| Repeater ofKAZN,Pasadena | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Broadcast area | Pomona Valley |
| Frequency | 1600 kHz |
| Branding | KAZN AM 1300 中文廣播電臺 |
| Programming | |
| Languages | Mandarin |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KALI,KALI-FM,KAZN,KBLA,KMRB | |
| History | |
First air date | July 22, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-07-22) |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 61814 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
| KAHZ | |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | KAZN AM 1300 中文廣播電臺 |
| Simplified Chinese | KAZN AM 1300 中文广播电台 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | KAZN AM 1300 zhōng wén guǎng bō diàn tái |
KAHZ (1600AM) is a broadcastradio station in the United States. Licensed toPomona, California, the station is owned byMulticultural Broadcasting and is a full-time simulcast ofKAZN, a Chinese language station licensed inPasadena.
The station first signed on in 1947 as KPMO. For nearly four decades, the station was owned by Dean H. Wickstrom and his family. KPMO began as acommunity radio station serving Pomona. In 1955, KPMO became KWOW. Throughout the 1960s, KWOW had acountry music format. Then for much of the 1970s and 1980s, KWOW had anoldies format.
In 1986, the Wickstrom family sold KWOW to local investment advisor Edward "Buz" Schwartz. The station changed its call sign to KMNY in 1987 and was branded "Money Radio" after Schwartz's investment company. KMNY was reportedly the first 24-hourbusiness news and talk station in the U.S. However, the station was controversial from the start, as Schwartz was under investigation by the state of California forsecurities fraud; theFederal Communications Commission fined KMNY in 1990 for multiple violations, including failures to disclose that guests purchased time on the station.
Multicultural Broadcasting purchased the station in 1998. Early in its ownership of KMNY, the station had a variety of its previous financial programming, music, and programming in Vietnamese and Cantonese. This time programming completely in Chinese, KMNY returned to business news full time in 2000. In 2005, KMNY became KAHZ and dropped its original programming to simulcast KAZN full time.
Founded by Valley Broadcasting Company, whose partners included Dean H. Wickstrom, the station first signed on as KPMO on July 22, 1947, with 500 watts of power and was the first radio station based inPomona.[2] It broadcast from a trailer in an orange grove.[3] An independent station not affiliated with any national network, KPMO included many programs sponsored by local organizations including community hospital Pomona Health Council,Mt. San Antonio College, and a Mexican-American arts group.[2]
After a brief time as KBUZ from September 23, the station picked up call sign KWOW beginning November 15, 1955.[4]
Around 1962, KWOW became acountry music station branded "The Big 16 K-Wow".[3][5] After nearly a decade as a country station, KWOW changed tooldies around early 1972.[3]
In 1985, KWOW began broadcastingCal State Fullerton Titans football and basketball games.[6] A 1986Los Angeles Times column described its playlist as being "for aging flower children" and including hits from the early 1960s such as "You Better Move On" byArthur Alexander and "Bristol Stomp" byThe Dovells.[7]
After nearly four decades of ownership, the Wickstrom family sold KWOW to Edward "Buz" Schwartz, host of an investment talk show onKIEV inGlendale, for $1.75 million in October 1986.[8]
On March 12, 1987, KWOW changed its call sign to KMNY and its format tobusiness news and talk, with the brand "Money Radio".[4][9] Operated by theAnaheim investment firm of the same name, "Money Radio" was reportedly the first station with a full-time business format.[9][10] The station broadcast from the floor of thePacific Stock Exchange upon its launch but stopped doing so after only a few weeks.[11]
However, "Money Radio" attracted controversy from its inception. Schwartz overstated the strength of the station's signal by claiming could be heard as far asBarstow andSan Diego.[9] TheCalifornia Department of Corporations was also investigating Schwartz forsecurities fraud, with his claims about KMNY's signal among the possible grounds.[9]
In 1990, KMNY was fined $10,000 by theFederal Communications Commission for failing to disclose that stockbrokers and investment advisors paid the station to be interview guests, among other violations of broadcasting law.[12]
In 1994, KMNY was the flagship station for theRancho Cucamonga Quakes minor league baseball team as it won theCalifornia League championship.[13]
Multicultural Broadcasting purchased KMNY for $7.55 million in September 1998.[14] KMNY's weekday schedule was changed so that Money Radio's financial talk ran from noon to 4, followed by a freeform music program from 4 to 8 p.m., Vietnamese programs from 8 p.m. to midnight, and Cantonese programs from midnight to noon.[15]
In a slight return to its previous format, KMNY changed its format to business news/talk in July 2000 albeit in Chinese, branded "Chinese News & Money Radio".[16]
KMNY changed its call sign to KAHZ on March 4, 2005.[4] In June 2005, KAHZ became a full simulcast of Multicultural Broadcasting's Mandarin Chinese stationKAZN.[17] The simulcast continues as of 2021.[18][19]
34°01′48″N117°43′35″W / 34.03000°N 117.72639°W /34.03000; -117.72639