KTIL (1590 AM) is a radio stationlicensed to serve Netarts, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1947, is currently owned by Alexandra Communications, Inc.
In September 2008, the station and its then-sister stationKTIL-FM announced their disaster preparedness plans, including regularly scheduled information broadcasts, limited broadcasting hours to conserve generator power, and the ability to transmit bilingual emergency messages from county emergency management officials, even in the event of a tsunami.[8][9]
History
This station began regular broadcasting on August 16, 1947, as a 250 watt station known as KTIL.[10] KTIL was owned by the Tillamook Broadcasting Company, Inc., with Fred H. Guyton as president and Robert W. Harris as general manager.[10]
KTIL received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a power increase to 1,000 watts in 1961 and began broadcasting with the stronger signal in 1962.[11] Soon after, Tillamook Broadcasting Company, Inc., agree to sell KTIL to Beaver Broadcasting Company in a transaction finalized on December 1, 1962.[12] Philip Tonken was the president of Beaver Broadcasting and Robert Douglas served as general manager of the radio station.[12] In 1967, the station received another authorization to increase its signal strength, this time to the current 5,000 watts during the day and 1,000 watts at night.[13]
In October 1986, Beaver Broadcasting System, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Oregon Eagle, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 25, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on December 29, 1986.[14]
The station was assigned the KMBD call letters by the FCC on December 20, 1993.[1] The station was renamed in honor of longtime talk show host Mildred Berkey Davy when the AM and FM stations ended their simulcast and the AM station went all-talk.[7][15]
In March 2010, Alexandra Communications, Inc., reached an agreement to purchase KMBD from Oregon Eagle, Inc., for $150,000.[16] The FCC approved the transfer on April 27, 2010, and the transaction was consummated on June 1, 2010.[16] The new owners had the FCC restore the station's original KTIL call sign on June 9, 2010.[1]
On February 1, 2013 KTIL changed their format from talk to oldies, branded as "True Oldies 1590".
Former on-air staff
Ramblin' Rod Anders — a Portland, Oregon, children's television host for more than 30 years. His first broadcasting job was at KTIL in the 1950s. Anders sang and played guitar for a Saturday morning show on the radio station until he was drafted into the United States Army.[17]
Mildred Berkey Davy — the host of It's a Woman's World and other KTIL talk programming for more than 40 years beginning in 1961. Davy was, until her death in October 2005, the oldest regularly scheduled radio personality in the United States.[18][19] Davy was widely known as "the voice of Tillamook County," and in January 1994 was honored with a change in the station's call sign. KTIL was renamed KMBD after Davy's initials as part of a programming shift, which changed KMBD to an all-talk format while flipping KTIL-FM to an oldies-based adult contemporary music format.[7][20][21]
^Brenneman, Kristina (May 5, 2000). "Lars Love-In". Business Journal-Portland. KXL's network Radio Northwest has added three stations that are carrying the Lars Larson show live: Ontario's KIOV, Tillamook's KMBD and The Dalles' KODL.
^"Station Spotlight". The Oregon Association of Broadcasters. Archived from the original on May 17, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
^ ab"Directory of Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States". Broadcasting-Telecasting 1948 Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1948. p. 75.
^"Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1961-1962 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1962. p. B-138.
^ ab"Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1964 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1964. p. B-128.
^"Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1968 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1968. p. B-168.
^"Rod Anders". Associated Press. May 12, 2002. Ramblin' Rod, the popular host of a Portland children's television show, died Friday.
^Neal, Leeann (January 20, 2006). "The voice of Tillamook County is silenced". The Daily Astorian. Davy - the oldest regularly scheduled radio personality in the United States as longtime host of "It's a Woman's World," on KTIL FM, of Tillamook - was an ambassador, as well as a familiar, comforting presence to Tillamook County residents.
^"Mildred Davy, known as the 'voice of Tillamook County,' dies". The Daily Astorian. October 6, 2005. Davy was a familiar figure on the coast, but she was most popularly known as "the voice of Tillamook County" on local radio. As she continued her career in later years, she became the oldest regularly scheduled radio personality in the United States.
^"Oregon Broadcast History Book Project"(PDF). WSMB Signals. Western States Museum of Broadcasting. October 1, 2004. Ron recently interviewed 91-year old Mildred Davy who has been broadcasting a daily interview radio program at KTIL-AM, Tillamook, Oregon, over 41 years. [...] Davy conceivably holds the Oregon record for current longest continuing radio program.
^"About Lars". LarsLarson.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2009. Lars got his start in radio at age 16 spinning records and reading news, sports and weather on "the Voice of Tillamook County" 1590 KTIL from a little cinderblock building on the edge of a cow pasture on the Oregon coast.
