KBRT
Encyclopedia
KBRT is a Christian
radio station
. It airs Christian talk radio
programming from Santa Catalina Island
to Los Angeles
, Orange County
, the Inland Empire
, San Diego
, and Santa Barbara
. The station broadcasts at 10,000 Watt
s sunrise to sunset at 740 kHz from the hill above Avalon
on Catalina Island. In January 2010 the Los Angeles Examiner reported that KBRT will move to a new transmitter site in Anaheim, California. The studio and business offices are located in Costa Mesa
.
At night the transmitter is shut down to comply with KBRT's FCC
license. As a result, most of the broadcast area hears KCBS
from San Francisco on 740 kHz after sunset. KBRT also broadcasts in HD Radio
and on the web.
Contractors cutting a steel antenna cable with a gas-powered circular saw caused the wildfire that began on May 10, 2007. KBRT had to shut down the transmitter, which was not damaged. Until the transmitter was repaired, the station aired only on KBRT740.com.
Studios were located at the transmitter site on Avalon, later on the mainland coast.
From day one there were contentious disagreements with co-channel KCBS San Francisco over interference between the stations. Much of the path between stations' wavefronts was over water (and salt water at that).
According to Billboard Magazine
(Jul 28, 1979), Bonneville Communications owned KBRT prior to the sale to Crawford Broadcasting. Bonneville, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), has dabbled on and off in the Los Angeles radio market. Bonneville currently owns KSWD, "The Sound" at 100.3 FM. After changing call signs from KBIG, KBRT was a mixture of secular and Christian music, with all programming taped, and all song "intros and outros" recorded by professional announcers; there was no live, "on-air" talent until after changing over to a completely Christian music format.
In 1980, the station switched to the Talk/Christian format after being purchased by Donald Crawford of Crawford Broadcasting
when the assets of the original Crawford Broadcasting was split up among the heirs of its founder, evangelist Percy Crawford
. Just prior to the switch, KBRT played Contemporary Christian Music from sunrise to sunset. The daily sign-on began with a recording of a man's voice: "Good morning. This is K-B-R-T Avalon, and we now begin another day of broadcasting over Southern California. K-B-R-T radio broadcasts on an assigned frequency of 740 kilohertz with a power output of 10,000 watts by authority of the Federal Communications Commission. K-B-R-T's transmitter is located on Santa Catalina Island, and is operated by Kiertron, Incorporated." (Note: Disc jockeys made multiple mentions of "Transmitter Tom," who actually lived on Catalina Island, and oversaw the station's transmitter.)
Air personalities have included Clark Race, Johnny Magnus, Paul McGuire
, and Rich Buhler. Magnus featured his trademark "Weather With a Beat," where he would list U.S. and world city temperatures to an upbeat instrumental background. A typical background music track for "Weather With a Beat" was Count Basie
's version of Neal Hefti
's tune, "Cute", featuring Frank Wess
on flute. Previously, KBRT was known as KBIG, airing Easy Listening
music.
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
radio station
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...
. It airs Christian talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
programming from Santa Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, the Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
, San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, and Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. The station broadcasts at 10,000 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s sunrise to sunset at 740 kHz from the hill above Avalon
Avalon, California
Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...
on Catalina Island. In January 2010 the Los Angeles Examiner reported that KBRT will move to a new transmitter site in Anaheim, California. The studio and business offices are located in Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
.
At night the transmitter is shut down to comply with KBRT's FCC
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...
license. As a result, most of the broadcast area hears KCBS
KCBS (AM)
KCBS is an all-news radio station in San Francisco, California, that is a key West Coast flagship radio station of the CBS Radio Network and Westwood One. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. KCBS currently has studios on Battery Street, where it shares the location with co-owned KPIX...
from San Francisco on 740 kHz after sunset. KBRT also broadcasts in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
and on the web.
Contractors cutting a steel antenna cable with a gas-powered circular saw caused the wildfire that began on May 10, 2007. KBRT had to shut down the transmitter, which was not damaged. Until the transmitter was repaired, the station aired only on KBRT740.com.
History
The station went on air in 1952. It was founded by entrepreneur John H. Poole as KBIG. Poole had worked at KEZY Anaheim, CA and was founder of channel 22 KBIC-TV in Los Angeles. Later he'd own KBIG-FM.Studios were located at the transmitter site on Avalon, later on the mainland coast.
From day one there were contentious disagreements with co-channel KCBS San Francisco over interference between the stations. Much of the path between stations' wavefronts was over water (and salt water at that).
According to Billboard Magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
(Jul 28, 1979), Bonneville Communications owned KBRT prior to the sale to Crawford Broadcasting. Bonneville, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), has dabbled on and off in the Los Angeles radio market. Bonneville currently owns KSWD, "The Sound" at 100.3 FM. After changing call signs from KBIG, KBRT was a mixture of secular and Christian music, with all programming taped, and all song "intros and outros" recorded by professional announcers; there was no live, "on-air" talent until after changing over to a completely Christian music format.
In 1980, the station switched to the Talk/Christian format after being purchased by Donald Crawford of Crawford Broadcasting
Crawford Broadcasting
Crawford Broadcasting is a family-owned media company based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Crawford Broadcasting primarily owns radio stations mostly with Christian and Oldies/Nostalgia formats.-History:...
when the assets of the original Crawford Broadcasting was split up among the heirs of its founder, evangelist Percy Crawford
Percy Crawford
Percy Bartimus Crawford was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first successful Christian broadcasting network...
. Just prior to the switch, KBRT played Contemporary Christian Music from sunrise to sunset. The daily sign-on began with a recording of a man's voice: "Good morning. This is K-B-R-T Avalon, and we now begin another day of broadcasting over Southern California. K-B-R-T radio broadcasts on an assigned frequency of 740 kilohertz with a power output of 10,000 watts by authority of the Federal Communications Commission. K-B-R-T's transmitter is located on Santa Catalina Island, and is operated by Kiertron, Incorporated." (Note: Disc jockeys made multiple mentions of "Transmitter Tom," who actually lived on Catalina Island, and oversaw the station's transmitter.)
Air personalities have included Clark Race, Johnny Magnus, Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire (radio host)
Paul McGuire radio talk show host, author, feature film producer and television commentator. Paul McGuire is host of the syndicated McGuire Report. Paul McGuire hosted the nationally syndicated Paul McGuire Show for 10 years. Paul McGuire is frequent guest on the Fox News Network and CNN...
, and Rich Buhler. Magnus featured his trademark "Weather With a Beat," where he would list U.S. and world city temperatures to an upbeat instrumental background. A typical background music track for "Weather With a Beat" was Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
's version of Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti
Neal Hefti was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, tune writer, and arranger. He was perhaps best known for composing the theme music for the Batman television series of the 1960s, and for scoring the 1968 film The Odd Couple and the subsequent TV series of the same name.He began arranging...
's tune, "Cute", featuring Frank Wess
Frank Wess
Frank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
on flute. Previously, KBRT was known as KBIG, airing Easy Listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music.