 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Los Angeles |
| Frequency | 97.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 97.9 La Raza |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Subchannels | HD2: Regional Mexican "La Privada" |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KXOL-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | April 22,1949[1] |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | LAX, Los Angeles'sIATA airport code or "La X" (name in the mid-1990s) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 61638 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 33,000 watts |
| HAAT | 184 meters (604 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.lamusica.com/en/stations/klax |
KLAX-FM (97.9FM) is an American commercial radio station located inEast Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to theGreater Los Angeles area. It is owned bySpanish Broadcasting System (SBS). KLAX-FM airs aregional Mexicanmusic format branded as "La Raza". The station has studios in Los Angeles, and its transmitter is based inGlendale.
The station began broadcasting on April 22, 1949, holding the call sign KNOB.[1][3] It originally broadcast at 103.1 MHz and was licensed toLong Beach, California.[3]
On August 18, 1957, the station switched to an alljazz music format, becoming the world's first all-jazz station.[4][5] It was branded "The Jazz Knob".[6] Its owner wasSleepy Stein, who was able to get permission from theFederal Communications Commission for a power increase by switching the frequency to 97.9 in 1958.[4][5] It broadcast from a studio at their transmitter site atopSignal Hill, nearLong Beach Airport.[3] The building and tower remain to this day, though the station has moved away to Flint Peak nearGlendale. The station's original high-power transmitter was a Western Electric 10 kW that had previously been installed at KNX-FM.
In 1966, the station was sold to Jeanette Pennino Banoczi and husband Jack Banoczi, owners of the Pennino Music Company, for $262,850.[7][8][3] KNOB's studios were moved toAnaheim, California.[3] Later that year, the station switched to an all-requestmiddle of the road (MOR) format, with ethnic programming on Sundays.[9]
KNOB would later air abeautiful music format.[10][11] In the early 1980s, the station began airing a syndicated MOR format.[11] In September 1985, it adopted asoft adult contemporary "love songs" format branded "For Lovers Only".[12][13][14]
In 1988, KNOB was sold toSpanish Broadcasting System for $15 million and its call sign was changed to KSKQ-FM.[15][16][17][18] The station aired aSpanish-languageadult contemporary format.[19][20]
In 1992, under the direction of general manager Alfredo Rodriguez, KSKQ-FM was turned into aBanda music station, KLAX-FM, branded "La Equis".[19][20][21] In January 1993, KLAX-FM became the most-listened-to station in the market, the first Spanish-language station in Los Angeles to achieve this.[21]
In 1998, KLAX-FM moved itscity of license fromLong Beach toEast Los Angeles.[22] In 2002, KLAX dropped the contemporary hits and went to a more focused regional format as "La Raza 97.9". In March 2017, KLAX began carrying the morning show hosted by Terry "El Terrible" Cortez, Kristel "La Kristy" Yañez, and Johnny "El Perro" Orta, ofWLEY, "La Ley 107.9" inChicago.[23] The program also airs onKRZZ in San Francisco.[23] Before joining KRZZ in 2014, Cortez and Yañez had been part ofEddie "Piolín" Sotelo's syndicated morning show for 12 years.[23]
Renán "El Cucuy" Almendárez Coello, the station's morning show host, helped coordinate a demonstration held on the streets of downtown Los Angeles on March 25, 2006.[24] The event drew an estimated 500,000 participants and was a springboard to further similar events held throughout the United States. The protesters marched in opposition toH.R. 4437, a proposalCongressional law that would theoretically makeillegal immigration to the U.S. more difficult. Coello received attention in various media following the original protests, including an appearance onTom Leykis' English-language radio talk show.
34°09′50″N118°11′46″W / 34.164°N 118.196°W /34.164; -118.196