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KMOX

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KMOX
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency1120 kHz (HD Radio)
BrandingNewsRadio 1120
Programming
FormatNews/Talk
AffiliationsCBS Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerCBS Radio
History
First air date
December 24, 1925
Call sign meaning
none officially, but a local legend says:
Kirkwood
Missouri
Xmas (the station launched on Christmas Eve)
Technical information
ClassA (Clear channel)
Power50,000 watts
Links
Websitekmox.com

KMOX (1120 AM, "NewsRadio 1120") is an radio station broadcasting from St. Louis, Missouri. It is a 50,000-watt clear channel radio station, which permits its nighttime signal to be heard in most of the continental U.S. KMOX operates as "NewsRadio 1120" and refers to itself as "The Voice of St. Louis."

KMOX is affiliated with the CBS Radio Network and licensed to a CBS Corporation subsidiary, CBS Radio. KMOX's transmitter is located in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. The KMOX AM Studio is located directly across the street from the Gateway Arch.

For many years, KMOX broadcast using C-QUAM AM stereo, but stereo transmissions ended in the spring of 2000. The station now broadcasts an HD Radio signal.

KMOX, along with WSDZ are responsible for the activation of the Greater St. Louis Emergency Alert System for hazardous weather, disaster declarations, etc.

History

KMOX signed on in 1925 owned by a group of businessmen incorporated as The Voice of St. Louis Inc. According to the station's official website, the "KMOX" call letters were assigned by the Federal Radio Commission. The station's owners had hoped to be assigned "K-V-S-L", for "Voice of St. Louis" They were assigned KMOX, but in a last ditch effort they applied for "K-M-O", but the letters were in use at the time by a small station on the west coast. KMOX signed on December 24, 1925. (The "X" was because the date was Christmas Eve, or "X"mas eve. In fact, a local legend states the call letters mean Kirkwood, MissOuri Xmas.) (Actually the K stands for nothing. At that time, K was the assigned starting call letter of new radio stations west of the Mississippi River)

In 1927, the station gave prominent coverage to the Charles Lindbergh flight across the Atlantic, in the Spirit of St. Louis.

In 1927, it became one of the first 16 stations in the CBS network; two years later CBS bought KMOX, and began the process of getting approval to build a 50,000-watt transmitter tower; when completed, it gave the now-clear-channel station a signal that could be heard as far away as New Zealand and the Arctic Circle, making it one of the first international radio stations.

In 1933, KMOX covered the first post-Prohibition case of Budweiser beer leaving Anheuser-Busch for the White House, a story carried nationally by CBS.

During the 1930s and 1940s, KMOX was one of several St. Louis stations broadcasting Cardinals and Browns baseball games. KMOX lost broadcasting rights in 1948 when a new Cardinals radio network was formed by the team, but by the 1950s, it became the flagship station of that network (in part due to its clear channel status).

During the 1950s, the station's slogan was "k-mocks", pronouncing the way the station's call letters are spelled.

In 1955 Robert Hyland Jr became KMOX's general manager, a role he held for nearly forty years. It was Hyland who emphasized and leveraged KMOX's relationship with the Cardinals; he also made the decision in 1960 to eliminate the station's afternoon music programming in favor of talk radio, a critical change which led to the station's subsequent dominance of the St. Louis radio market. On February 29 of that year, Jack Buck hosted the first "At Your Service" program, which included an interview with Eleanor Roosevelt. That program, like the sports talk programs that soon followed, pioneered a format for radio heavily dependent on interviews, guest appearances, and calls from listeners.

After Hyland died in 1992, Rod Zimmerman was named general manager. He departed in 1998 to manage WBBM Radio in Chicago. Karen Carroll was general manager from 1998 until 2003, when Tom Langmyer was promoted to the top position. Langmyer left in 2005 to become vice president/general manager of WGN Radio in Chicago. Dave Ervin managed the station from 2005-2008. John Sheehan, who also oversees sister stations KEZK and KYKY is the station's current Market Manager for CBS.

The station's emphasis had shifted away from broadcasting St. Louis professional sports teams. In 2000, the St. Louis Blues hockey team moved to KTRS after having been on KMOX for all but two of the team's 33 seasons, but it would return starting in the 2007-08 season. In 2006, the Cardinals' broadcasts moved to KTRS 550 AM after 52 seasons on KMOX-AM after the team purchased controlling interest in KTRS 550 AM. KMOX still airs the Missouri Tigers football and basketball games, which it has been doing for many years.

KMOX started to broadcast in HD Radio in May 2006.

On August 1, 2008; CBS Radio has announced that it would sell 50 radio stations in 12 markets to focus more on major market stations. Although CBS hasn't mentioned which stations are for sale, CBS has announced on the day of first-round bids (September 22, 2008) that KMOX will not be on the auction block.[1]

Programming

KMOX has had a long history of broadcasting sports. In 1926, it broadcast the Cardinals-Yankees World Series, and starting the next season the station was regularly carrying Cardinals' games. KMOX's most famous sports figure was Jack Buck, who was the station's year-round sports director during the years he was also calling baseball and football for the CBS radio and television networks. Another famous figure was Harry Caray, who did play-by-play for Cardinals' baseball from 1945 through 1969. Bob Costas did play-by-play on KMOX for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association from 1974 until the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976.

The station continues to host sports programming such as "Sports on a Sunday Morning" with host Ron Jacober, and "Sports Open Line." St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Dan McLaughlin, Tom Ackerman, Ron Jacober, and Kevin Wheeler host "Sports Open Line", which airs every weekday night. NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace hosts a weekly Friday-night show.

While the station was known nationally for sports play-by-play, KMOX is best known in St. Louis for its format of news and talk. The station offers news, weather and traffic updates throughout the day. KMOX holds the distinction of holding the record for consecutive number one Arbitron ratings books in the United States. The station has consistently been the number one radio station with listeners 12 and older since 1972.

For the past eleven Decembers, KMOX has hosted a holiday radio program, in which KMOX personalities perform an old-time radio show in front of a live audience.

Some of the station's popular hosts and local programs include:

"Total Information AM" with Doug McElvein and Debbie Monterreyand Tom Ackerman. Charles Brennan. Mark Reardon. "Sports Open Line" with Kevin Wheeler. Dan McLaughlin. John Carney. Jon Grayson. "Your Turn" with Ralph Graczak, a very informative open-lines talk show (was weekdays during the late hours, now as of January 2009, on Saturday mornings only).

Rush Limbaugh airs weekdays between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. This is the only non-local show broadcast on the station.

Live Play by Play Sports on KMOX

St. Louis Blues hockey. Missouri Tigers college football and basketball games.

Personalities

Notable current and past KMOX broadcasters include:

References

  1. ^ First bids on CBS Radio selloffs due today - Radio-Info.com (retrieved September 22, 2008)
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