KVQ
{{Short description|Radio station in Sacramento, California (1922)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
KVQ was a short-lived Sacramento, California, AM radio station, which operated from February 2, 1922, until December 20 of the same year. It was initially licensed to J. C. Hobrecht, although a few months after its start ownership was transferred to the Sacramento Bee newspaper. KVQ was Sacramento's first broadcasting station.
History
File:Hobrechts advertisement for radio station KVQ (1922).gif
KVQ was licensed as Sacramento's first broadcasting station on December 9, 1921, to store owner J. C. Hobrecht.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420257&view=1up&seq=284 "New Stations"], Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 2. Limited Commercial license, serial# 250, issued for a one year period to J. C. Hobrecht for operation of KVQ on 360 meters (833 kHz). The station's establishment was largely due to the efforts of thirty-year-old Carlos McClatchy, son of the Sacramento Bee's editor and publisher, C. K. McClatchy. Carlos recognized the potential for the then-new idea of radio broadcasting, and convinced the Bee's owners to help finance the new station's operations. An arrangement was made to construct a studio in the newspaper's headquarters at Seventh Street between I and J Streets, with a transmitting antenna atop the building."A Buzz in the Ether" (chapter 1), Sacramento on the Air: How the McClatchy Family Revolutionized West Coast Broadcasting by Annette Kassis, 2015. KVQ made its debut broadcast at 5:30 P.M. on February 2, 1922."Victor Artists Will Give Bee Radio Concert To-day", Sacramento Bee, February 2, 1922, page 1. The station was primarily used to publicize the Hobrecht store and the Bee, and, as was the common standard at the time, did not accept advertising.
Initially there was only a single wavelength, 360 meters (833 kHz), available for radio station "entertainment" broadcasts,[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435066705633&view=1up&seq=200 "Amendments to Regulations"], Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 10. which required stations in various regions to develop timesharing agreements that allocated operating hours. By November 1, 1922, there were seven "Inland Stations" sharing time on 360 meters, with KVQ allocated 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. daily except Sunday, plus 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. Wednesdays, 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. Saturdays, and 6:00 to 7:00 P.M. Sundays.[https://books.google.com/books?id=IGpOAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA12-PA36 "Central California Broadcasting Schedule---Effective Nov. 1, '22"] ("Inland Stations" section), Radio magazine, December 1922, page 36.
A few months after the station debuted, ownership was transferred from J. C. Hobrecht to the Bee's publisher, James McClatchy,[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420257&view=1up&seq=459 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, September 1, 1922, page 7. followed a short time later by a transfer to "Sacramento Bee (James McClatchy Co.)".[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420257&view=1up&seq=495 "Alterations and Corrections"], Radio Service Bulletin, November 1, 1922, page 7. However, KVQ suspended operations on December 20, 1922"KVQ Quits Broadcasting Field In Interest Of Fans", Sacramento Bee, December 20, 1922, page 1. and was formally deleted on January 2, 1923,[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.319510008420265&view=1up&seq=27 "Strike out all particulars"], Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1923, page 7. with the Bee explaining that the station had been shut down in order to "bow to the wishes of Superior California radio fans who sought new fields to conquer and desired the additional quiet hour in the early evening used by the Bee to catch the concerts of stations in far eastern states"."Year Has Seen Big Development in Radio Field", Sacramento Bee, February 22, 1923, page 18.
In some accounts KVQ has been credited as being a direct predecessor to station KFBK,[https://archive.org/details/broadcastingtele62unse_0/page/n860/mode/1up "Radio stations 40 or more years old in 1962"] (KFBK entry), Broadcasting, May 14, 1962, pages 123-124. which was first licensed as Sacramento's second station on August 16, 1922, and initially operated in conjunction with the Bee's primary newspaper competitor, the Sacramento Union.[https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=37784 "Date First Licensed"], FCC History Cards for KFBK (FCC.gov). In 1925 the Bee returned to the broadcasting field after a near three-year absence, joining with KFBK's original owner to convert the station to commercial operations."Sacramento Bee Calling, Hello, Hello" (chapter 2), Sacramento on the Air: How the McClatchy Family Revolutionized West Coast Broadcasting by Annette Kassis, 2015. However, early reviews in the Bee treated KVQ as a separate station from KFBK,"Five Radio Stations Give Service to Sister State", Sacramento Bee, February 3, 1932, page A-Five."The Bee Pioneered Radio in Superior California", Sacramento Bee, April 24, 1937, page 3-R. and government regulators at the time consistently considered the two to be separate, unrelated stations.
See also
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- Sacramento on the Air: How the McClatchy Family Revolutionized West Coast Broadcasting by Annette Kassis, 2015.
{{Sacramento Radio}}
Category:Radio stations established in 1921
Category:1921 establishments in California
Category:1922 disestablishments in California
Category:Defunct radio stations in the United States