KISW#Ownership

KISW began broadcasting on January 16{{cite news|work=Broadcasting|page=45|title=KISW(FM) On Air|date=January 23, 1950|id={{ProQuest|1401183205}} }} or 18{{r|Seat500127}}, 1950. The station's founder and first owner was Ellwood W. Lippincott, a resident of Centralia and engineer for the Weyerhauser Timber Company.{{Cite news|title=U. W. Unit To Go On Air Hour Daily|page=2|work=The Seattle Times|date=January 27, 1950}} The station programmed a classical music format. At first, the station was powered at slightly over 2,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and operated from studios at 9201 Roosevelt Way NE in North Seattle.{{Cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/attachment/1b2a830e-7f0c-c379-f60f-a7a0b2d6ce26|title=FCC History Cards for KISW|publisher=Federal Communications Commission}} From 1954 to 1956, the station was managed by Harvey Manning.{{Cite news|first=Harvey|last=Manning|author-link=Harvey Manning|title=Letter to the Editor|work=Seattle Weekly|date=September 21, 1994}} The station increased its power to 10,500 watts in 1960.{{r|hc}}

During the week, Lippincott's job required him to travel around the Pacific Northwest maintaining the company's radio equipment, and he would spend his weekends managing the station.{{cite news|first=Byron|last=Fish|title=Not Very Old, KISW, Good-Music, Wins Public's Praise|work=The Seattle Times|date=November 3, 1952}} Twice during its first 11 years on the air, the station ran into financial difficulty, and listeners contributed more than $3,000 each time to keep KISW on the air.{{cite news|work=The Seattle Times|title=FM Listeners Loyal Group|date=June 25, 1961|page=C5}}

In 1969, the station was purchased by Kaye-Smith, a partnership of famed entertainer Danny Kaye and businessman Lester Smith; at that time, Kaye-Smith were also the owners of the leading Top 40 station in Seattle, KJR,{{Cite news|first=Victor|last=Stredicke|title=Commission Approves Sale of KISW|work=The Seattle Times|date=January 3, 1969|page=10}} and also owned Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, where records by Heart, Steve Miller and Bachman–Turner Overdrive were recorded. With Pat O'Day, the firm owned Concerts West, a booking and promotion company that handled Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, The Eagles, Paul McCartney and others, and were original owners of the Seattle Mariners.

Kaye-Smith expressed its intention to change the format of the station, which led to objections from members of the public.{{cite news|work=Broadcasting|date=December 30, 1968|title=Danny Kaye granted license for KISW(FM)|page=39|id={{ProQuest|1014509440}} }} On February 15, 1971, KISW became a progressive rock (or "underground") station, similar to the format pioneered by Tom Donahue at KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco.{{Cite news|pages=43–44|title=Changing Formats|work=Broadcasting|date=March 15, 1971|id={{ProQuest|1016865762}} }}{{Cite news|first=Victor|last=Stredicke|title=Like It Or Not, Rock Music is Here to Stay|work=The Seattle Times|date= March 3, 1971|page=155}} KOL-FM was also experimenting with free-form rock at night. Over time, KISW moved to an album oriented rock format by playing the best-selling albums from the top rock acts. In 1982, Danny Kaye sold his interest in the company; the new corporation was called Alexander Broadcasting and was owned by Smith. In 1987, Nationwide Communications, a subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance, acquired KISW for $13 million from Smith.{{cite news|title=Big broadcaster links with KISW|work=The Seattle Times|first=Victor|last=Stredicke|page=TV 2|date=June 1, 1986}} As an April Fool's Day prank in 1991, the radio station changed its format to "classical rock", mixing classical and rock selections for a day.{{Cite news|first=|title=KMTT: Go Sell It On 'The Mountain' |work= The Seattle Times|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19910411&slug=1276809|date=April 11, 1991}} Longtime DJ Steve Slaton, who had been at KISW from 1973 to 1992, was fired by Nationwide over differences in creative opinion that had been simmering since the station's sale years prior.{{Cite news|title=KISW fires longtime disc jockey|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|page=C5|date=September 30, 1992|first=John|last=Marshall}}

Entercom, forerunner to Audacy, acquired KISW in 1996, along with $25.5 million, as part of a three-way swap with Nationwide Communications and Secret Communications that involved stations in Houston and Pittsburgh. The KISW acquisition and other deals gave Entercom a "lock on rock" in the market.{{Cite news|pages=1, 17|work=Radio & Records|date=May 24, 1996|title=Entercom, NCI, Secret In $100 Million Double Swap|id={{ProQuest|1017285347}} }}

In 2000, the popular "Twisted Radio" morning show led by Bob Rivers left KISW after 11 years to join rival KZOK-FM.{{Cite news|title='Twisted Radio' team appears to be headed for KZOK-FM|date=October 18, 2000|first=Bill|last=Virgin|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|page=E1}} KISW briefly aired the syndicated Rob, Arnie and Dawn from Sacramento sister station KRXQ, but with no rating success, the station began airing Howard Stern's nationally syndicated show in May 2001.{{Cite news|first=Mark|last=Rahner|title=Shock jock Howard Stern coming to Seattle airwaves|date=May 14, 2001|page=E1|work=The Seattle Times}} During this time, from 2001 to 2002, the station had a classic hits lean before dropping it a year later.{{Cite news|title=KISW-FM reclaims its rock format|date=February 21, 2002|page=C3|first=Bill|last=Virgin|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}} At the end of 2005, Stern moved to Sirius Satellite Radio. On January 3, 2006, The BJ Shea Morning Experience (originally from sister station KQBZ) replaced Stern.{{Cite news|title=BJ Shea get Stern's KISW slot and the buzz goes country|date=December 1, 2005|page=E2|first=Bill|last=Virgin|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer}} On January 3, 2024, "The Daly Migs Show", with hosts Taryn Daly and Steve Migs, replaced "The BJ Shea Morning Experience" (which ended as "BJ & Migs" on December 15, 2023) after Shea's departure for KZOK).

The station aired BJ & Migs (BJ Shea and Steve Migs) in mornings until Shea's final show at KISW on December 15, 2023. The Daly Migs Show (Taryn Daly and Steve Migs) premiered on January 3, 2024 as the replacement for BJ & Migs. The station airs Ryan Castle in middays.{{Cite web|url=https://www.audacy.com/kisw/hosts|title=Hosts & Shows|website=KISW|access-date=June 23, 2023}} KISW is the originating station for The Mens Room in afternoon drive; hosted by Miles Montgomery, Steve "The Thrill" Hill, Thee Ted Smith and Mike Hawk, the show entered syndication on June 5, 2017, and was distributed by Westwood One until June 2020.{{Cite news|last=Jacobson|first=Adam|date=2017-05-03|title=America Will Now Have More Of 'The Men's Room' |work=Radio & Television Business Report|url=https://www.rbr.com/america-will-now-have-more-of-the-mens-room/|access-date=2020-01-04|language=en-US}} Weekend programming includes Loud & Local, which highlights local music from the greater Seattle area, hosted by Kevin Diers.{{r|shows}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.audacy.com/kisw}}{{FM station data|47750|KISW}}

{{Seattle Radio}}

{{Entercom}}

Category:1950 establishments in Washington (state)

Category:Active rock radio stations in the United States

Category:Nationwide Communications

Category:Radio stations established in 1950

ISW

Category:Audacy, Inc. radio stations