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KIT (AM)
Encyclopedia
KIT is a radio station
broadcasting a News Talk Information format to the Yakima, Washington
, USA area. The station is licensed to GAP Broadcasting Yakima License, LLC and owned by Townsquare Media. The station features programming from ABC Radio, Fox News Radio
and Westwood One
.
GAP Broadcasting, owned by Skip Weller, purchased the station in early 2008 from Clear Channel Communications
. GapWest was folded into Townsquare Media on August 13, 2010.
The transmitter and broadcast tower are located in southern Yakima along West Washington Avenue near the railroad. According to the Antenna Structure Registration database, the self supporting tower is 63 m (207 ft) tall.
KIT-AM was originally licensed to Portland, Oregon, but the station's original owner, Carl E. Haymond, decided, since Yakima had no radio station, that moving the station there would be more advantageous in regards to serving the community and in generating station operating revenue. KIT began broadcasting on 1310 kHz with 500 watts, but later switched to its present frequency of 1280 kHz so it could increase power.
An early children's program on KIT was "Uncle Jimmy's Clubhouse," hosted by James "Jimmy" Nolan, and the news was edited for many years by Pete Wick. During the 1940s and 1950s, KIT's Chief Engineer was Ben Murphy. During the 1950s, a late night disk jockey host was Joe Young, whose program was appropriately entitled "La Casa Jose'" (The House Of Joe).
In November 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was incorporated. One of the first NBC programs to reach the west coast was the broadcast of the 1927 Rose Bowl Game from Pasadena, California, with announcer, Graham McNamee
.
By joining the NBC Radio Network in 1931, KIT had the advantage of associating itself with the network's vast entertainment and news resources.
As the years progressed into the 1930s and 1940s, NBC's and KIT's programming improved. The network was owned by its parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which also owned the Keith - Albee - Orpheum vaudeville circuit, later renamed Radio - Keith - Orpheum (RKO). RKO handled many vaudeville comedians that were ideally suited for radio. Some of them were Jack Benny
, Burns and Allen
, Fred Allen
, Eddie Cantor
, and Fanny Brice
, among others.
During the depression of the 1930s, many people could not even afford the admission price of a movie ticket, but they could afford to purchase a radio where they could listen to free entertainment, interspersed with commercial announcements.
Being a dirt farmer during the depression, which required sweating, plowing, and staring at the rear end of a horse all day, and after cleaning up and after eating dinner, what a pleasure it was to sit down and relax, and to listen to KIT and the great radio comedians, and for free.
And since, at the time, there were no FM or television broadcasts, no Internet, no CD players, no IPods, and the like, AM radio was king, and KIT was there, right in the middle of it.
During the dark days of World War II
, KIT was there to provide air raid and black out warnings. It was believed that an attack on the west coast of the United States was imminent, so people were warned to turn off their lights, and drape black cloths over their windows, so the expected bombers would see nothing but blackness.
Periodically, KIT, and the other Central Washington radio stations, would go off of the air so the bombers could not use the signals to pinpoint their bomb dropping locations, as they did at Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
, in his "Fireside Chats
," broadcast from the While House in Washington D.C., used NBC and KIT to reassure the public that everything was safe and under control. People were literally glued to their radio receivers and KIT during this time to get news
, any news, no matter how small, concerning the outcome of the war, the safety of themselves, their families, and their country.
Following World War Two, the homecoming G.I.s infused a spark of life and prosperity into the U.S. economy.
In 1942, under the provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, NBC was required to divest itself of its Blue Network
, which later became The Blue Network Incorporated, and later The American Broadcasting Company
.
As a result of this divestiture and a booming economy, more money was available to NBC to develop better, higher quality programming. In the 1940s, NBC was known as the network of the radio comedians, which gave it the distinction of being the network with the largest listener base. KIT, being an NBC Radio Network
affiliate, also shared in this wide listening audience. If one wanted to hear the great radio comedians in Central Washington State, they listened to KIT.
As the years continued into the 1950s, television
began to cut inroads in to radio advertising revenues and sponsors began the gradual migration from radio to television. As a result, less money was available to support quality network entertainment programming.
Gradually, NBC, and the other radio networks, began dropping large budget entertainment programs in favor of news and information programming. "NBC News On The Hour," and "Emphasis," became the network staples as entertainment programs were slowly phased out.
NBC radio affiliates, including KIT, had the tough decision to eventually lessen, or completely eliminate, their network connections in order to maintain their profit structures. At that time, KIT became a disk jockey station, that is, live hosts playing phonograph records on the air.
Later, when music licensing fees became too difficult to maintain, KIT became a news and information outlet.
At one time, KIT possessed a permit from the Federal Communications Commission
to construct a television station in Yakima, but, since another station was already being built at the time, the decision was made not to move forward.
On May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helen's erupted. The City of Yakima was in direct line with the prevailing winds that morning at 8:32 when the first eruption occurred. In the hours that followed, the massive cloud of smoke and ash blanketed the entire area headed in a north-easterly direction. About 2-3 inches of heavy ash fell on the area causing a widespread problem of dust, making vehicle travel on the roads come to virtually a stand still. A wide variety of problems surfaced, and the radio station became a news and information clearing house.
At the time the mountain erupted, the lone staff member at the station, Ken Rink, discontinued normal programming and switched to a news/talk format which is what the station does today. He provided news and information while soliciting officials and the community to call the station with eye witness reports. Participants were put on the air live, and within a matter of minutes, that format was used over the next 5 days without commercials.
By 10:00 that morning, the cloud of smoke and ash had covered the area. News and information was coming in at rapid rate. Many people had concerns, questions, and announcements. Some of the station's other staff began to arrive a short time later. In the hours that followed, the experienced staff had established 2 other broadcast rooms to provide support to the main control room with regard to incoming news, interviews, recordings, editing, and production. Some of the staff answered phones and screened incoming calls. Officials were able to get through and were put on the air immediately.
The station later earned an award for its leadership role in the emergency. At that time, the station was owned by Jack Goetz. The news director was Al Bell. Other on-air staff who participated included Brian Teegarden and Dave Hansen, but it was the late Al Bell who was remembered by the community years after the eruption. Al Bell had served in that capacity since the 60's, and became the news authority on radio in the Yakima area for years.
On November 17, 2011 KIT began simulcasting its news/talk format on KQMY
99.3 FM.
KIT has a long, illustrious history and has been continuously, and faithfully, serving Yakima, and the Yakima valley, since 1931.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting a News Talk Information format to the Yakima, Washington
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
, USA area. The station is licensed to GAP Broadcasting Yakima License, LLC and owned by Townsquare Media. The station features programming from ABC Radio, Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network programmed by Fox News Channel.- History :In 2003, Fox News began syndicating one minute radio updates to radio stations via syndication service Westwood One. On June 1, 2005, Fox News Radio employed 60 people and provided five minute newscasts at the top...
and Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
.
GAP Broadcasting, owned by Skip Weller, purchased the station in early 2008 from Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
. GapWest was folded into Townsquare Media on August 13, 2010.
The transmitter and broadcast tower are located in southern Yakima along West Washington Avenue near the railroad. According to the Antenna Structure Registration database, the self supporting tower is 63 m (207 ft) tall.
KIT-AM was originally licensed to Portland, Oregon, but the station's original owner, Carl E. Haymond, decided, since Yakima had no radio station, that moving the station there would be more advantageous in regards to serving the community and in generating station operating revenue. KIT began broadcasting on 1310 kHz with 500 watts, but later switched to its present frequency of 1280 kHz so it could increase power.
An early children's program on KIT was "Uncle Jimmy's Clubhouse," hosted by James "Jimmy" Nolan, and the news was edited for many years by Pete Wick. During the 1940s and 1950s, KIT's Chief Engineer was Ben Murphy. During the 1950s, a late night disk jockey host was Joe Young, whose program was appropriately entitled "La Casa Jose'" (The House Of Joe).
In November 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) was incorporated. One of the first NBC programs to reach the west coast was the broadcast of the 1927 Rose Bowl Game from Pasadena, California, with announcer, Graham McNamee
Graham McNamee
Graham McNamee was a pioneering broadcaster in American radio, the medium's most recognized national personality in its first international decade....
.
By joining the NBC Radio Network in 1931, KIT had the advantage of associating itself with the network's vast entertainment and news resources.
As the years progressed into the 1930s and 1940s, NBC's and KIT's programming improved. The network was owned by its parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which also owned the Keith - Albee - Orpheum vaudeville circuit, later renamed Radio - Keith - Orpheum (RKO). RKO handled many vaudeville comedians that were ideally suited for radio. Some of them were Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen
Burns and Allen, an American comedy duo consisting of George Burns and his wife, Gracie Allen, worked together as a comedy team in vaudeville, films, radio and television and achieved great success over four decades.-Vaudeville:...
, Fred Allen
Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an American comedian whose absurdist, topically pointed radio show made him one of the most popular and forward-looking humorists in the so-called classic era of American radio.His best-remembered gag was his long-running mock feud with friend and fellow comedian Jack Benny, but it...
, Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
, and Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
, among others.
During the depression of the 1930s, many people could not even afford the admission price of a movie ticket, but they could afford to purchase a radio where they could listen to free entertainment, interspersed with commercial announcements.
Being a dirt farmer during the depression, which required sweating, plowing, and staring at the rear end of a horse all day, and after cleaning up and after eating dinner, what a pleasure it was to sit down and relax, and to listen to KIT and the great radio comedians, and for free.
And since, at the time, there were no FM or television broadcasts, no Internet, no CD players, no IPods, and the like, AM radio was king, and KIT was there, right in the middle of it.
During the dark days of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, KIT was there to provide air raid and black out warnings. It was believed that an attack on the west coast of the United States was imminent, so people were warned to turn off their lights, and drape black cloths over their windows, so the expected bombers would see nothing but blackness.
Periodically, KIT, and the other Central Washington radio stations, would go off of the air so the bombers could not use the signals to pinpoint their bomb dropping locations, as they did at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, in his "Fireside Chats
Fireside chats
The fireside chats were a series of thirty evening radio addresses given by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944.-Origin of radio address:...
," broadcast from the While House in Washington D.C., used NBC and KIT to reassure the public that everything was safe and under control. People were literally glued to their radio receivers and KIT during this time to get news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, any news, no matter how small, concerning the outcome of the war, the safety of themselves, their families, and their country.
Following World War Two, the homecoming G.I.s infused a spark of life and prosperity into the U.S. economy.
In 1942, under the provisions of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, NBC was required to divest itself of its Blue Network
Blue Network
The Blue Network, and its immediate predecessor, the NBC Blue Network, were the on-air names of an American radio production and distribution service from 1927 to 1945...
, which later became The Blue Network Incorporated, and later The American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
As a result of this divestiture and a booming economy, more money was available to NBC to develop better, higher quality programming. In the 1940s, NBC was known as the network of the radio comedians, which gave it the distinction of being the network with the largest listener base. KIT, being an NBC Radio Network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
affiliate, also shared in this wide listening audience. If one wanted to hear the great radio comedians in Central Washington State, they listened to KIT.
As the years continued into the 1950s, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
began to cut inroads in to radio advertising revenues and sponsors began the gradual migration from radio to television. As a result, less money was available to support quality network entertainment programming.
Gradually, NBC, and the other radio networks, began dropping large budget entertainment programs in favor of news and information programming. "NBC News On The Hour," and "Emphasis," became the network staples as entertainment programs were slowly phased out.
NBC radio affiliates, including KIT, had the tough decision to eventually lessen, or completely eliminate, their network connections in order to maintain their profit structures. At that time, KIT became a disk jockey station, that is, live hosts playing phonograph records on the air.
Later, when music licensing fees became too difficult to maintain, KIT became a news and information outlet.
At one time, KIT possessed a permit from the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
to construct a television station in Yakima, but, since another station was already being built at the time, the decision was made not to move forward.
On May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helen's erupted. The City of Yakima was in direct line with the prevailing winds that morning at 8:32 when the first eruption occurred. In the hours that followed, the massive cloud of smoke and ash blanketed the entire area headed in a north-easterly direction. About 2-3 inches of heavy ash fell on the area causing a widespread problem of dust, making vehicle travel on the roads come to virtually a stand still. A wide variety of problems surfaced, and the radio station became a news and information clearing house.
At the time the mountain erupted, the lone staff member at the station, Ken Rink, discontinued normal programming and switched to a news/talk format which is what the station does today. He provided news and information while soliciting officials and the community to call the station with eye witness reports. Participants were put on the air live, and within a matter of minutes, that format was used over the next 5 days without commercials.
By 10:00 that morning, the cloud of smoke and ash had covered the area. News and information was coming in at rapid rate. Many people had concerns, questions, and announcements. Some of the station's other staff began to arrive a short time later. In the hours that followed, the experienced staff had established 2 other broadcast rooms to provide support to the main control room with regard to incoming news, interviews, recordings, editing, and production. Some of the staff answered phones and screened incoming calls. Officials were able to get through and were put on the air immediately.
The station later earned an award for its leadership role in the emergency. At that time, the station was owned by Jack Goetz. The news director was Al Bell. Other on-air staff who participated included Brian Teegarden and Dave Hansen, but it was the late Al Bell who was remembered by the community years after the eruption. Al Bell had served in that capacity since the 60's, and became the news authority on radio in the Yakima area for years.
On November 17, 2011 KIT began simulcasting its news/talk format on KQMY
KQMY
KQMY is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format, simulcasting KIT 1280 AM Yakima. Licensed to Naches, Washington, USA, the station is currently owned by Townsquare Media.-History:...
99.3 FM.
KIT has a long, illustrious history and has been continuously, and faithfully, serving Yakima, and the Yakima valley, since 1931.