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| Broadcast area | Coachella Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 970kHz |
| Branding | K-News 94.3 104.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KCLB-FM,KCLZ,KDES-FM,KDGL,KKUU,KNWH,KNWQ,KPSI-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1954 |
Former call signs | KCHV (1954–1983) KVIM (1983–1989) KCLB (1989–2001) |
Call sign meaning | K-NeWsZ |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 12130 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts day 360 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°41′12″N116°9′28″W / 33.68667°N 116.15778°W /33.68667; -116.15778 |
| Translator(s) | 104.7 K284CR (Palm Springs) |
| Repeater(s) | 1140KNWQ (Palm Springs) 1250KNWH (Yucca Valley) 92.7KKUU-HD2 (Indio) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
KNWZ (970AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toCoachella, California. Itsimulcasts anews/talkformat withsister stations 1140KNWQ and 1250KNWH. It is owned byAlpha Media.[2] Thestudios are on North Gene Autry Trail (California State Route 111) in Palm Springs.
By day, KNWZ is powered at 5,000watts. But to avoid interference to other stations on970 AM, KNWZ must reduce power at night to 360 watts.[3] It uses adirectional antenna with a three-tower array. Programming is also heard on severalFM translators in theCoachella Valley.
Weekdays begin with theK-News Morning Show, a local wake-up program with Mike Mozingo and Kris Long. The rest of the weekday schedule isnationally syndicated talk programs:The Dan Bongino Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Mark Levin Show,The Ben Shapiro Show,The Matt Walsh Show,Coast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory,This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal andMarkley, Van Camp & Robbins.
Syndicated weekend shows include theCBS News Weekend Roundup,The Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey,Rich DiMuro on Tech,Bill Handel on the Law,The Takeout with Major Garrett andSomewhere in Time with Art Bell. Most hours begin with an update fromCBS News Radio.
The station began broadcasting in 1954; 71 years ago (1954).[4] The originalcall sign wasKCHV.[4][5] It was adaytimer, powered at 1,000 watts, and required to go off the air at sunset. It was owned by the Coachella Valley Broadcasting Company.[5] In 1963, its daytime power was increased to 5,000 watts and it began nighttime operations, running 1,000 watts.[5]
On August 26, 1983, the station's call sign was changed toKVIM.[6] On September 1, 1989, its call sign was changed toKCLB.[6]Spanish language formats were aired as KVIM[7][8] and KCLB.[9][10][11]
KNWZ debuted at 1270 AM in 1988 under the ownership of William Hart. It was the area's second attempt at anall-news format in the style ofKNX, the all-news station inLos Angeles. But soon it was converted to atalk radio format. Jerry Jolstead had sold the station and Hart purchased it from Mary and Kate Neiswender. The morning drive slot was occupied from 1994-2000 by Luigi Rossetti under the air name of "Lou Penrose." Rossetti left the station at the height of his popularity to accept a position as District Director for CongresswomanMary Bono. The Lou Penrose Morning Talk Show was followed from 9-11a.m. by former television newsmanRon Fortner. Fortner was let go in 1998, immediately after the purchase of the station byMorris Communications as part of the new Desert Radio Group.
The station had been simulcast on two FM repeaters and one other station (94.3, 103.9 and 106.9) from April 1995 to October 1998, when Morris purchased the stations; it then converted all three of the FM stations to music formats. Morris then moved KNWZ to 970/1140AM on January 1, 2001.
In October 2009, K-News began to operate an FM radio translator on 94.3 MHz from Desert Hot Springs covering the Coachella Valley. In 2016, KNWZ began to be heard on 103.7 in theTwentynine Palms area. In 2018, it added a translator on 104.7 FM for the Palm Springs area, in addition to 94.3 FM from Coachella.
Morris sold the three stations, along with thirty others, toAlpha Media LLC for $38.25 million, effective September 1, 2015.