KBKR explained

KBKR
City:Baker City, Oregon
Area:La Grande, Oregon
Branding:Supertalk 1490
Airdate:1939
Frequency:1490 kHz
Format:News/talk
Power:1,000 watts unlimited
Class:C
Facility Id:24794
Coordinates:44.7883°N -117.8097°W
Callsign Meaning:BaKeR
Owner:Pacific Empire Radio Corporation
Sister Stations:KLBM, KKBC-FM, KUBQ, KRJT
Website:KBKR Online
Affiliations:Fox Sports Radio
Compass Media Networks
Genesis Communications Network
Premiere Networks
Salem Radio Network
USA Radio Network
Westwood One
Portland Trail Blazers Radio Network
Boise State Broncos football
Oregon State Beavers football
Licensing Authority:FCC

KBKR (1490 AM, "Supertalk 1490") is a radio station licensed to serve Baker City, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The station is owned by the Pacific Empire Radio Corporation.

All five stations owned and operated by Pacific Empire Radio Corporation share a radio studio building in La Grande, Oregon, located at 2510 Cove Ave.[1]

Programming

KBKR broadcasts a news/talk radio format in simulcast with sister station KLBM in La Grande, Oregon.[2] Local programing includes a "swap and shop" show called Tradio every weekday morning, a weekday interview show called Your Voice, plus a weekend cooking show called Cooking Outdoors With Mr. BBQ.[3]

Syndicated programs

Syndicated weekday programs include Daybreak USA hosted by Scott West, talk shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh, Lars Larson,[4] Laura Schlessinger, Dave Ramsey, and Jerry Doyle,[5] plus Coast To Coast AM hosted by George Noory.[6] Notable weekend syndicated programs include The Kim Komando Show, The Financial Safari hosted by Peter D'Arruda, The Weekend hosted by Mike McConnell, Gun Talk with Tom Gresham,[7] and blocks of sports talk from Fox Sports Radio.[3]

Sports programs

KBKR and KLBM broadcast the men's basketball and women's basketball games, home and away, of the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineers.[8] Beginning with the 2009 season, the stations will broadcast the school's college football games as well.[8]

History

The beginning

This station began broadcasting on 1500 kHz in 1939.[9] The station was assigned the KBKR call sign by the Federal Communications Commission.[10] Starting in early 1941KBKR was broadcasting with 250 watts of power on a frequency of 1490 kHz under the ownership of the Baker Broadcasting Company which was in turn owned and operated by Glenn McCormick.[9] McCormick also served as the station's general manager while Kenneth B. Lockwood was the commercial manager.[9]

In 1949 KBKR was sold to Inland Radio, Inc., which was in turn owned by broadcasting pioneer Gordon Capps.[11] [12] Lee W. Jacobs was the company president while Kenneth B. Lockwood served as general manager.[13]

On June 1, 1955, KBKR was acquired by Kenneth B. Lockwood and his wife Barbara L. Lockwood operating as the Oregon Trail Broadcasting Company.[14] Kenneth Lockwood continued to serve as the station's general manager, a role he would hold until he sold the station in 1988.[14]

The station received authorization from the FCC in 1962 to increase its daytime signal power from 250 watts to 1,000 watts.[15] The nighttime signal stayed at the previous 250 watt output.[15] KBKR maintained its middle of the road music format through the 1970s.[16] [17]

Grande Radio

In March 1988, the Oregon Trail Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to sell this station to Grande Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 26, 1988, and the transaction was consummated on May 16, 1988.[18]

A full decade later, in May 1998, Grande Radio, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Vista Grande, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 6, 1998, but the transaction was not consummated and control of KBKR remained with Grande Radio.[19] In March 2000, Grande Radio, Inc., reached a new agreement to sell KBKR, this time to Horizon Broadcasting Group, LLC (William Ackerley, CEO) as part of a four-station deal valued at $1.7 million.[20] [21] The deal was approved by the FCC on April 25, 2000, but once again the transaction was not consummated and Grande Radio retained the KBKR broadcast license.[22] At the time of the aborted sale, KBKR aired a news/talk format.[20]

KBKR today

In June 2004, Grande Radio, Inc., contracted to sell this station to the Pacific Empire Radio Corporation (Mark Bolland, president/CEO) as part of a four-station deal valued at $1.9 million.[23] The deal was approved by the FCC on July 19, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on September 3, 2004.[24] At the time of the sale, KBKR broadcast a talk radio format.[23] The station still utilizes a "shunt fed" style antenna.[25]

Station alumni

Robert Lindahl, the recording engineer on The Kingsmen's famous version of "Louie Louie",[26] worked as a weekend disc jockey for KBKR for a short time in 1941.[27] Lindahl says he was let go, not for anything he did on the air, but because he refused to empty the tank on the station's chemical toilet.[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Scott . Fybush . Tower Site of the Week . The Big Trip 2007, part XI: Eastern Oregon to Boise . July 18, 2008.
  2. Web site: Arbitron . Station Information Profile.
  3. Web site: Supertalk Radio . Programming . May 13, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081208040650/http://www.supertalk1490.com/programming.php . December 8, 2008 .
  4. Web site: Lars Larson . Radio Station Search Results: Oregon . May 13, 2009.
  5. Web site: Jerry Doyle: Independent Conservative . Radio Stations: Oregon . May 13, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070815100437/http://www.jerrydoyle.com/stationfinder?action=stateSearch&state=OR . August 15, 2007 . dead .
  6. Web site: Coast to Coast AM with George Noory . Radio Affiliates: Oregon . May 13, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090420132939/http://www.coasttocoastam.com/affiliates/oregon . April 20, 2009 .
  7. Web site: Tom Gresham's Gun Talk Radio Show . Radio Stations . May 13, 2009.
  8. Web site: Rob . Cashell . Eastern Oregon University . KUBQ/KLBM Official Sports Broadcasters for EOU Athletics . October 23, 2008 . May 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081029233929/http://chinook.eou.edu/athletics/index.cfm?ID_num=264 . October 29, 2008 . dead .
  9. Book: 1944 Broadcasting-Telecasting Yearbook . 1944 . 142 . Directory of Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC.
  10. Web site: Call Sign History . FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database . 2009-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160122045415/http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=24794&Callsign=KBKR . 2016-01-22 . dead .
  11. News: Idaho Statesman . Obituary: Gordon Capps . August 25, 2008.
  12. News: Idaho Radio News . Former KSRV owner Gordon Capps dies . August 27, 2008 . May 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090118025742/http://idahoradionews.com/index.php/2008/08/27/former-ksrv-owner-gordon-capps-dies/ . January 18, 2009 . dead .
  13. Book: Broadcasting-Telecasting 1950 Yearbook . 1950 . 248 . Directory of AM, FM, and TV Stations of the United States . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC.
  14. Book: 1956 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook . 1956 . 254 . Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC.
  15. Book: 1963 Broadcasting Yearbook . 1963 . Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S. . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC . B-147.
  16. Book: 1973 . Broadcasting Yearbook 1973 . B-163 . Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S. . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC.
  17. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1979 . Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC . 1979 . C-179.
  18. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BAL-19880315EC) . May 16, 1988.
  19. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BAL-19980519ED) . July 6, 1998 . May 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160122045415/http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=267167 . January 22, 2016 . dead .
  20. News: Combos - 2000-04-10 . Broadcasting & Cable . April 9, 2000.
  21. News: Portland Business Journal . Horizon Broadcasting Group LLC . March 10, 2000.
  22. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BAL-20000310ABO) . April 25, 2000 . May 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160122045415/http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=493528 . January 22, 2016 . dead .
  23. News: Broadcasting & Cable . Changing Hands - 2004-06-14 . June 13, 2004.
  24. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BAL-20040604AAJ) . September 3, 2004 . May 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160122045416/http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=997371 . January 22, 2016 . dead .
  25. Web site: A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond.
  26. Web site: Eric . Predoehl . LouieLouie.net . A Short History of 'Louie Louie' . May 13, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090326084502/http://www.louielouie.net/06-history.htm . March 26, 2009 .
  27. News: Society of Broadcast Engineers - Chapter 124 . Water Cooled . Portland Profile: Bob Lindahl, Part 2 of 3 . February 2006 . 2009-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070818014632/http://www.sbe124.org/newsletters/pdx0206/ . 2007-08-18 . dead .