, 1960, its call sign was changed to KFAX and it changed formats from music, news and sports to become the first all-news radio station in the US.[6] This format drew listeners but was unprofitable and it was changed the following year.[7] KFAX later adopted a religious format, with Christian music and religious talk.[8]

In 1977, KFAX began operating with 50,000 watts full-time, using a directional array.[9]

In 1984, KFAX was sold to Salem Media Group, an operator of both religious and secular talk stations. KFAX runs programs such as Dr. Charles Stanley, Jay Sekulow and "Life! Line" with Craig Roberts (the Bay Area's longest running conservative talk show).[citation needed]

Trivia

[edit]

In light of a radio often being the first electrical device in a home not connected to centrally generated electric power, both the Cleveland-based Willard Storage Battery Company and a local outlet for Willard Batteries founded and owned stations in the early 1920s, as with WTAM in Cleveland (9 months' ownership) and KJBS (apparently for several decades). In this case, however, these two stations with an early link began in 1941 sharing clear channel use of the 1100 kHz frequency.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "KJBS Wins Radio Honors During Ten Years Broadcasting", Broadcast Weekly. May 19–25, 1935. pp. 6, 7, 11. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFAX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "KFAX-AM Radio Station Coverage Map". Radio-Locator. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  4. ^ "Government notes", Broadcasting, July 27, 1959, p. 76. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "Changing Hands", Broadcasting, May 9, 1960, p. 80. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "It's All News — No Music", Broadcasting, May 16, 1960, p. 102. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  7. ^ Garay, Ronald (1992). Gordon McLendon: The Maverick of Radio, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 130. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Big Markets Offer Something for All", Broadcasting, December 14, 1964, p. 62. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
    - "Stations By Format", Billboard, March 26, 1966, p. 26. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  9. ^ "Facilities changes", Broadcasting, June 20, 1977, p. 67. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
    - "Facilities changes", Broadcasting, August 29, 1977, p. 60. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
[edit]


37°37′56″N 122°07′49″W / 37.63222°N 122.13028°W / 37.63222; -122.13028

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KFAX&oldid=1236348670"