KLZ

KLZ
City Denver, Colorado
Broadcast area Denver-Boulder-Longmont and Northern Colorado
Branding 560 KLZ The Source
Slogan "Freedom. Liberty. Truth."
Frequency 560 kHz (also HD digital sub-channel)
First air date March 10, 1922 (also amateur station licenses as 9JE 1920-1921 and 9ZAF 1921-1922)
Format Talk
Power 5,000 watts
Class B
Facility ID 35088
Transmitter coordinates 39°50′36″N 104°57′14″W / 39.84333°N 104.95389°W / 39.84333; -104.95389
Callsign meaning None (random reissue)[1]
Owner Crawford Broadcasting
Webcast Listen Live
Website 560thesource.com

KLZ (560 AM) is a radio station licensed to Denver, Colorado and currently owned by Crawford Broadcasting. It was the first — thus making it still the oldest — broadcasting station in the state of Colorado. Its talk radio format primarily consists of locally originated programming, supplemented by nationally syndicated programs, including The Laura Ingraham Show and The Dana Show. The station also transmits an HD digital sub-channel.[2][3]

Station history

KLZ was first licensed as a broadcasting station on March 10, 1922 to the Reynolds Radio Company in Denver, Colorado. However, the company's president, Dr. William D. "Doc" Reynolds, Jr., had been making entertainment broadcasts since 1920, and the station has traditionally traced its founding to that year.[4]

In September 1915, Reynolds, then living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was issued his first license, for an amateur radio station with the call sign 9WH.[5] This initial station employed a spark transmitter that could only transmit the dots-and-dashes of Morse code, moreover, with the entrance of the United States into World War One in April 1917, all civilian radio stations were ordered to cease operations for the duration of the conflict.

In late 1919 the amateur radio ban was ended and Reynolds, who had subsequently moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, relicensed his amateur station, which was now issued the call sign of 9JE.[6] During the war, vacuum tube radio transmitters had been developed that made audio transmissions practical. Reynolds began work with the U.S. Forestry Service to evaluate the practicality of using radiotelephones to aid department communication.[7] He also took advantage of the equipment provided by the Forestry service to experiment with entertainment broadcasts, and one of his first radiotelephone tests, in May 1920, provided musical selections for a dance held by students at the local high school.[8]

In late October 1920, a newspaper account stated that Reynolds was broadcasting nightly concerts. This report also noted he had decided to suspend his dental practice in order to devote full time attention to radio, and had founded the Reynolds Radio Specialty Company, which would be located at his home on South Prospect Street.[9] The following February another newspaper article stated that he had been broadcasting regular Sunday evening concerts, and it was also announced that Reynolds was making plans to move his family and his company to Denver.[10] (Reflecting this change, the Commerce Department's June 1921 amateur station call book entry for 9JE lists its new location as Denver, operated by the Reynolds Radio Specialty Co.)[11]

After moving to Denver, Reynolds joined with other radio enthusiasts in making a number of "mobile" demonstrations, where radio-receiver equipped automobiles picked up special programs. Most notably, he participated in the May 19, 1921 broadcast of the opera Martha from the Denver Municipal Auditorium.[12] In the summer of 1921, Reynolds was issued a "Special Amateur" license, with the call sign 9ZAF.[13] This allowed transmissions on 370 meters (811 kHz), a wavelength freer from the interference previously encountered by 9JE on the congested standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz). In addition to experimental broadcasts, 9ZAF acted as an important "relay station" link, for coast-to-coast messages passing through a cooperative network of Amateur Radio Relay League stations.[14] In October, it was announced that 9ZAF's equipment had been recently upgraded, and, in addition to Sunday evening concerts from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m., the station was broadcasting daily weather forecasts twice a day, at 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.[15] In early 1922, the Rocky Mountain News announced it was providing news bulletins as a supplement to the nightly station concerts.[16] The paper also started providing extensive publicity for 9ZAF, referring to the station as the "News-Times-Reynolds Broadcasting station".

Initially, there were no formal restrictions about which radio station license categories could make broadcasts intended for the general public. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce, which regulated U.S. radio at this time, adopted a regulation that stations making general broadcasts now had to hold a Limited Commercial license.[17] To comply with this new standard, the Reynolds Radio Company applied for the appropriate license, and on March 10, 1922 a broadcasting station authorization — the first in the state of Colorado — with the randomly assigned call letters of KLZ was issued to the company. KLZ was given permission to use both of the broadcasting wavelengths established by the new regulations: 360 meters (833 kHz) for "entertainment" broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for "market and weather" reports.[18] (Reynolds' amateur radio transmissions, although using the same equipment as KLZ, continued as 9ZAF on 370 meters). In late March, the Rocky Mountain News reported the station's schedule as "KLZ (ex-9ZAF), News-Times-Reynolds service begins broadcasting news, market reports, and concerts and a good-night story for the children at 7:30 p.m. Sermons and music Sundays from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. at 360 meters" in addition to "Market reports and financial news daily at 12:30 noon, except Sundays, at 485 meters".[19]

KLZ was initially located at Reynolds' 1124 South University home in Denver. Two 80 foot (25 meter) towers had been erected, one in front of the house and the other behind, to support a large "flat-top" transmitting antenna and counterpoise. A room in the house was set aside as a studio and also housed the station's transmitter. Initially Reynolds — who played saxophone and violin — and his wife Naomi — who played piano — provided much of the entertainment, and they were later joined by their young son.[20] KLZ's studios later moved to the Shirley-Savoy Hotel, with the station antenna constructed atop the building.

In 1927, the Federal Radio Commission was formed to regulate radio stations in the United States. It embarked on a major restructuring of the broadcast band, and, on November 11, 1928, under the provisions of General Order 40, KLZ was assigned to operate on 560 kHz, which it has continued to use ever since. This assignment specified a transmitting power of 1,000 watts, then the maximum permitted for stations operating on a "regional" frequency. KLZ was later able to take advantage of the adoption of higher limits, eventually increasing its power to 5,000 watts, its current rating.

Dr. Reynolds died in November 1931, and KLZ signed-off for three hours in his memory.[21] In 2014, he was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado's "Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame".[22]

KLZ timelines

Later history

Ownership

References

  1. ↑ "Broadcast Station Calls With a Past" by William Fenwick, Radio Broadcast, July 1928, page 150. The KLZ call had previously been assigned to a marine radio station aboard the Speedwell, which sank on September 29, 1920 in the Gulf of Mexico during a hurricane.
  2. ↑ http://560thesource.com/hd-radio/ KLZ HD
  3. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=71 HD Radio guide for Denver
  4. ↑ Variety Annual Radio Directory: 1938 Edition, page 202. Establishment date for KLZ is listed as 1920.
  5. ↑ The Electrical Experimenter, February 1916, "Amateur Radio Stations Licensed During the Month of September, 1915", page 567. The "9" in 9WH's call sign indicated that the station was located in the 9th Radio Inspection district.
  6. ↑ Amateur Radio Stations of the United States: Edition June 30, 1920, "Ninth District—Alphabetically by owners of stations", page 103.
  7. ↑ "Reynolds Prepares to Send Messages by Wireless Phone", Colorado Springs Gazette, May 13, 1920, page 10.
  8. ↑ "Dance Music by Wireless Transmitted by Reynolds", Colorado Springs Gazette, May 14, 1920, page 8.
  9. ↑ "Reynolds Will Devote Time to Inventions and Wireless", Colorado Springs Gazette, October 25, 1920, page 8.
  10. ↑ "Radio Specialty Company To Open Plant In Denver", Colorado Springs Gazette, February 23, 1921, page 10.
  11. ↑ Amateur Radio Stations of the United States: Edition June 30, 1921, "Ninth District—Alphabetically by call signals", page 190.
  12. ↑ "Amateurs Pick Up Denver Radio Music", Rocky Mountain News, May 20, 1921, page 12.
  13. ↑ Radio Service Bulletin, August 1, 1921, "New Stations: Special Land Stations", page 3. The "Z" in 9ZAF's call sign indicated that the station held a Special Amateur license.
  14. ↑ "Amateur Radio Stations: 9ZAF", QST magazine, January 1923, pages 61-62.
  15. ↑ "Wireless Telephone Here to Talk on 1,000 Mile Radius", Rocky Mountain News, October 17, 1921, page 5.
  16. ↑ "News Will Send Bulletins Every Night by Wireless", Rocky Mountain News, January 7, 1922, page 9.
  17. ↑ Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, "Amendments to Regulations", page 10.
  18. ↑ Limited Commercial license, serial #316, issued on March 10, 1922 for three months.
  19. ↑ "Daily Radio Program", Rocky Mountain News, March 28, 1922, page 5.
  20. ↑ "KLZ is a Real Radio in the Home" by Vera Brady Shipman, Radio in the Home magazine, February 1925, pages 29-30.
  21. ↑ Pikes Peak Radio & Electronics Museum: Radio Station KLZ Denver
  22. ↑ Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame: William "Doc" Reynolds
  23. ↑ Roberts, Michael (19 Mar 2007). "Games Over". Denver Westword. Retrieved 4 July 2012.

External links

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