KMA (AM)
Encyclopedia
KMA is a radio station
licensed to serve Shenandoah, Iowa
. With a colorful history, it is one of the few radio stations in the country tracing back to its original 1925 owners.
May built the station headquarters and Mayfair Auditorium (demolished in 1964 due to it being declared structurally unsafe by the Iowa State Fire Marshal) across the street from the nursery business. Between music sets, May would pitch his seeds and tell nostalgic stories. Its website says in 1926 that May won "Radio Digest" gold cup for being voted the "World's Most Popular Radio Announcer" by over 452,000 people throughout the United States.
The KMA shows which were broadcast in the afternoons were called the "KMA Country School" and according to the format emanated from the fictional KMA District No. 9 school with the shows beginning with the ringing of a school bell.
Performers would often go to Council Bluffs, Iowa
, after the show where they would perform at night.
The most famous celebrities in KMA's history were the Everly Brothers, Don and Phil. In their early teen years, the brothers and their parents would appear on KMA to sing as "The Everly Family", but by 1952, they were discovered by a talent agent, and made their way to fame in Hollywood with such hit songs as "Wake Up, Little Susie".
With the high visibility KMA operated on a slogan of "Keep Millions Advised." KFNF was to operate on "Keep Friendly, Never Frown."
In 1949 May Broadcasting company started KMTV
in Omaha, Nebraska
(the second oldest television station in Nebraska, and one of the very first NBC television affiliates; it is currently CBS-affiliated). It originally wanted to call it KMA-TV. However, the FCC would not permit the name since the cities of Shenandoah and Omaha were too far apart (61 miles (98 km)). May Broadcasting sold KMTV in 1986.
The county school shows were discontinued in the 1950s and the station continued to offered its farm show and farm house wife shows until the late 1990s; the current format revolves around ABC Radio news at the top of each hour, with some agricultural news, regional high school sports and their famous "Elephant Shop" where listeners can buy, sell, trade or giveaway personal property on the air. May Broadcasting launched a new 100,000 watt FM station (KMA FM 99.1) North of Hawleyville, IA in March 2010. KMA FM 99.1 city of license is in neighboring Clarinda, Iowa
. KMA also owns Hometown Cable in southwest Iowa. The Earl May Seed and Nursery Company is still family owned, May's granddaughter, Betty Jean Shaw is the current head of the company.
Field eventually sold KFNF and its seed business.
, which sold more than 60 million copies, the characters listen to KMA. In the 1995 movie directed by Clint Eastwood
references to this station were removed and the format of the radio station in the film was switched to jazz
.
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...
licensed to serve Shenandoah, Iowa
Shenandoah, Iowa
Shenandoah is a city in Fremont and Page Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 5,546 at the 2000 census.Once referred to as the "seed and nursery center of the world," Shenandoah is the home to Earl May Seed Company and the radio station KMA, founded by Earl May...
. With a colorful history, it is one of the few radio stations in the country tracing back to its original 1925 owners.
History
The station was founded in 1925 by seed salesman Earl May. May and Henry A. Field of Shenandoah were rivals in the seed business. In 1925 Field of Field's Nursery founded radio station KFNF while May founded KMA. While both stations offered farm news, the two were to become most competitive by offering live productions of hillbilly music. According to KMA's website more than a million people traveled to small town Shenandoah to hear the music.May built the station headquarters and Mayfair Auditorium (demolished in 1964 due to it being declared structurally unsafe by the Iowa State Fire Marshal) across the street from the nursery business. Between music sets, May would pitch his seeds and tell nostalgic stories. Its website says in 1926 that May won "Radio Digest" gold cup for being voted the "World's Most Popular Radio Announcer" by over 452,000 people throughout the United States.
The KMA shows which were broadcast in the afternoons were called the "KMA Country School" and according to the format emanated from the fictional KMA District No. 9 school with the shows beginning with the ringing of a school bell.
Performers would often go to Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...
, after the show where they would perform at night.
The most famous celebrities in KMA's history were the Everly Brothers, Don and Phil. In their early teen years, the brothers and their parents would appear on KMA to sing as "The Everly Family", but by 1952, they were discovered by a talent agent, and made their way to fame in Hollywood with such hit songs as "Wake Up, Little Susie".
With the high visibility KMA operated on a slogan of "Keep Millions Advised." KFNF was to operate on "Keep Friendly, Never Frown."
In 1949 May Broadcasting company started KMTV
KMTV
KMTV-TV is the CBS television station in Omaha, Nebraska. Owned by the Journal Broadcast Group, it broadcasts a digital television signal on UHF channel 45, which remaps to former analog channel 3 via PSIP.-History:...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
(the second oldest television station in Nebraska, and one of the very first NBC television affiliates; it is currently CBS-affiliated). It originally wanted to call it KMA-TV. However, the FCC would not permit the name since the cities of Shenandoah and Omaha were too far apart (61 miles (98 km)). May Broadcasting sold KMTV in 1986.
The county school shows were discontinued in the 1950s and the station continued to offered its farm show and farm house wife shows until the late 1990s; the current format revolves around ABC Radio news at the top of each hour, with some agricultural news, regional high school sports and their famous "Elephant Shop" where listeners can buy, sell, trade or giveaway personal property on the air. May Broadcasting launched a new 100,000 watt FM station (KMA FM 99.1) North of Hawleyville, IA in March 2010. KMA FM 99.1 city of license is in neighboring Clarinda, Iowa
Clarinda, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,572 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,180 housing units, of which 1,928 were occupied....
. KMA also owns Hometown Cable in southwest Iowa. The Earl May Seed and Nursery Company is still family owned, May's granddaughter, Betty Jean Shaw is the current head of the company.
Field eventually sold KFNF and its seed business.
In popular culture
In the book The Bridges of Madison CountyThe Bridges of Madison County
The Bridges of Madison County is a 1992 best-selling novel by Robert James Waller which tells the story of a married but lonely Italian woman, living in 1960s Madison County, Iowa, who engages in an affair with a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, Washington who is visiting Madison...
, which sold more than 60 million copies, the characters listen to KMA. In the 1995 movie directed by Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
references to this station were removed and the format of the radio station in the film was switched to jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.