KATO (AM)

Last updated
KATO
Broadcast area Safford, Arizona
Frequency 1230 kHz
BrandingNewstalk 1230
Programming
Format News Talk Information
Affiliations Westwood One, ESPN Radio
Ownership
Owner
  • Reed Richins
  • (Double-R-Communications LLC)
KWRQ, KXKQ
History
First air date
May 5, 1961
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 40914
Class C
Power 1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
 32°49′46″N109°45′16″W / 32.82944°N 109.75444°W / 32.82944; -109.75444
Links
Public license information
Website gilavalleycentral.net

KATO (1230 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Safford, Arizona, United States, the station is currently owned by Reed Richins, through licensee Double-R-Communications LLC, and features programming from Westwood One and ESPN Radio. [2]

Contents

KATO carries local high school sports and Eastern Arizona College football and basketball. The "voice" of Gila Valley sports is Lee Patterson, who has been on the mic at KATO since 2000.

History

KATO was built and signed on by veteran eastern Arizona radio station owner Willard Shoecraft. When it came on air on May 5, 1961, it restored radio service to Safford, which had been lost on October 29, 1960, when the Safford-based Gila Broadcasting chain—and its local station KGLU—shuttered operations in the face of a pending FCC license revocation hearing. [3] Shoecraft had started his radio career in 1939 at KGLU, working 70 hours a week for $10 pay. [4] KATO's initial studios and offices were in the Town House Motor Hotel. [5] Shoecraft sold KATO in 1968 to Al G. Stanley, who was able to raise its power to 1,000 watts in 1971. KSIL, Inc., bought KATO in 1973.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, KATO went through a revolving door of owners. The McQuade family bought KATO in 1988 and sold it to Harry McMurray, who in turn sold it on to a group headed by Rex Jensen in 1990. When that group filed for bankruptcy, McMurray bought back the station. Double-R Communications acquired KATO and its sister stations in 2018.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPFC (AM)</span> Radio station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

WPFC is a radio station broadcasting an urban gospel/talk format licensed to operate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. The station is currently owned by pastor Ralph Moore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMHT (AM)</span> Radio station in Marshall, Texas

KMHT is a terrestrial AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, broadcasting a sports format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KAAA</span> Radio station in Kingman, Arizona

KAAA is a radio station broadcasting a news–talk format, licensed to Kingman, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by Cameron Broadcasting, Inc. and forms a full-time simulcast with KZZZ in Bullhead City. The stations feature programming from Fox News Radio, Premiere Networks, Westwood One and Salem Radio Network among others.

KCKY was a radio station in Pinal County, Arizona. The station was licensed to the city of Coolidge and was owned by the Cortaro Broadcasting Corporation.

KTGR is a radio station broadcasting a sports format, with programming from the ESPN Radio network. Licensed to Columbia, Missouri, United States, the station serves the Columbia, Missouri, area. The station is currently owned by Zimmer Radio Group of Mid-Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVNA (AM)</span> Radio station in Flagstaff, Arizona

KVNA is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, the station serves the Flagstaff area. The station is currently owned by Yavapai Broadcasting Corporation.

KFFN is a commercial radio station in Tucson, Arizona. It is owned by Lotus Communications and it broadcasts a sports radio format. KFFN airs syndicated programming from ESPN Radio.

KUAZ and KUAZ-FM are public radio stations in Tucson, Arizona, owned by the University of Arizona. KUAZ transmits on 1550 kHz on the AM dial, and KUAZ-FM is at 89.1 MHz on the FM dial. The stations simulcast a radio format of news and information, as a member of National Public Radio. KUAZ-AM-FM carry such popular NPR shows as "All Things Considered," "Morning Edition," "1A" and "Fresh Air with Terry Gross."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOPI (AM)</span> Radio station in Tennessee, United States

WOPI is a sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bristol, Tennessee, United States. WOPI is owned and operated by Glenwood Communications Corporation though subsidiary Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation.

KBSZ is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic rock radio format. Licensed to Apache Junction, Arizona, the station is owned by 1TV.com. The studios and offices are on Broadway in Miami, Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJGL</span> Radio station in Jacksonville, Florida

WJGL is a commercial FM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station is owned by Cox Radio, a division of the Cox Media Group. WJGL airs a classic hits radio format that leans towards classic rock, playing primarily rock songs from the 1970s, 80s and some 90s, while avoiding pop/dance artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna.

WSTT is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel music format. Licensed to Thomasville, Georgia, United States, the station is currently owned by Southern Gulf Broadcasting.

KQCV is a radio station on 800 kHz in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is part of the Bott Radio Network of Christian radio stations and was the second station acquired by the network. Prior to that, it operated as a secular radio station from 1948 to 1976.

KINO is a radio station licensed to serve Winslow, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by Sunflower Communications, Inc. It airs a country music format. Other programming consists of local news, weather, and sports which include the Arizona Diamondbacks and live broadcasts of the local Winslow High School Bulldog Sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KXKQ</span> Radio station in Safford, Arizona

KXKQ is a radio station licensed to serve Safford, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by Reed Richins, through licensee Double-R-Communications LLC. It airs a country music format. Home of "Reed in the Morning", hosted by Reed Richins. The top morning show in the Gila Valley for 25 years.

KMFS is a radio station licensed to Guthrie, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The station is owned by Family Worship Center Church, Inc. It is part of the Jimmy Swaggart Ministries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCAZ</span> Radio station in Carthage, Illinois

WCAZ is a farm/country formatted AM radio station, licensed to Carthage, Illinois. Because the station shares the same frequency as clear-channel station WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee, WCAZ broadcasts only during the daytime. However, its FM translator, W256DZ on 99.1 MHz, also provides nighttime operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVNS</span> Radio station in Brownsville, Texas

KVNS is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Brownsville, Texas, United States, the station is currently owned by iHeartMedia and features programming from Fox News Radio, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One. It shares studios with its sister stations, KHKZ, KQXX-FM, KTEX, and KBFM, located close to the KRGV-TV studios in Weslaco, Texas, while its transmitter is located near Brownsville, Texas.

KNGN is a radio station broadcasting a religious music format. It is licensed to McCook, Nebraska and owned by My Bridge.

KWJB was the call sign for several radio stations in Globe, Arizona. Two separate licenses on 1240 kHz, and an FM station on 100.3 MHz, used the call letters. The first KWJB signed on in 1938, being joined by the FM station in 1958. After going silent October 29, 1960, the licenses of both stations were ordered revoked by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1961 along with all other stations owned by Gila Broadcasting. A second AM station in Globe on the same frequency, but a different license, operated as KWJB between 1969 and 1975.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KATO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "KATO Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ "Safford Region Has Broadcast Station Again". Arizona Daily Star. May 7, 1961. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  4. ↑ Rothstein, Arthur H. (October 13, 1989). "Announcer started career in radio's golden days". Associated Press.
  5. ↑ "Radio Station Work Begun". Arizona Republic. March 21, 1961. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.