 | |
| Broadcast area | Tucson metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 790kHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | NewsTalk AM 790 |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KHUD,KMMA,KOHT,KRQQ,KTZR,KXEW | |
| History | |
First air date | October 1, 1958; 67 years ago (1958-10-01) (as KCEE) |
Former call signs | KCTU (CP, 1/23/1957–3/18/1957) KRTU (1957–1958) KCEE (1958–1992) KWFM (1992–1993) |
Call sign meaning | "News, Sports, Talk"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 53589 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts day 500 watts night |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | knst.iheart.com |
KNST (790AM) is acommercialradio station inTucson, Arizona, airing anews/talkradio format. The station is owned byiHeartMedia and servesGreater Tucson, including the suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Sierra Vista, and Vail. KNST's studios and offices are on Oracle Road, north of Downtown Tucson.
By day, KNST is powered at 5,000watts. But to minimize interference to other stations on790 AM, KNST uses adirectional antenna at all times and reduces its power to 500 watts at night. Thetransmitter site is in West Tucson, off North Silverbell Road near North Grant Road.[3]
KNST's lineup parallels most iHeart talk stations. The stationsimulcasts two programs with co-ownedKFYIPhoenix:The Conservative Circus with James T. Harris in morningdrive time andThe Afternoon Addiction with Garret Lewis in late afternoons.Nationally syndicated talk programs round out the weekday schedule includingThe Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Glenn Beck Radio Program,Coast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory andYour Morning Show with Michael DelGiorno.
Weekend shows focus on health, money, law and technology, some of which are paidbrokered programming. Syndicated weekend programs includeBill Handel on the Law,Rich DeMuro on Tech,Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham and an Arizona gardening and home repair show, Rosie Romero'sRosie On The House (originating from itsflagship stationKTAR-FM inPhoenix). Most hours begin an update fromFox News Radio.
Because Arizona does not observedaylight saving time, syndicated programs air on a one-hour recorded delay from mid-March to early November, so they can be heard in their usual time slots on KNST.
790 AM in Tucson was originally the home ofKCEE, whichsigned on the air on October 1, 1958.[4] It was owned by the Associated Broadcasters of Arizona and first began as adaytimer. It was powered at only 250watts and had to leave the airwaves at sunset. By the early 1960s, the station got a boost to 5,000 watts by day, 500 watts at night, its current power.[5]
In 1966, Strauss Broadcasting purchased KCEE. In 1967, Strauss added an FM station, 96.1 KCEE-FM (nowKLPX). At first the FM stationsimulcast AM 790, but later switched tobeautiful music. In the 1970s, 790 KCEE was afull service station, playingmiddle of the road music and airingNBC Radio News. In 1980, KCEE was sold to a company calling itself "790, Incorporated." The FM station was sold toLotus Communications, becoming KTKT-FM, a companion to AM 990KTKT.[6]
The 940 frequency in Tucson first went on the air on August 10, 1963, asKHOS. From its sign on until the late 1970s, it was acountry music station.[7] From 1978 to 1981, it wassoft rockKMGX "Magic 94." But with music listening moving to FM radio, the station's owner, Grabet Radio Enterprises, wanted to make a change. In July 1981, AM 940 switched to a news/talk format, taking the KNST call letters.[8] A few years later, 940 AM was sold toNationwide Communications, a subsidiary ofNationwide Insurance. KNST carried talk shows from theABC Talk Radio Network, broadcasting on 940 AM until it was moved to 790 AM on April 4, 1993.[9] The 790 frequency has more power and a larger coverage area. Today, 940 AM is the home ofKGMS, aChristian radio station.
On November 28, 2011, co-owned 98.3 KTZR-FM flipped to asimulcast of KNST 790 AM, giving its talk audience the opportunity to hear the station on the FM dial. It changed its call letters to KNST-FM.[10][11] Two years later, the simulcast ended. KNST-FM 98.3 switched to acountry music format. KNST 790 continues on AM with its conservative talk programming.
On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with KNST authorized to move from 790 to 1700 kHz.[12] However, the station never procured the Construction Permit needed to implement the authorization, so the expanded band station was never built.
Nationwide later sold its Tucson stations, including KNST, to Tucson Radio Partners, which in turn was absorbed by Prism Radio and thenClear Channel Communications in the 1990s. KNST was theradio flagship station forUniversity of Arizona men's basketball and football play-by-play from about 1984 until 2004, when the broadcasts moved toall-sportsKCUB, branded as "1290 The Source".
32°14′54″N111°00′30″W / 32.24833°N 111.00833°W /32.24833; -111.00833
