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| Broadcast area | Lake Charles area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1400kHz |
| Branding | Super Talk 1400 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk Radio |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | Westwood One Premiere Networks Salem Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KBIU,KKGB,KQLK,KYKZ | |
| History | |
First air date | May 10, 1947; 78 years ago (1947-05-10) |
Former call signs | KLOU |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 67330 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°14′10″N93°10′2″W / 30.23611°N 93.16722°W /30.23611; -93.16722 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | kaok.com |
KAOK (1400AM "SuperTalk 1400") is acommercialradio station broadcasting atalk radioformat. Licensed toLake Charles, Louisiana, it is owned byCumulus Media and features programming from co-ownedWestwood One,Premiere Networks and theSalem Radio Network.[2] Its studios are on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and itstransmitter is at the intersection of Fruge Street (US 90) andI-210.
Most of KAOK's programming issyndicated. Weekdays begin with the news magazineAmerica in the Morning. That's followed byThe Moon Griffon Show fromKPEL-FM inLafayette, plus Vince Coglianese,Hugh Hewitt,Sean Hannity,Mark Levin andRed Eye Radio all night.
Weekends feature programs on money, health, law, the outdoors and guns. Syndicated weekend shows includeBill Handel on the Law,Tom Gresham's Gun Talk and repeats of weekday programs. Most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.
The stationsigned on the air on May 10, 1947; 78 years ago (1947-05-10).[3] It began as a member of the "OK Group" which includedWAOK,WBOK andKYOK, serving theAfrican-American community. Thomas Austin Gresham (1921–2015), a 1946 graduate ofLouisiana State University inBaton Rouge, who was born inBuenos Aires,Argentina, opened the station. Its originalcall sign was KLOU. Gresham served as the general manager and part owner of the station.
In 1959, Gresham came toShreveport to manageKRMD and was the executor of the T. B. Lanford estate. Gresham was also a decoratedfirst lieutenant with the8th Air Force of theUnited States Army Air Corps inEngland duringWorld War II. He flew twenty combat missions inB-17 bombers.[4]
Ed Prendergast subsequently managed and then purchased the station. He moved it to aTop 40 format, popular with the young people of Lake Charles.
During the 1970s, KAOK was a competitive and high-profile radio station within the Lake Charles market. It featured remote live broadcasts from many of the station's advertisers.Disc jockeys from KAOK hostedsock hops and youth dances. Mobile DJ pioneers included Dave "The Mouse" Petrik, who was also the station's chief engineer. The station was also heard on one of the local cable channels' audio track during this period.
One memorable KAOK promotion was the "Boogie Bash", a dance featuring KAOK radio DJ Dave the Mouse as well as the other stations personalities, Bill Conway, Steve Golden, and Ken Rice. During the summer of 1973, a series of these dances provided some youthful night life, melding well with the station's Top 40 appeal. At its peak, the station featured personalities such as Jay Michaels, Terry Broussard and Bubba Lutcher. It carried "The Fondel Funeral Home Show," airing on Sunday mornings.
As music listening moved to the FM dial, the station struggled. It began airing anadult contemporary format with an increasing number of talk shows. It eventually evolved into a talk format with Ed Prendergast as the morning host. Ultimately, the station changed hands several times, including ownership by Sidney Simien, known as "Rockin' Sidney," aZydeco musician who recorded the hit "Don't Mess with My Toot Toot".
A local physician, Marc Pittman, had assisted Ed Prendergast with the transition to a full time talk format in the late 1980s, and also helped with the sale of the station to Rockin' Sidney. In 1997, when Sidney's health was failing from cancer, Simien asked Dr. Pittman to assist in an unsuccessful attempt to sell the station. When no one would meet Rockin' Sidney's price for the sale, Dr. Pittman created Pittman Broadcasting Services, LLC and applied to theFederal Communications Commission to purchase the station at the requested price. The FCC finally granted the application just days before Rockin' Sidney Simien died.
Pittman Broadcasting continued with the talk format, and establishedKQLK97.9 FM for Lake Charles' FM radio market. At 3 a.m., Sunday, February 11, 2001, the day before KQLK was to debut, Pittman Broadcasting was hit with a massive electrical power surge. The studios were heavily damaged, with equipment destroyed reportedly in less than eight minutes. Utilizing an internet signal and the new KQLKtower inLongville, KAOK was back on the air as a simulcast within 24 hours of the disaster. This would not have been possible without the assistance from local independent broadcasters and engineers, as well as the efforts of the Pittman Broadcasting staff.
Both 1400 KAOK and KQLK 97.9 FM were sold toCumulus Media in 2004. With Cumulus taking over the programming, severalconservative talk shows from co-ownedWestwood One were added to KAOK's schedule.