KLBJ (AM)

Last updated
KLBJ
Broadcast area Austin metropolitan area
Frequency 590 kHz
BrandingNews Radio KLBJ
Programming
Format News/Talk
Network Fox News Radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Sinclair Telecable Inc.
  • (Waterloo Media Group, L.P.)
KBPA, KGSR, KLBJ-FM, KLZT, KROX-FM
History
First air date
July 2, 1939;85 years ago (July 2, 1939) (as KTBC)
Former call signs
KTBC (1939–1973)
Call sign meaning
 Lyndon Baines Johnson (The Johnson family once owned the station.)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 65791
Class B
Power 5,000 watts days
1,000 watts nights
Translator(s) 99.7 K259AJ (Austin)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.newsradioklbj.com

KLBJ (590 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Austin, Texas, airing a news/talk radio format. It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. and operates under the name Waterloo Media. It is Central Texas' primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System.

Contents

The station has studios and offices along Interstate 35 in Austin. Its transmitter site is off North Farm to Market Road 973 in Travis County, near the Colorado River. [2] Every day, KLBJ operates with 5,000 watts non-directional. To protect other stations on 590 AM from interference, at night it reduces power to 1,000 watts and uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. It also simulcasts its programming on FM translator station K259AJ at 99.7 MHz.

Programming

Weekdays on KLBJ start with The Todd and Oz Show, a local news and interview program with Todd Jeffries and Patrick Osborn. In the afternoon drive time, another local program, The Mark, Melynda, and Ed Show is heard, featuring Mark Caesar, Melynda Brant, and Ed Clements. The rest of the weekday schedule is nationally syndicated programs: Brian Kilmeade and Friends, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Dan Bongino Show, Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and America in The Morning with John Trout.

Weekends feature shows on financial advice, real estate, health, cars, gardening, and food, some of which are paid brokered programming. Syndicated weekend programming includes The Kim Komando Show , Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont , Somewhere in Time with Art Bell and The Weekend News with Gordon Deal . Fox News Radio supplies hourly updates. KLBJ has a local news-sharing agreement with the Fox TV Network's KTBC Channel 7, its former sister station.

History

Early years as KTBC

The station first signed on the air on July 2, 1939. [3] The original call sign was KTBC, standing for the Texas Broadcasting Company. It was originally broadcast on 1150 kilocycles, with 1,000 watts. It started as a daytimer station, required to go off the air at night.

KTBC was a CBS Radio Network affiliate. It carried the CBS schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio." [4]

Johnson Family Ownership

KTBC was acquired by the family of future President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1943, the future First Lady, known as Lady Bird Johnson, invested an inheritance of $17,500 to purchase KTBC. [5] She hired new on-air talent, found commercial sponsors, kept all the financial accounts, and maintained the facility. Using her formal name, Mrs. Claudia T. Johnson served as manager, and then as chairman of what later came to be known as KLBJ for some four decades. In later years, the president and Lady Bird's children ran the media company. [6]

Although Mrs. Johnson was the owner in papers filed with the Federal Communications Commission, then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson used his influence with the FCC to permit KTBC to relocate to AM 590, increasing its coverage area and broadcasting around the clock with nighttime authorization. [5]

The Johnson family put Austin's first TV station on the air in 1952, Channel 7 KTBC-TV. The co-owned station 93.7 KTBC-FM (now KLBJ-FM) signed on the air in 1960. In the 1950s, as network programming moved to television, 590 KTBC began playing middle of the road (MOR) and easy listening music, while still airing CBS News on the hour.

Selling the TV and Radio Stations

In 1973, the Johnson family sold KTBC-TV to the Times Mirror Company, a newspaper and broadcasting company that published the Los Angeles Times and the Dallas Times Herald . Channel 7 kept the KTBC call sign. [7] Today KTBC is owned by Fox Television Stations. The radio stations' call letters were changed to KLBJ and KLBJ-FM, to match the initials of former President Johnson, who had died earlier that year. [8] The AM station continued its format of MOR music with news, talk, and sports. The year before, the FM station had switched to a progressive rock sound.

In 1997, KLBJ-AM-FM came under the ownership of the LBJS Corporation. [9] The new company was a merger of LBJ Broadcasting, which also owned KAJZ, with Sinclair Telecable’s two stations in the market: KROX-FM and KGSR. [10] 590 KLBJ had already shifted from MOR music to an all-talk format. 93.7 KLBJ-FM continued its album-oriented rock format.

At the time, Sinclair Telecable Inc. was a minority stakeholder in the stations, with LBJ Holdings Co. as the 51-percent controlling stakeholder. In 2003, the Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications acquired the controlling stake in the stations; [11] the $150 million sale, completed on July 1, marked the Johnson family's exit from broadcasting. [12]

On October 30, 2009, 590 AM began simulcasting its programming on FM translator station K259AJ at 99.7 MHz. That gave listeners in Austin and its adjacent suburbs the opportunity to hear KLBJ's programming on FM.

In June 2019, Emmis announced that it would sell its controlling stake in the Austin cluster back to Sinclair Telecable for $39.3 million. KLBJ-AM-FM operates under the licensee name "Waterloo Media". [11]

Translators

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class FCC info
K259AJ99.7 MHz FM Austin, Texas 82261250252  m (827  ft)D LMS

Related Research Articles

WBOB is a commercial AM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly syndicated programming, including shows from Mark Levin, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Jay Sekulow and Red Eye Radio. Most hours begin with Townhall News. Some hours are paid brokered programming. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmis Corporation</span> American media conglomerate

Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which have notoriety for their Hip Hop Rhythmic format as well as WFAN, which was the world's first 24-hour sports talk radio station. In addition to radio, Emmis has invested in TV, publishing, and mobile operations throughout the U.S.

WWWL is a commercial radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports gambling format. The station's studios are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in Downtown New Orleans. Its transmitter site is in Algiers, near the city limits of Gretna and Terrytown. The station operates at 5,000 watts during the day and 480 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna. The station is simulcast on FM translator station W225CZ.

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

KBPA is a commercial radio station licensed to Austin, Texas, United States. Owned by Sinclair Telecable and operated under the name Waterloo Media, it broadcasts an adult hits radio format. Its radio studios and offices are located along Interstate 35 in North Austin.

KGSR is a radio station licensed to Cedar Park, Texas, and serving the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. Owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. d/b/a Waterloo Media Group, it broadcasts a Spanish contemporary hit radio format. KGSR has studios and offices off Interstate 35 in North Austin, and its transmitter site is located off Route 206 in Bertram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rollye James</span> American radio talk show host

Rochelle "Rollye" James is an American radio talk show host. She hosted The Rollye James Show nationally and on international shortwave on WWCR from 2000 to 2011. Rollye revived her show, broadcasting weeknights 10p.m.–midnight, via live stream and podcast on June 19, 2013. It is now broadcast currently on WGN 720 in Chicago and on the web. She is also the author of "What Am I Doing Here? ", a motivational book punctuated with numerous historical radio anecdotes published by Nickajack Press. Rollye James was also a guest host on Coast to Coast AM on Friday and Monday nights for several months in 2000, which helped increase the audience for her own show.

KLBJ-FM is a commercial radio station in Austin, Texas. It broadcasts an album-oriented rock radio format billed as "The Rock of Austin." It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc.. KLBJ-FM is licensed under the name Waterloo Media. The station was once owned by the family of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, and still carries his initials as its call letters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WROW</span> Radio station in Albany, New York

WROW – branded Magic 590-1410 AM and 96.5-100.5 FM – is a commercial radio station licensed to Albany, New York, and serving the Capital District, including Albany, Schenectady and Troy. WROW has a radio format featuring soft oldies with an occasional adult standard. It is owned by Pamal Broadcasting, with radio studios and offices in Latham. WROW serves as the local affiliate for CBS Radio News and is the Emergency Alert System (EAS) primary entry point for Northeastern New York state.

WTAR is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads radio market. WTAR is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It broadcasts an adult album alternative format as "96.5 The Coast". WTAR's studios and offices are on Waterside Drive in Norfolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KVI</span> Talk radio station in Seattle

KVI is a commercial radio station in Seattle, Washington. Owned by Lotus Communications, it airs a conservative talk radio format called "News Talk 570 KVI." Its transmitter is on Vashon Island and its studios and offices are located with former sister station KOMO-TV at KOMO Plaza in Seattle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cactus Pryor</span> American broadcaster and radio personality (1923–2011)

Richard S. "Cactus" Pryor was an American broadcaster and humorist. He received his nickname after the old Cactus Theater on Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, which was run by his father, "Skinny" Pryor.

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

KVET is an AM radio station in Austin, Texas. It is owned by iHeartMedia, and carries a sports radio format with both local sports shows and programming from Fox Sports Radio.

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

KLZT is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Bastrop, Texas, United States, the station serves the Austin area. The station is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. and operated under the name Waterloo Media. The station is also broadcast on HD radio. It bills itself as La Z 107.1. The station has studios along Interstate 35 in North Austin, and the transmitter site is located southeast of Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KROX-FM</span> Radio station in Buda, Texas

KROX-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Buda, Texas, and serving the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. and broadcasts an alternative rock format. The station has studios along Interstate 35 in North Austin, and the transmitter site is located off Waymaker Way at the West Austin Antenna Farm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRAZ</span> Radio station in Santa Ynez, California

KRAZ is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Ynez, California and serves the Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara areas. The station is owned by Knight Broadcasting Inc. and broadcasts a country music format from its studios in Santa Ynez.

WJCW is a commercial radio station, licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee and serving the Tri-Cities radio market. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a news/talk format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNIS</span> Radio station in Hampton Roads, Virginia

WNIS is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads media market. WNIS is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It airs a talk radio format.

WPFR is a Christian AM radio station licensed to Terre Haute, Indiana. The station is owned by American Hope Communications, Inc.

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

KWTX is an AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Waco, Texas, the station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are located on Highway 6 in Waco, and its transmitter is also located in Waco, south of Baylor University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTBC (TV)</span> Fox TV station in Austin, Texas

KTBC is a television station in Austin, Texas, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, and maintains studios on East 10th Street near the Texas State Capitol in downtown Austin; its transmitter is based at the West Austin Antenna Farm on Mount Larson.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KLBJ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/KLBJ-AM
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1942 p. 178.
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1944, p. 154.
  5. 1 2 Caro, Robert A. (1990). "Buying and Selling". The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Inc. ISBN   0-679-73371-X.
  6. ↑ Russell, Jan Jarboe (March 1998). "Luci in the Sky". Texas Monthly .
  7. ↑ "Lady Bird Johnson Biography :: National First Ladies' Library" . Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 p. B-201.
  9. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999, p. D-422.
  10. ↑ Bertin, Michael. "Two Schools of Thought". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Emmis Exits Austin Market With Sale To Sinclair Telecable". Insideradio.com . June 10, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  12. ↑ "LBJ completes $105M sale of radio stations". Austin Business Journal . July 2, 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

30°14′16″N97°37′47″W / 30.23778°N 97.62972°W / 30.23778; -97.62972

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.