KKOL (AM)#KFOA

{{short description|Radio station in Seattle, Washington}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox radio station

| name = KKOL

| logo =

| city = Seattle, Washington

| area = Seattle metropolitan area

| branding = AM 1300 The Answer

| frequency = 1300 kHz

| repeater =

| airdate = {{start date and age|1922|5|23}}

| format = Conservative talk radio

| power = {{ubl|35,000 watts (day)|3,200 watts(night)}}

| class = B

| licensing_authority = FCC

| facility_id = 20355

| coordinates = {{coord|47|39|18.3|N|122|31|10.5|W|region:US-WA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| callsign_meaning =

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|KDZE (1922–1924)|KFOA (1924–1928)|KOL (1928–1975)|KMPS (1975–1997)}}

| former_frequencies = {{ubl|833 kHz (1922–1923)|660 kHz (1923–1927)|670 kHz (1927–1928)|1270 kHz (1928–1941)}}

| owner = Salem Media Group

| licensee = Inspiration Media, Inc.

| affiliations = {{ubl|Salem Radio Network Townhall}}

| network =

| sister_stations = KGNW

| webcast = [https://theanswerseattle.com/listenlive Listen Live]

| website = [https://theanswerseattle.com theanswerseattle.com]

}}

KKOL (1300 kHz) is an AM radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is owned by Salem Media Group. It airs a conservative talk radio format, branded as "1300 The Answer," featuring nationally syndicated Salem Radio Network hosts including Dennis Prager, Mike Gallagher, Sebastian Gorka, Hugh Hewitt, Brandon Tatum and Charlie Kirk. The radio studios and offices are on Fifth Avenue South. KKOL is the oldest radio station in Seattle, first licensed on May 23, 1922.

The transmitter site is on North Madison Avenue on Bainbridge Island, co-located with KLFE 1590 AM. By day, KKOL transmits 35,000 watts, using a two-tower array directional antenna. At night it switches to non-directional operation, but to protect other stations on 1300 AM from interference, it reduces power to 3,200 watts.{{Cite web|url=https://radio-locator.com/info/KKOL-AM|title=KKOL-AM 1300 kHz - Seattle, WA|website=radio-locator.com}}

History

=KDZE=

KKOL was first licensed, with the sequentially assigned call letters KDZE, on May 23, 1922. It was owned by the Rhodes Company Department Store at 1321 Second Avenue in Seattle.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221816&view=1up&seq=662 "New Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, June 1, 1922, page 4. Limited Commercial license, serial No. 417, issued May 23, 1922, for a three-month period for operation on 360 meters to the Rhodes Company in Seattle, Washington. In the early days of broadcasting, some stations were owned by department stores and electronics stores, to promote the sale of receivers.

C. B. Williams, the department store's advertising manager, coordinated the installation of the initial 50-watt transmitter.[https://archive.org/stream/radiodigest19261618radi#page/n47/mode/1up "KFOA, Seattle, Toastmaster of Northwest"], Radio Digest, January 16, 1926, page 6. The station's glass-enclosed studio was located on the second floor of the store, where shoppers could observe its operation.[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1922-05-20/ed-1/seq-2/ "Rhodes Radio Unique in N.W."], Seattle Star, May 20, 1922, page 2.

At this time there was only a single wavelength, 360 meters (833 kHz) available for "entertainment" broadcasts, so KDZE was required to make a time-sharing agreement with the other stations already in operation. On June 23, Seattle stations were scheduled to operate from noon to 10:30 pm, with KDZE assigned the 3:30 to 4:15 p.m time period.[https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87093407/1922-06-23/ed-1/seq-2/ "Radio Broadcasts"], Seattle Star, June 23, 1922, page 2.

In May 1923, the U.S. Commerce Department, which regulated radio at this time, made a range of frequencies available to "Class B" stations that had higher powers and better programming. The Seattle region was initially assigned 610 kHz, with 660 kHz assigned to Portland.[https://archive.org/stream/radioage12unse#page/n362/mode/1up/ "Radio Conference Recommendations: New Wave Lengths"], Radio Age, May 1923, page 11. Beginning with these assignments radio stations ended the practice of broadcasting their market reports and weather forecasts on the separate 485-meter wavelength. These two assignments were soon swapped, and in the summer of 1923 KDZE moved to 660 kHz.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=160 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, August 1, 1923, page 8.

=KFOA=

In early 1924, in conjunction with an upgrade in facilities, the station's call sign was changed to KFOA.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=256 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1924, page 10. At this time the department store was issued a license to operate a second radio station, with 100 watts on 1110 kHz, which inherited the original KDZE call letters.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=249 "New Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1924, page 3. This second KDZE was primarily used to broadcast the weekly Chamber of Commerce luncheons,"Radio Program", The Seattle Times, January 18, 1924, p. 24. and was deleted in March 1925.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221817&view=1up&seq=555 "Strike out all particulars"], Radio Service Bulletin, April 1, 1925, page 11.

On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of a major reallocation resulting from the Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, KFOA was reassigned from 660 kHz to 1270 kHz, sharing the assignment with KTW (now KKDZ).[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221818&view=1up&seq=745 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, November 30, 1928, page 7.

=KOL=

File:KOL Radio broadcast, 1939.jpg

The next month the station was sold to the Seattle Broadcasting Company, headed by Archie Taft, with the call letters changing to KOL. The studios were moved to the Northern Life Tower."KFOA is Sold, Call Letters Changed to KOL", The Seattle Times, December 9, 1928, p. 20. In 1931, KTW moved to 1220 kHz, giving KOL unlimited use of 1270 kHz.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3221819&view=1up&seq=470 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, June 30, 1931, page 22.

From 1930 to 1938, KOL was Seattle's CBS Radio Network affiliate.John F. Schneider, Seattle Radio, (Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2013), p. 64. In 1934 the station abandoned the T-wire antenna on the Rhodes Department Store building's roof, moving to a new transmitter site on Harbor Island, which featured a {{convert|490|ft|m|adj=on}} self-supporting tower, which at the time was the tallest of its type in the United States."Radio Antenna of KOL Now is Tallest in U.S.", The Seattle Times, November 18, 1934, p. 32. The studios were moved to the transmitter site in 1952.Schnieder, p. 104.

In 1941, the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) was enacted. On March 29, 1941, KOL, along with all the other stations on 1270 kHz, moved to 1300 kHz.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080119129&view=1up&seq=23 Radio Broadcast Stations], Federal Communications Commission (March 29, 1941, edition), page 23.

In 1962, the Taft interests sold KOL to television producers and game show moguls Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.[https://archive.org/stream/broadcastingtele63unse_0#page/n529/mode/1up "Changing Hands"], Broadcasting, October 29, 1962, p. 62. KOL briefly adopted a Top 40 format which was dropped within a year due to the strong ratings of Top 40 leader AM 950 KJR, and reverted to a Middle of the Road (MOR) format.Warren Guykema, "KOL is Swinging Station With Some Serious Aims", The Seattle Times, November 17, 1963, TV Section, p. 4.Marty Loken, "Like It or Loop It, KJR's Still No. 1", The Seattle Times, April 12, 1964, p. 19Schneider, op. cit., p. 108. By 1965, KOL's Top 40 format had returned.Marty Loken, "KOL's New Sound-Rock and Roll from the Mudflats", The Seattle Times, June 13, 1965, TV Section, p. 17 In 1967, the station was sold to Buckley Broadcasting.S.J. Skreen, "Leathernecks Land Again", The Seattle Times, March 21, 1967, p. 23. From 1965 to 1975, KOL, favoring more progressive rock programming, battled KJR as the number-one popular music station in Seattle.{{cite web| url = https://www.historylink.org/File/1463| title = KOL-FM inaugurates underground format on June 17, 1968. - HistoryLink.org}}{{Cite web|title=Seattle Radio History - 1300AM (KOL)|date=October 18, 2010 |url=https://vimeo.com/15965471}}

=KMPS=

In 1975, the format flipped to country music. The call sign was changed to KMPS (for "Kountry Music Puget Sound") following another change in ownership.Victor Stredicke, "Multiple Messages behind Radio Station Call Letters", The Seattle Times, June 15, 1975, TV Section, p. 26.Victor Stredicke, "Country air staff, others get Labor Day Workout", The Seattle Times, September 1, 1975, p. B-6. The country format was also added to 94.1 KMPS-FM (now KSWD and formerly KOL-FM) in February 1978. The Harbor Island studio and transmitter site was demolished in 1981.Schneider, op. cit., p. 103.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiyu4Xryb-M 1983 KMPS AM 1300 Willie Nelson Commercial] (youtube.com)

While KMPS-FM concentrated on contemporary country music with continuous music sweeps, KMPS 1300 had more personality and a playlist with older country hits.

=KKOL=

After then-owners EZ Communications sold AM 1300 KMPS to Salem Communications in December 1996, the station's call sign was changed to KKOL in 1997, and a conservative talk format was adopted at that time.Chuck Taylor, "Summertime and News Just Keep Dribbling In", The Seattle Times, August 8, 1997, p. F-3[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-12-20.pdf#page=9 "Transactions: Washington"], Radio & Records, December 12, 1996, page 9.

In 2002, after losing its transmitter site, KKOL installed a temporary 1,000-watt transmitter on a moored 175-foot (53-meter) cargo ship, and began to operate from a Seattle waterway. This was the only floating broadcasting station antenna in the U.S.[https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/aboard-the-coastal-ranger-seattle39s-kkol-goes-maritime-mobile "Aboard the Coastal Ranger: Seattle's KKOL Goes Maritime Mobile"], December 17, 2002 (radioworld.com) This unique configuration was used for almost five years.

In 2007, a new 50,000-watt transmitter was built. However, there was a complaint from a nearby U.S. Oil and Refining petroleum facility about the transmitter. There was concern that its proximity to the refinery produced electrical fields that exceeded safe limits at the loading docks, creating a potential source of ignition for the combustibles handled there. In particular, there was concern that a spark caused by the flow of radio frequency (RF) energy (a high-frequency alternating current) within cranes, acting as receiving antennas, could trigger an explosion.[https://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/article/KKOL-moves-to-bolster-its-signal-power-format-1234623.php "KKOL moves to bolster its signal power, format and market share"] by Bill Virgin, April 18, 2007 (seattlepi.com) (This issue is a rarity in broadcast engineering, though a similar situation regarding fuel occurred at AM 1010 KIQI in Oakland, California.)[https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/big-oil-primary-issue-is-public-safety "Big Oil: Primary Issue Is Public Safety"], November 6, 2007 (radioworld.com)

U.S. Coast Guard standards specified that materials may not be handled with a signal strength of greater than 0.7 volts per square meter (700mV/m2), while the industry recommendation is 0.5V/m2. U.S. Oil's request was for the station to introduce a null toward the facility. However this was in the direction of downtown Seattle, which would necessitate a waiver of the regulation which requires radio stations to cover their community of license with a grade A "city-grade" signal. In addition, the proposed pattern had the effect of reducing KKOL's potential audience by 700,000 listeners.[https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/kkol-fights-to-keep-transmitter-site "KKOL Fights to Keep Transmitter Site"] by Scott Fybush, June 19, 2007 (radioworld.com)

=Business news and conservative talk=

On November 3, 2008, KKOL switched from its news/talk format to all-business radio.{{cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/tv/386555_radiobeat06.html?source=rss |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |title=On Radio on Radio: KKOL-AM shifts to business news; Owner sees a market for new format |first=Bill |last=Virgin |date=November 5, 2008}} A portion of the station's programming was derived from Bloomberg Radio and CNBC.

In May 2018, Salem agreed to swap KKOL to Tron Dinh Do's Intelli LLC in exchange for KPAM in Troutdale/Portland, Oregon. Salem had been operating KPAM via a local marketing agreement (LMA) since March 2018. KPAM is conservative talk "860 The Answer" with much of the same programming as "1590 The Answer" KLFE in Seattle.[https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/176681/salem-swaps-kkol-seattle-to-intelli-for-kpam-portl "Salem Swaps KKOL/Seattle To Intelli For KPAM/Portland"] May 15, 2018 (allaccess.com)

KKOL went silent on February 28, 2018, following the loss of its transmitter site, and need to find a new site to resume broadcasting.{{cite web |title=Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA |url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101780007&formid=910&fac_num=20355 |website=CDBS Public Access |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=June 27, 2018 |date=March 5, 2018}} After a year of being silent while the station changed transmitter locations to Bainbridge Island, KKOL signed back on in February 2019, playing contemporary Christian music, before going silent again in September 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?710706-1300-KKOL|title=1300 KKOL... | RadioDiscussions}}

In June 2021, KKOL returned to the air simulcasting KNTS. The simulcast was then changed to KLFE in October 2021. On August 1, 2022, KKOL became the originating station of the conservative talk format.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/235630/the-answer-moves-in-seattle/ THE ANSWER MOVES IN SEATTLE] Radioinsight - August 1, 2022 Effective December 1, 2022, Intelli LLC sold KKOL to Salem Media Group for $500,000.

See also

References

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