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KPRO (California)

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KPRO
Broadcast areaRiverside-San Bernardino area
Frequency1570 kHz
BrandingInspirational Radio
Programming
FormatDefunct (was Christian radio)
Ownership
OwnerImpact Radio, Inc.
History
First air date
1958; 66 years ago (1958) (as KACE)
Last air date
August 3, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-08-03)
Former call signs
KACE (1958–1976)
KHNY (1976–1978)
KMAY (1978–1986)
Technical information
Facility ID50281
ClassB
Power5,000 watts day
194 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
33°55′54″N 117°23′47″W / 33.93167°N 117.39639°W / 33.93167; -117.39639

KPRO were the call letters of a radio station in Riverside County, California. It was at 1440 on the dial and later 1570.[1][2]

The station was founded in 1941, headquartered at 3401 Russell Street, Riverside.[3]

It went off the air on August 3, 2018. It was said to be "a victim of declining AM radio listenership and vastly increasing value of property in Southern California."[2]

Ownership

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Early

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The station was founded by Willard E. (Bill) Gleeson.[4] In 1947 it was owned by the Broadcasting Corporation of America.[5]

In 1950 Gleeson, the company president, was sued by the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company of North Carolina, which claimed that payments on loans totaling $40,000 had not been made. The company said the firm, which also owned KREO in Indio, California, was "heavily in debt" for unpaid taxes and other liabilities.[6]

Gleeson sold all the stations he owned, except for KICO in Calexico, California.[7]

1958 American League Rookie of the Year Albie Pearson was a disc jockey for the station in the winter of 1961–62.[8]

On June 1, 1965, entertainer Dick Clark purchased the "San Bernardino-Riverside" station from Foster Broadcasting for $435,000. Principals were listed as Tom S. Foster, Tolbert Foster, W.E. Dyche Jr., Edgar Younger and John Blake. Dave Taylor was to continue as general manager. Clark also bought the land and buildings (built in 1941) for an additional $150,000.[9][10]

The station was acquired by Shayle Ray and Milton Klein for about $2 million in March 1983.[11]

Bankruptcy

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The 1,000-watt station in Riverside was losing some $40,000 a month in 1984, and on February 29 of that year the 15-person staff had not been paid in two weeks. The owners, Milton Klein and Shayle Ray, were trying to negotiate a sale of KPRO and its sisters, KPRD-AM and KZNS-FM of Barstow, California.[11][12][13][14]

KZNS and KPRD left the airwaves in early March after more than 30 years of broadcasting, but KPRO was saved at the last minute by an unidentified San Bernardino businessman who bought into the partnership with enough cash to pay the employees and stay on the air. KPRO's Arbitron ratings were about one percent of all listeners in its market.[11][13]

Regular programming at the station, which had gone into bankruptcy, went off the air on May 15, 1984.[11][15] It listed $2.5 million of debt.[16] It continued to broadcast California Angels baseball and Los Angeles Lakers basketball games to fulfill contractual obligations, and it went back on the air with other programing in mid-June, then in February again went on a sports-only schedule,[11][17] with Pat Hasland hosting a call-in show, "Pro SportsTalk."[18]

Final licensees

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Ray and Helen Lapica, with Ollie Sherban, owned KACE, which changed its name to KHNY in 1976 and KMAY in 1978. They were followed as owners by Ronnie Olenick and Larry Lapica.[2]

In 1986, that company (under the name Riverside County Broadcasting) took over the KPRO call sign, which had been abandoned, and moved it to 1570 on the dial.[2][19][20][21][22]

In 1990 it was said that KPRO was "Established in 1941" and billed itself as "inspirational radio," with live gospel on Sundays.[23]

In 2018 the station was owned by Impact Radio, Inc., and featured programming from CNN Radio and Westwood One.[21]

The station went off the air on August 3, 2018. The property was sold to a land developer.[2] The Federal Communications Commission cancelled KPRO's license on November 5, 2019, due to it having been silent for more than twelve months.

Formats

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In 1944 the station received Blue Network programming.[24]

In 1945 KPRO's programs included Philco Hall of Fame, America's Town Meeting, Counterspy, Gangbusters, This Is Your F.B.I., Walter Winchell, Drew Pearson, Tom Breneman, The Breakfast Club, Glamour Manor, Ladies Be Seated, John B. Kennedy, Baukhage Talking, Ethel and Albert, Guy Lombardo, The Metropolitan Opera, Cavalcade of Sports and The Ford Sunday Evening Hour.[25]

The station had a news and talk show format in 1983 and 1985.[19][12] Before that it had a pop music format.[11]

After 1986 it specialized in religious programming.[2]

Jeff Duran, hosted the Local Rock Scene in 1997. Still in high school, Duran interviewed and played up coming bands like Blink 182, No Doubt, Papa Roach and AFI who would eventually go on to become multi platinum artists.[26]

Notable employees

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References

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  1. ^ "Chino Program Over New Riverside Radio Heard Sunday," Chino Champion,November 21, 1941, page 1
  2. ^ a b c d e f Richard Wagoner, "Radio: Riverside's KPRO Goes Off the Air After 61 Years, Station Sold to Build Homes," The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, August 7, 2018
  3. ^ Advertisement, The San Bernardino Daily Sun, November 14, 1942, page 7
  4. ^ "Radio Pioneer Willard Gleeson Dies at Age 92," The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, January 24, 1990, page A-5
  5. ^ Advertisement, San Bernardino Daily Sun, September 29, 1947, page 5
  6. ^ "Riverside, Indio Radio Stations Sue[d] Over Debt," The San Bernardino Sun, October 25, 1950, page 22
  7. ^ Associated Press, "Willard Gleeson, Radio Pioneer, Dies in El Centro," The Sun, January 24, 1990, image 14
  8. ^ Rogin, Gilbert (May 27, 1963). "Albie Pearson: The Littlest Angel". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "TV Star Clark Buys Inland Empire Station KPRO," San Bernardino Sun-Telegram, June 20, 1965 (with a photograph of Clark and Taylor)
  10. ^ "Dick Clark to Purchase S.B. Radio Station," The San Bernardino Daily Sun, December 23, 1964, page B-3
  11. ^ a b c d e f "KPRO Will Stay Off Air Until Sold, Owner Says," The Sun, February 4, 1986, image 19
  12. ^ a b Carl Yetzer, "KPRO Staff Hangs Tough Despite Getting No Paychecks in 2 Weeks," The Sun, February 29, 1984, pages B1 and B2 (images 13 and 29)
  13. ^ a b Dennis McDougal, "KPRO Is Still on the Air, Thanks to 'Deep Pockets,'" Los Angeles Times, March 17, 1984, images 73 and 76
  14. ^ Russ Stanton, "Company Files for Reorganization for KPRO-AM," The Sun, May 9, 1984, image 37
  15. ^ Associated Press, "Riverside's KPRO Goes Bankrupt," Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1984, image 67
  16. ^ Russ Stanton, "KPRO Lists Debts of $2.5 Million," The Sun, May 23, 1984, image 23
  17. ^ "KPRO and Sports," The Sun, May 27, 1984, image 67
  18. ^ "KPRO's Hasland Hopes to Be Talk of the Town Again," The Sun, June 22, 1984, image 41
  19. ^ a b Jackie Richard, "The Cowboy of the Air Is Too Busy Working to Ride Off Into the Sunset," The Sun, November 23, 1986, image 37
  20. ^ Dan Hawkins, "New KPRO Will Broadcast Angels," The Sun, March 6, 1987, image 43
  21. ^ a b "KPRO Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  22. ^ "KPRO Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  23. ^ Shannon Akimi Butler, "Stations Are Tuning Up So Listeners Will Tune In," The Sun, August 5, 1990, image 51
  24. ^ Virginia Bell, "KPRO Dialites" (advertisement), San Bernardino Daily Sun, April 27, 1944, page 10
  25. ^ Advertisement, San Bernardino Daily Sun, December 23, 1945, page 8
  26. ^ "Mohr Stories 495: Jeff Duran". libsyn.com.
  27. ^ Kevin Roderick, "Steve Julian, 57, KPCC's Morning Host Since 2000," LAOsbserved, April 24, 2016
  28. ^ Jill Leovy, "Host of KPCC's 'Morning Edition,' Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2016, page B-7

Further reading

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