Ed Craney

Edmund Blodgette "E.B." Craney was a true broadcast pioneer in the world of radio in both Washington and Montana. He brought the first radio station to Butte, Montana, in 1929, which eventually became apart of his chain of unparalleled radio stations dubbed “The Z Network” (pronounced Z-Bar), and began the states first local television station in 1953. Craney was born on February 19, 1905 in Spokane, Washington. Craney was born to Lucy Blodgette, who was a schoolteacher, and James Craney, who was a pioneer in the logging industry. Craney's father was a Superintendent of the Great Northern Railroad. His job eventually brought him to Montana as he worked with the Somers Lumber Company in Swan Lake, Montana, while his mother remained a teacher. Craney was raised at the family house at Swan Lake, as were his sisters Emily, Martha, and Cora, and brother Oliver. Craney passed away on March 6, 1991, leaving behind a loving family, and a legacy in broadcasting that left its mark in Montana’s vast history.

Beginnings in Radio

After the family had spent five years at Swan Lake, E.B. moved back to Spokane, Washington where he attended North Central High School where he became part of the school’s radio club. Although Craney’s mother wanted him to become a doctor, the young boy yearned for the world of radio broadcasting—it was his passion. Radio broadcasting was in its primitive stages when young Craney began to work with the then-modern equipment. The AM radio was still very young. Although the radio was still a child at this point in time, it did not stop a young Craney from pursuing an operator’s license

With the help of storeowner Tom Symons, Craney had in a large part contributed to the opening KFDC (later KXLY) in Spokane in 1922. Symons eventually backed Craney when he decided to open a broadcast station in the booming mining town of Butte, Montana.

Building Butte's First Radio Station

KGIR

The Federal Radio Commission (FRC), which was the predecessor the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), issued the license for radio station KGIR, in Butte, in 1928. The station’s location was hand picked by Craney and was to be originally located within the Finlen Hotel; however, due to complications, the KGIR studios was built across the street from the hotel on the fourth floor of Shiner’s Furniture on Park Street. KGIR officially went on the air on January 31, 1929, an almost full nine months before the Great Depression of 1929 would hit the United States. With radio in the city of Butte, listeners enjoyed what they heard on the station, including local bands and singers, in addition to religious programming, to live inauguration of President Herbert Hoover, which was heard around the town, and as far away as Ramsay, which is small community just wet of Butte.

East Park Street Location

The KGIR studios were originally to be located in Butte’s Finlen Hotel, but due to uprisings, the station was not able to assume the hotel as its location. In time, talks, and wanting to keep his studios centrally located in the uptown Butte area, Craney began talks with Carl Shiner, of Shiner’s Furniture, and was give the go ahead to build his studios on the fourth floor of the furniture store. This location would serve as the home to KGIR for approximately 18 months before a new location was sought.

West Broadway Street Location

After tenure of about 18 months, the location of the KGIR studios changed. The station moved to its Broadway Street location in Butte, which at that time was the old office of the Senator William A. Clark. In more recent times, the building was used as the bus depot, and currently houses CCCS, Incorporated. The station remained at this location until property was acquired by Craney and the station was moved west of town.

Nissler Junction Location

In 1937, KGIR again moved, however, this time it would be approximately four and a half miles west of the city limits. Craney would open his new studios just a few miles from the Butte-Anaconda highway with a new transmitter and modern tower. The new location at Nissler Junction not only was the home of the station, but Craney also lived near the studios. Craney lived at Nissler for many years until his health deteriorated.

Expanding Operations Beyond Butte and The Z Bar Network

Before Craney had relocated the KGIR studios to Nissler Junction near Butte, he had been acquiring radio stations from around Montana and making them apart of his Z Network, which was an old Montana Cattle brand. The stations that Craney purchased were KPFA in Helena and KRBM in Bozeman. With the purchase of station KPFA in Helena, when joined together with KGIR, it led to creation Craney’s network. Craney then also went to purchase stations in Great Falls and Helena, both in 1947, they were KXLK and KXLL, respectively.

After searching through various radio sources, Craney found that there was a string of call letters that were not in use by the FCC at that time. He found a combination of call letters all containing “XL” letters. Craney then petitioned the FCC to have his Montana stations’ call letters changed so that they all have an “XL” sign—a unique identifier. The petition was granted, and thus The Z Network grew to include the Montana stations KXLF (formerly KGIR), KXLJ (formerly KPFA), KXLQ (formerly KRBM), KXLK, and KXLL. The Z Network was one of the most successful in Montana history and has left its mark along with Craney’s regional broadcast sales office that was also headquartered in Butte, the Pacific Northwest Broadcasters. The Pacific Northwest Broadcasters was to help in assisting the Montana stations with getting advertisement sales from the larger communities.

Television Audience Growing

Craney’s venture into radio was a landmark in Montana broadcasting; however, with widening audience of television, Craney brought television to “The Mining City.” A man that began the first radio station in Butte, also created Montana’s first radio network, went on to create a Butte television station, KXLF-TV, that was Montana’s first, and began Montana’s first television network, The Skyline Network, which was the predecessor to The Montana Television Network, ran by Joseph Sample. Although KXLF-TV did have one competitor when it began in 1953, KOPR-TV, would eventually close a little more than one year later.

References

Dilley, Raymond G. “Montana’s First TV Station.” In A Century of Montana Journalism, edited by Warren J. Brier and Nathan B. Blumberg, 84-89. Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1971.

“Dillon Radio Fans Enjoy Butte Program,” The Butte Daily Post, February 1, 1929.

Ehresman, R. Going Forward with Radio in the State of Montana Presented by Z: The Montana Network. Illinois: National Radio Personalities, 1948.

“Guide to the Edmund B. Craney papers, 1916-1979.” Montana Historical Society Archives. http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/print/ark:/80444/xv43438 (accessed February 2, 2009).

“KGIR Makes Aerial Bow, Receives Much Applause,” The Butte Daily Post, February 1, 1929.

Malone, Michael P and Richard B. Roeder. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. Washington: University of Washington Press, 1976.

Marquand, Ian. “The 100 Most Influential Montanans of the Century: 80. Ed Craney,” The Missoulian, 1999.

McCormick, Andrea. “Two Babes Grow Up,” The Montana Standard, March 11, 1979. ---“Wheelings and Dealing Dot Road Trod By Radio,” The Montana Standard, March 11, 1979. ---“KGIR: Blast of Sound Heard ‘Round the Town,” The Montana Standard, March 11, 1979. ---“Pioneer of Radio Era Worried About Future,” The Montana Standard, March 11, 1979.

McDonald, C. Howard. Voices in the Big Sky!: A Concise History of Radio and Television in Montana from the 1920’s to the Present. Montana: Big M Broadcast Services, 1992.

Murphy, Mary. “Messenger of the New Age: Station KGIR in Butte.” In Retracing the Past: Readings in the History of the American People, ed. Gary B. Nash and Ronald Shultz, 154-163. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. ---.,Mining Cultures: Men, Women, and Leisure in Butte, 1914-41. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1997.

Richards, Ronald P. “Montana’s Pioneer Radio Stations.” In A Century of Montana Journalism, edited by Warren J. Brier and Nathan B. Blumberg, 78-83. Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1971. ---., “The History of Broadcasting in Montana.” Master’s thesis, University of Montana, 1963.

Swibold, Dennis. Copper Chorus: Mining, Politics, and the Montana Press, 1889-1959. Montana: Montana Historical Society Press, 2006.

“Video Programming Starts in Butte,” The Montana Standard, September 1, 1953.

Wiberg, Martha Craney, and Edmund B. Craney. Swan Lake, Montana, 1914-1919. The Authors, 1978.