KFI is an AM radio station that
began operating on March 31, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear channel" stations.
Currently, it operates as a talk radio station, airing a mixture of syndicated and locally
originated news and talk programming.
In the Spring 2006 quarter Arbitron rating, KFI was the most listened to radio station in
Los Angeles, averaging approximately 1.5 million listeners during any given weekday. In the Los Angeles market, this is extremely
rare for an AM station, and more rare for an English-language station. The station is now the most listened to AM radio station
in the country and the highest-rated talk radio station in the United States, beating out
WABC in New York City.
History
KFI logo from 1981 to 1988
The original station used a 50-watt transmitter
built by Earle C. Anthony, who operated it from his garage. In its early days, it was
typically on the air only four and a half hours a day. The "FI" segment of its call sign was
an abbreviation of "farmer's information."[1] Every winter evening between 1924 and 1956, KFI would deliver a frost report at 8
p.m. that would tell citrus farmers whether to turn on windmills or light "smudge pots" to keep their orange and lemon groves
from freezing.[2] The frost warnings moved to 7pm until the
late 1970s when they were removed from the schedule.
For many years, KFI was the Los Angeles area affiliate of the
NBC radio network, most particularly the NBC Red Network, as distinguished from the NBC Blue Network of less powerful
stations, which became the American Broadcasting Company. KFI's sister
station, KECA, was the affiliate of the Blue network. The anti-trust decision that divested NBC Blue also forced Earle C. Anthony
to sell KECA (which became KABC).
During this period the station carried such sporting events as the World Series and the
Rose Bowl. From 1960 to 1972, the station was the flagship station of the Los Angeles Dodgers radio network. Its
programming transitioned during this period from block programming, often featuring 15-minute programs, to full service radio
with disk-jockies playing records interspersed with aggressive local news coverage. In April of 1972, KFI celebrated its 50th
birthday with a 12 hour special, featuring new interviews and commentaries from many former NBC Radio personalities of the
past.
In 1973, Cox Broadcasting headquartered in Atlanta, purchased KFI for 15 million dollars cash, at that time the highest amount
ever paid for a radio station anywhere. James Wesley, Cox's manager at WIOD in Miami and that stations Operations Manager,
Elliott "Biggie" Nevins, were dispatched to Los Angeles to manage the station. Cox instructed Wesley to find an FM facility in
the Los Angeles market and purchase it also. A deal was reached with Dallas broadcaster Gordon McLendon, to purchase his KOST-fm
for 2.2 million cash. Wesley also decided against renewing the long term agreement for carrying Dodger baseball, positioning KABC
to become the new Dodger station in Los Angeles.
In the mid-1970s KFI was successful programming Top 40 music.
Owner Cox Broadcasting hired John Rook as program director. Rook was considered the force behind WLS Chicago's success. His first
staff included Al Lohman and Roger Barkley were top rated in the morning time, Mark Taylor and Eric Chase mid-days,
Bob Shannon Afternoons, Charlie Fox early evening and Dave Diamond late night. By
the late 70's the staff had be revised with Lohman & Barkley mornings, Tim & Ev Kelly in mid-days, Jack Armstrong
afternoons, Big Ron O'Brien evenings and Charley Fox at night. Rook and most of the on air personalities left in the
early-1980s with KFI softening to a more Adult top
40 format (sort of in between Top 40 and adult Contemporary). By the
mid-1980s the station was more news and personality intensive than music intensive with a Full Service format.
For nearly 20 years during the 1970s and 1980s, KFI boasted one of the most listened-to shows in Los Angeles radio history, "The Lohman and Barkley Show," featuring the comedy duo of Al Lohman and Roger
Barkley. During this time, throughout the day the station featured a hybrid format
combining adult contemporary music with comedian hosts. Other hosts included Hudson and Landry (of "Ajax Liquor Store"
fame), Charlie and Mitzi (Charlie Brill and Mitzi
McCall of Laugh-In), and Gary
Owens. In the early 80's, KFI began broadcasting in stereo, with the C-QUAM system
(continued until January 2000) [1].
By the mid-1980s ratings began to slip. KFI moved the music to more of a Soft gold based AC and began to play less and less of
it. The talk shows moved from a blend of entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle to more
political issues. The music was dropped in 1988 and KFI evolved to an issue-oriented talk
format. The first hosts were Dr. Toni Grant, former disk jockey Geoff Edwards doing talk in the midday, and Tom Leykis with a
politically oriented "combat radio" program.[3] Competitor
KABC, which had been doing talk radio for some time, sued KFI in U.S. District Court to have
KFI cease and desist using the term "Talk Radio" with the call letters. Therefore, the slogan More Stimulating Talk Radio
was created.[4] Rush
Limbaugh replaced Edwards in 1989.
The station was owned by Cox Communications until 1997 when Chancellor bought it along with KOST 103.5. Cox opted to exit the Los Angeles
market and focus on medium market radio stations and its TV stations.
Chancellor merged with Capstar in 1999 and became known as AMFM
Inc. In 2000, they merged with Clear Channel Communications making
KFI Clear Channel's flagship AM radio station in Los Angeles. The legal title of the station continues to be held by a subsidiary
of Capstar. [2]
Programming
KFI is a talk radio station owned by Clear
Channel Communications, the largest U.S. radio owner. Syndicated
personalities who began on KFI include Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Bill Handel with Handel on the Law, and Leo Laporte. Local
programs include The Bill Handel Show, The John and Ken Show, and The
John Ziegler Show (not to be confused with NHL team owner John
Ziegler, Jr.). The weekend lineup includes tech expert Leo Laporte's The Tech Guy show (originally local-only, now nationally syndicated via Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks since February 2007), topical-talkers Wayne
Resnick and Armstrong & Getty, and syndicated Internet news personality
Matt Drudge. The John and Ken show was once syndicated but the show has reverted to being a
local program. KFI carries other well-known syndicated programs such as The Rush
Limbaugh Show and Coast to Coast AM.
Like that of most talk radio stations, programming on KFI has a reputation for political conservatism. However, while KFI's highest-rated syndicated hosts Rush Limbaugh and Laura Schlessinger are
indeed unabashedly conservative, in general the local hosts on the station in recent years would more accurately be described as
tending towards libertarianism.
KFI also has an extensive news department, and produces news updates for other Clear Channel stations in the Los Angeles
market. KFI employs 20 broadcast journalists. [3] KFI's newscasts air at :59 and :29 past the hour, with brief headlines approximately halfway
between the fuller newscasts during local programming. The newscasts primarily focus on local news with relevant national and
international stories included. KFI also has traffic reports four times an hour. Only two news reports and traffic reports an
hour are provided during the overnight hours on Coast-to-Coast. KFI is a member of the Fox News Radio network and Fox News reporters appear on the station (but not its commentators, who have
shows on competing stations in the market). However, the entire Fox News Radio newscast is not aired.
For its efforts, KFI was named the Radio & Records News & Talk
Radio Station of the Year in 2004.
Broadcasting
Today, KFI broadcasts from its Burbank, California studios on 640 kHz on a 50,000-watt
non-directional AM transmitter which is located in nearby La Mirada at 33° 52' 47" N, 118° 00' 47" W. As a class A signal, KFI can be heard throughout
Southern California and some distance into Nevada,
Arizona, northwestern Mexico, and, at night, in some parts of
Hawaii and most of the western United States. According to
a May 1, 2004 broadcast by Art
Bell, this station can even be heard by sensitive receivers in parts of the Eastern United States. In Summer 2004, KFI
became the most listened to talk radio station in the United States, beating New York
City's WABC in cumulative audience during the rating period.
FEC complaint
In recent years, especially since the 2003 California recall,
afternoon drive hosts John and Ken have become actively involved in several political causes, most notably that of
illegal immigration. In the months leading up to the 2004 election, the hosts instigated several political rallies
advocating the defeat of Congressmen David
Dreier (a Republican) and Joe
Baca (a Democrat), both of whom they felt were wrongly
supportive of illegal immigration. As a result, the John and Ken show was the
subject of a Federal Election Commission complaint filed by the
National Republican Congressional Committee alleging that
John and Ken engaged in an illegal campaign against Congressman Dreier. Although the
large amount of publicity received was quite amazing, the "Political Human Sacrifice" campaign as they dubbed it was not
successful, since both Dreier and Baca were re-elected, albeit Dreier by a substantially smaller percentage than in past terms.
On March 16, 2006, the complaint was dismissed. [4]
Tower destroyed
On Sunday, December 19, 2004 at 9:45 a.m. Pacific Standard Time, Jim and Mary Ghosoph were killed when their rented Cessna 182P single engine airplane, travelling from the El Monte
Airport to Fullerton Municipal Airport, struck KFI's Ideco
transmission tower, located in the City of La Mirada. The solid steel truss, originally built in
1948, collapsed upon itself, mostly landing in a parking lot to the north of the site. KFI's signal
was knocked off the air for approximately one hour. Pilots had complained for years to KFI management that it needed to put
strobe lights on the tower and highly reflective balls on the guy wire. KFI and Clear Channel
Communications management responded by saying the tower was in compliance with FCC and FAA regulations and
that it did not need to make any changes. Until a replacement is erected, the station is transmitting from a 200-foot auxiliary
tower at a power of 25,000 watts. Work was conducted at the site on November 19,
2006, temporarily interrupting a broadcast of Leo Laporte's
talk show KFI Tech Guy at 11:55 AM[5].
Former hosts and on-air alumni
Tammy Bruce - Hosted weekend talk show from 1993 to 1998. Bruce was fired for making
unflattering comments about Bill Cosby and his wife Camille who had recently lost their son
Ennis in a murder. Tammy is now syndicated on 153 stations including KABC in Los Angeles.
Joe Crummey - Hosted an evening talk show from 1988 to 1994.
Mark Denis - Worked the KFI Traffic Center from 1986 until his death in April 2000 from a
viral infection at the age of 59. Mark was the imaging voice of "KFI, More Stimulating Talk Radio" and was the voice of the
Disneyland Monorail ride.
Daryl Gates -- The former LAPD
chief replaced Leykis as part of the station's shift toward conservative politics.
Phil Hendrie - Hosted an evening issue-oriented talk show from 1989 to 1990 (sometimes
alternating with Joe Crummey), and his syndicated comedy show The Phil Hendrie
Show from 1996 to 2005.
Dave Hull - 1960s–1970s
Tom Leykis - Hosted a talk show from 1988 until 1992, which was more political
issue-oriented than his syndicated show is today.
Rabbi Mentz - Before The Jesus Christ Show
found a home on KFI, Rabbi Mentz provided a religious-based perspective in the late-1990s on
weekends.
Tracey Miller - Co-hosted TNT in the Morning with KFI News' Terri-Rae Elmer from 1990 to 1993. The show was the first morning-drive show in a major market to
feature two women in the lead roles. Miller died in 2005 from complications due to brain cancer.
Kevin Mitnick - The infamous computer hacker co-hosted a two hour show early Sunday
mornings titled 'The Dark Side of the Internet' with Alex Kasper from 2000 to
2001.
Mr. KFI - Marc Germain hosted a question and answer talk show from 1993-1996. He was
fired from KFI in 1996 and then hired by competitor KABC. Marc hosted a similar show as
Mr. KABC for ten years before leaving KABC for KTLK (AM
1150) and now broadcasts using both his name and a new shortened "Mr. K." moniker.
The Scott and Casey Show - A live call-in talk show, hosted by Scott Hasick and Casey Bartholomew, aired from 1994-1997, and
again from 1998-1999. Scott Hasick was involved in The Stephanie Miller Show during her
time on KFI, performing many of the character voices heard on the broadcasts, as well as serving as production guy, and board
operator. Casey Bartholomew was involved in the John And Ken Show as their board
operator, as well as writing and performing many popular "updates", and imaging for KFI. The pair exited KFI in 1999, for weekday
afternoons on New Jersey 101.5. After leaving New Jersey, Scott and Casey served stints in Detroit,
St. Louis and San Francisco. Casey spent some time on the airwaves in Charleston before the duo re-united in St. Louis. Scott is
not known to be on-air at present. Casey recently resurfaced at New Jersey 101.5 as the afternoon replacement for Craig Carton.
Carton and Boomer Esiason replaced Don Imus on WFAN in New York.
The Tim & Neil Show - Tim Kelly and Neil Saavedra hosted a weekend show, then replaced Tammy Bruce on weeknights. From
1997-2001, Tim and Neil hosted various shifts and often filled in for Bill Handel. Tim Kelly was a longtime contributor to the
Bill Handel Program, penning and recording the bits and parodies that the show featured under the moniker "Dick Cabeza." Neil
Saavedra is currently still with KFI as Marketing Director and on air with the Jesus Christ Show.
Ted Rall - Yacked-up Saturday evenings on KFI for a spell, and can still be heard on the
Bill Handel Show time and again.
Deborah Rich - Hosted a weekend, topic-driven show on Saturday evenings.
Turi Ryder - Hosted a weekend show for KFI in the late 90s.
April Winchell - Hosted a variety talk show from 2000 until 2002.
Bruce Wayne (on-air identity... real name Roy Talbott) - "KFI in the Sky" traffic reporter. Killed in 1986 plane crash just
after take-off from Fullerton Airport in KFI plane.
Trivia
Notes
- ^ Wallace, David Foster. "Host" The
Atlantic Monthly, April 2005.
- ^ Blackstock, Joe. "Pomona radio legend was citrus ranchers' savior - On
frosty nights, Jack Benny lost ratings to Floyd Young". Inland Valley Daily
Bulletin, Dec. 8, 2002.
- ^ "Rosen, Craig. RADIO NEWS & NOTES -COMPETITION HEATS UP ON AM DIAL".
Los Angeles Daily News, July 18,
1988. Page L20
- ^ "KFI GRANTED CONDITIONAL OK TO LABEL ITSELF 'TALK RADIO'." Los Angeles
Daily News, May 6, 1989.
External links
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KABC · KBRT ·
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