On weekdays, KSL-AM-FM air all-news blocks in morning and afternoon drive time and an hour at noon. The rest of the schedule is talk shows and sports. Morning news is anchored by Tim Hughes and Amanda Dickson. Afternoons are anchored by Jeff Caplan and middays by Amanda Shilaos. In late mornings, Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic host Dave and Dujanovic. In early afternoons, Inside Sources is hosted by Boyd Matheson. Evenings feature KSL at Night along with repeats of daytime shows.
The May 6, 1922, debut broadcast (as KZN) included a dedication speech by LDS Church president Heber J. Grant.[3]
Effective December 1, 1921, the U.S. Department of Commerce, in charge of radio at the time, adopted a regulation formally establishing a broadcasting station category, which set aside the wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz) for entertainment broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for farm market and weather reports.[4]
On April 21, 1922, the Deseret News, a Salt Lake City newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), was issued a license for a new station on both broadcasting wavelengths.[5] This was the first broadcasting station licensed in the state of Utah. The new station's call sign was KZN. At this time call letters were generally randomly assigned from a roster of available call signs, but it is possible that the KZN call sign was derived from the Zion concept and common motif in the Latter Day Saint movement. The station was located on the roof of the Deseret News Building. KZN's first broadcast began at 3:00 p.m. on May 6, 1922,[6] and included an 8:00 p.m. dedication address by LDS Church president Heber J. Grant, followed by a speech by Salt Lake City Mayor C. Clarence Nelson.[3]
KFPT
A 1947 advertisement, oriented toward potential sponsors, boasted that "KSL's high commercial standards mean high listener acceptance".[7]
In 1924, KZN was sold to John Cope and his father, F.W. Cope, who formed the Radio Service Corporation of Utah.[8] Ownership was changed to Cope & Johnson, and the station's frequency to 1120 kHz.[9] The call letters became KFPT.[10]
This new call sign came from an alphabetical roster of available call letters that were normally assigned to new stations. KFPT, still located atop the Deseret News Building, made its formal debut on June 13, 1924.[11] In early 1925 ownership was changed to the Radio Service Corporation of Utah, and the station's frequency to 1150 kHz.[12]
KSL
On March 24, 1925, the call letters were changed from KFPT to KSL, and the frequency to 1000 kHz,[13] with the "S" and "L" standing for "Salt Lake". (The KSL call sign had been assigned to a San Francisco station from March 1922 until it was deleted in June 1923.)[14]Earl J. Glade (later a four-term mayor of Salt Lake City) joined the station in 1925 and guided KSL's operations for the next fourteen years. John F. Fitzpatrick, publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune (owned by the Kearns Corporation) acquired a quarter interest of KSL for a modest price, as did the LDS Church. This was the Tribune's first business partnership with the LDS Church, though the Church later reacquired full interest in the station.[15] In 1927, the station moved to 990 kHz.
The recently formed Federal Radio Commission adopted General Order 40 in 1928, which included 40 "clear channel" allocations, which were assignments providing for high-powered stations with extensive nighttime coverage. The resulting reallocation was implemented on November 11, 1928, with KSL given one of the "clear channel" assignments, on 1130 kHz.[16] An upgrade from 5,000 to the current 50,000 watts was dedicated October 22, 1932.[17] In March 1941, with the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, KSL was shifted to 1160 kHz, although it maintained its status as a "clear channel" station.[18] In 1932, KSL joined the CBS Radio Network. It remained with CBS until 2005, when it switched to ABC News Radio.
FM and TV stations
KSL-FM debuted in 1946 on the then sparsely-populated FM band at 100.1 (later 100.3) MHz. This was a different station from the current-day KSL-FM. After simulcasting KSL for its first two decades, the FM station switched to beautiful music, quarter hour sweeps of largely instrumental music with limited commercials and chatter. This was a contrast to KSL's format of news and talk along with middle of the road music. In 1977, KSL-FM was sold to Simmons Family Inc. This was due to FCC restrictions on multiple station ownership at the time. The new owners changed the call letters to KSFI.
KSL 1160 gained a television counterpart in 1949, KSL-TV. (KSL-TV started as a CBS affiliate. It then switched to NBC in 1995. That was after former NBC affiliate KUTV Channel 2 came under the ownership of CBS, following its acquisition by Westinghouse). KSL-FM-TV remained subsidiaries of the Deseret News until 1964, when Bonneville International Corporation was formed as the parent company for the LDS Church's broadcasting interests.
Nitecap and Utah Jazz
A notable program from KSL's history was Herb Jepko's Nitecap call-in show. It aired overnight on KSL from 1964 to 1990. This was one of the first U.S. radio talk shows to be syndicated nationally, airing on numerous Mutual Broadcasting System Network stations. Jepko usually steered clear of politics and controversy, instead sharing friendly chit-chat with his callers.
KSL was the radio flagship station for Utah JazzNBA basketball games from the team's 1979 arrival through the 1985-1986 season. The Jazz are now heard on KZNS 1280 AM and KZNS-FM 97.5.
In the mid-1980s, many radio listeners were tuning to FM stations for music. Gradually KSL adopted an all-news and talk format. It completely dropped music programming, aside from its Sunday broadcasts of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
KSL-FM returns
Station ownership limitations were loosened in the early 2000s. Management saw that some radio listeners preferred the FM band and rarely tuned to AM stations. It decided KSL 1160 needed an FM partner. In September 2005, Bonneville acquired FM station KQMB 102.7.
KQMB was converted to a simulcast of KSL.[19] To match its AM counterpart, KQMB changed its call letters to KSL-FM.[20] The joint operation was branded as "KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM & 1160 AM." Initially the AM signal was considered to be the main station. In recent years, the FM dial position is the only frequency given, omitting 1160 AM.
On Sunday mornings and evenings for more than two decades, the station has broadcast Religion Today with host Martin Tanner. The program focuses on Christian and Jewish history and doctrine.
^"New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, May 1, 1922, page 4. Limited Commercial license for station KZN, serial No. 661, issued April 21, 1922, to The Deseret News for a three-month period, for operation on 360 and 485 meters.
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