KNX (AM)
Encyclopedia
KNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California
, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio
. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM
, KTWV
, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile
. It maintains its transmitter and antenna array site at Columbia Park
in Torrance
northeast of the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and 190th Street. The station also broadcasts a HD Radio
signal, streams online, and simulcasts on the FM band on the HD2 channel of KTWV (94.7 MHz).
The station's antenna array includes a tall main antenna (195 electrical degrees; optimum and much better than average for a Class A station's main antenna), and a shorter emergency antenna (135 electrical degrees; much better than average for a Class A's emergency antenna but inadequate for a Class A station's main antenna), with only one antenna being active at a time. An experiment in the 1960s which utilized these antennae in a directional setup during the daytime, only, was abandoned and the emergency antenna was later relocated when much of the site was dedicated as a park. The residential area to the immediate south of the main antenna was formerly the site of the emergency antenna. The ca. 1936 main antenna was replaced after it was destroyed by a terrorist in the 1960s (KNX did not, then, have an emergency antenna, and with the subsequent replacement of the destroyed main antenna, an emergency antenna was installed as well). Non-directional Class A stations are expected, and are, with few exceptions, required to have emergency antennae.
With the demise of Canadian station CBA (AM), KNX remains the only Class A station on 1070 kHz in North America. Formerly, KNX had shared 1070 kHz (1050 kHz before 1941) with CBA.
During the 1920s KNX, like most stations across the country, changed frequencies several times, landing on 1050 kHz as a result of the Federal Radio Commission's reconfigurations of the AM radio band in 1927 and 1928. In 1929, the station's transmitter was upgraded from 500 to 5,000 watt
s, and in 1932, was raised to 10,000 watts of power. During this time, the station changed owners and was then operated by the Western Broadcast Company. In 1933, the station moved its studios to another part of Hollywood, and was granted permission by the FCC to raise its output to 25,000 watts. The following year, KNX's transmitting power was raised to the nationwide maximum of 50,000 watts, which the station continues presently. It changed to its current 1070 kHz channel in 1941.
CBS radio
purchased and began operating KNX as its West Coast flagship station in 1936, ending an eight year affiliation with KHJ
. In 1938, the CBS Columbia Square
studios were dedicated for KNX as well as West Coast operations for the entire CBS radio network; that October, the station carried Orson Welles
' infamous version of The War of the Worlds
(which KNX has aired every October 30 since). Several legendary performers from the Golden Age of American network radio broadcast from there, including Jack Benny
, Bing Crosby
, George Burns
, Edgar Bergen
, and situation comedy star Bob Crane
, who was KNX morning man between 1957 and 1965 at the same time he was appearing as a featured supporting player on ABC-TV's Donna Reed Show.
KNX was a strong competitor in the Los Angeles market while Crane was morning personality, but began declining in popularity after he left to star in the CBS-TV show Hogan's Heroes
. Following the example of corporate sister station WCBS
in New York, which had enjoyed renewed success with an all news format, KNX then became an all-news station in the spring of 1968; its first major breaking news coverage was of the assassination of Democratic
Presidential candidate
Robert F. Kennedy
, in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, in June of that year.
In August 2005, KNX moved out of Columbia Square after 67 years of operations there, and began broadcasting from new studios on Wilshire Boulevard
in an area known as the Miracle Mile
.
In 2009 KNX adopted the slogan "All News, All the Time" for its promotions and advertising. It was previously used for 40 years by KFWB, KNX's historic rival in the news radio wars before both became sister stations in the 1995 merger of Westinghouse Electric (KFWB's owner) and CBS. KFWB's format change to news-talk in September 2009 now leaves KNX the only all-news outlet in the Los Angeles area, which is now emphasized in its alternate slogan, "L.A.'s only all-news radio station". A slight variation, "Southern California's only all-news radio station", is played at :30 past each hour before the news headlines.
at the top of each hour. Traffic
and weather
reports are presented together every ten minutes on the "fives", (:05, :15, :25, :35, :45, :55). Business news
from the station is at :10 and :40 past the hour and sports is featured at :20 and :50 past the hour; this format clock differs slightly from most other CBS all-news stations (for example, on WCBS and the other stations, traffic and weather are together on the "eights" (:08, :18, :28, etc.); KNX, WINS, who does traffic every ten minutes "on the ones" (:01, :11, etc.) and weather every twenty minutes beginning at :12 past the hour, and KYW
, who does "Traffic and transit on the twos" (:02, :12, etc.) every ten minutes and AccuWeather
regional forecasts at :07, :14, :37, and :44 after every hour, are several exceptions to CBS's standard format. In addition to stories from their own correspondents, the audio portion of selected reports and weather forecasts from sister television stations KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV are heard on KNX.
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...
, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM
KCBS-FM is a radio station in Los Angeles, California broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on 93.1 FM. KCBS-FM airs an adult hits music format branded as "Jack-FM"....
, KTWV
KTWV
KTWV is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside–San Bernardino and Ventura County areas on 94.7 FM. KTWV airs a hybrid Smooth AC radio format branded as "94.7 The Wave"...
, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile
Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California
The Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, California, is an area in the Mid-Wilshire region consisting of an almost two-mile stretch of Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Western Avenues...
. It maintains its transmitter and antenna array site at Columbia Park
Columbia Park, Torrance, California
Columbia Park is a recreational urban regional park in the City of Torrance, located in southern Los Angeles County, California. Columbia Park provides the community with soccer fields, baseball diamonds, a roller hockey rink, community gardening beds, walking paths, and a jogging—competitive...
in Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
northeast of the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and 190th Street. The station also broadcasts a 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...
signal, streams online, and simulcasts on the FM band on the HD2 channel of KTWV (94.7 MHz).
The station's antenna array includes a tall main antenna (195 electrical degrees; optimum and much better than average for a Class A station's main antenna), and a shorter emergency antenna (135 electrical degrees; much better than average for a Class A's emergency antenna but inadequate for a Class A station's main antenna), with only one antenna being active at a time. An experiment in the 1960s which utilized these antennae in a directional setup during the daytime, only, was abandoned and the emergency antenna was later relocated when much of the site was dedicated as a park. The residential area to the immediate south of the main antenna was formerly the site of the emergency antenna. The ca. 1936 main antenna was replaced after it was destroyed by a terrorist in the 1960s (KNX did not, then, have an emergency antenna, and with the subsequent replacement of the destroyed main antenna, an emergency antenna was installed as well). Non-directional Class A stations are expected, and are, with few exceptions, required to have emergency antennae.
With the demise of Canadian station CBA (AM), KNX remains the only Class A station on 1070 kHz in North America. Formerly, KNX had shared 1070 kHz (1050 kHz before 1941) with CBA.
History
KNX began broadcasting under the callsign 6ADZ on September 20, 1920. By 1922, the station was in competition with many other stations in the area, all sharing a single wavelength of 360 meters (at roughly 833 kHz). At the time, the AM broadcast band had not yet been defined, and stations were required to share frequencies. The station officially became KNX on May 4, 1922.During the 1920s KNX, like most stations across the country, changed frequencies several times, landing on 1050 kHz as a result of the Federal Radio Commission's reconfigurations of the AM radio band in 1927 and 1928. In 1929, the station's transmitter was upgraded from 500 to 5,000 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, and in 1932, was raised to 10,000 watts of power. During this time, the station changed owners and was then operated by the Western Broadcast Company. In 1933, the station moved its studios to another part of Hollywood, and was granted permission by the FCC to raise its output to 25,000 watts. The following year, KNX's transmitting power was raised to the nationwide maximum of 50,000 watts, which the station continues presently. It changed to its current 1070 kHz channel in 1941.
CBS radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
purchased and began operating KNX as its West Coast flagship station in 1936, ending an eight year affiliation with KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
. In 1938, the CBS Columbia Square
CBS Columbia Square
CBS Columbia Square, located at 6121 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, was the home of CBS's Los Angeles radio and television operations from 1938 until 2007. The building housed the CBS Radio Network's West Coast facilities, as well as CBS' original Los Angeles radio...
studios were dedicated for KNX as well as West Coast operations for the entire CBS radio network; that October, the station carried Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' infamous version of The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (radio)
The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938, and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by actor and future filmmaker...
(which KNX has aired every October 30 since). Several legendary performers from the Golden Age of American network radio broadcast from there, including Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
, Edgar Bergen
Edgar Bergen
Edgar John Bergen was an American actor and radio performer, best known as a ventriloquist.-Early life:...
, and situation comedy star Bob Crane
Bob Crane
Robert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American actor and disc jockey, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E...
, who was KNX morning man between 1957 and 1965 at the same time he was appearing as a featured supporting player on ABC-TV's Donna Reed Show.
KNX was a strong competitor in the Los Angeles market while Crane was morning personality, but began declining in popularity after he left to star in the CBS-TV show Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
. Following the example of corporate sister station WCBS
WCBS
WCBS may refer to:Assets of CBS* WCBS , a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States* WCBS-FM, a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States...
in New York, which had enjoyed renewed success with an all news format, KNX then became an all-news station in the spring of 1968; its first major breaking news coverage was of the assassination of Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Presidential candidate
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
, in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, in June of that year.
In August 2005, KNX moved out of Columbia Square after 67 years of operations there, and began broadcasting from new studios on Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in an area known as the Miracle Mile
Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California
The Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, California, is an area in the Mid-Wilshire region consisting of an almost two-mile stretch of Wilshire Boulevard between Fairfax and Western Avenues...
.
In 2009 KNX adopted the slogan "All News, All the Time" for its promotions and advertising. It was previously used for 40 years by KFWB, KNX's historic rival in the news radio wars before both became sister stations in the 1995 merger of Westinghouse Electric (KFWB's owner) and CBS. KFWB's format change to news-talk in September 2009 now leaves KNX the only all-news outlet in the Los Angeles area, which is now emphasized in its alternate slogan, "L.A.'s only all-news radio station". A slight variation, "Southern California's only all-news radio station", is played at :30 past each hour before the news headlines.
Broadcast Schedule
KNX features CBS NewsCBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
at the top of each hour. Traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
and weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
reports are presented together every ten minutes on the "fives", (:05, :15, :25, :35, :45, :55). Business 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 :...
from the station is at :10 and :40 past the hour and sports is featured at :20 and :50 past the hour; this format clock differs slightly from most other CBS all-news stations (for example, on WCBS and the other stations, traffic and weather are together on the "eights" (:08, :18, :28, etc.); KNX, WINS, who does traffic every ten minutes "on the ones" (:01, :11, etc.) and weather every twenty minutes beginning at :12 past the hour, and KYW
KYW (AM)
KYW is a class A AM radio station on 1060 kHz licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW is owned by the CBS Radio unit of CBS Corporation, and has broadcasted an all-news format since 1965. The station's studios are located on Market Street in Center City Philadelphia, and it transmitters...
, who does "Traffic and transit on the twos" (:02, :12, etc.) every ten minutes and AccuWeather
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide.AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the...
regional forecasts at :07, :14, :37, and :44 after every hour, are several exceptions to CBS's standard format. In addition to stories from their own correspondents, the audio portion of selected reports and weather forecasts from sister television stations KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV are heard on KNX.