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KGO (AM)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| KGO | |
 |
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| Broadcast area | San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Branding | "KGO News Talk 810" |
| Frequency | 810 (kHz) |
| First air date | 1924 |
| Format | News/Talk |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| Class | A Link to License |
| Callsign meaning | K General Electric Oakland (KGO radio's former owner) |
| Owner | Citadel Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | KSFO |
| Website | www.kgoam810.com |
KGO 810 kHz on the AM band, is a news-talk format radio station with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. For over 25 years, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area. Operating with 50,000 watts of power as a clear channel station, it is accessible throughout the western United States and beyond. It is one of the West Coast flagship radio stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).
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KGO signed on the air in 1924 from General Electric's Oakland electrical facility, as part of a planned three-station network comprising WGY in Schenectady, New York, and KOA in Denver, Colorado. Due to GE's involvement in RCA and RCA's launch of the NBC radio network, KGO was soon operated by NBC management as part of the NBC network. See the KNBR entry for a fuller discussion of NBC's San Francisco radio operations.
In 1943, the Federal Communications Commission forced NBC to sell one of its two networks (and that network's affiliated stations). The NBC "Blue Network" became ABC, and KGO became an independent entity.
In the postwar period, KGO originated many live music programs, including that of Western Swing bandleader Bob Wills, a staple of the period. KGO was also instrumental in bringing the first exercise show to broadcasting, hosted by Jack LaLanne, a fitness instructor and gym operator in nearby Oakland. LaLanne conducted his radio fitness show for many years on KGO, and moved in the late 1950s to KGO-TV and a successful TV syndication career.
By the late 1950s, KGO had suffered poor ratings. In 1962, ABC management brought in new management including a program director, Jim Dunbar, who revamped the station into one of the country's first news/talk stations. While the new format was initially unsuccessful, Dunbar stressed the "live and local" aspect of the programming by running the talk shows every day from locations such as Johnny Kan's Chinese restaurant, Senor Pico's Restaurant, and the legendary Hungry i nightclub. This higher profile caused KGO's ratings to begin a steady climb. Among KGO's personalities then was future Radio Hall of Fame member J.P. McCarthy, the station's morning host in the early 1960s.
After trying various formats, KGO eventually shifted to news and talk shows. It relied heavily on the ABC radio network for its news programs, carrying Paul Harvey's twice-daily programs, but also began to develop a strong local news staff that produced extended morning and afternoon newscasts. The local talk show hosts included Owen Spann and Jim Eason, who often interviewed visiting celebrities in the studios. Owen Spann even originated special broadcasts from Europe and Africa, interviewing various government officials. Local director-actor Jack Brooks hosted a Saturday-morning entertainment program until his sudden death in June 1984, after directing a production of Kismet for the Capuchino Community Theatre that featured Jim Eason as the poet Omar Khayam. Dr. Dean Edell began his regular medical programs at KGO, leading to nationally-syndicated broadcasts.
Today, KGO for over 27 years (as rated quarterly by Arbitron) has been the number-one station in the Bay Area, a feat remarkable in broadcasting. The KGO signal also registers as a station listened to in surrounding metropolitan areas. Due to the nature of the signal, KGO broadcasts essentially on a north-south axis, protecting itself from interference with WGY at night. This makes KGO essentially free of static at night in places like Seattle and San Diego, but difficult to receive in Reno and points east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Unlike many other talk radio stations in the United States, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming, with very limited syndicated programming. That is, majority of its programs are hosted by San Francisco Bay Area broadcasters.
In addition to politics, the station carries a number of informational programs. John Hamilton (broadcaster) discusses travel and leisure, Gene Burns covers fine food and dining, and Joanie Greggains hosts a health and fitness program. KGO runs news during the morning and afternoon drive. KGO also ran an hour of news at noon, but that has been cancelled following the move of the KGO radio lawyer, Len Tillem, to weekday broadcasts on November 27, 2006. Its news coverage tends to have more anchor banter, longer stories and lighter stories than the hard-news format of KCBS.
KGO was the radio broadcast home for the San Francisco 49ers football team from 1987 to 2005. It has broadcast the college football games of the University of California, Berkeley Golden Bears since 1974.
Every year, KGO hosts an annual fundraiser named the KGO Cure-a-Thon to help raise money for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. All of the station's regular programming is preempted for an entire day for the event. Listeners are encouraged to call in donate money to help fight cancer. An auction is also held to help raise money. Notable items have included a trip with Gene Burns on a private jet to various destinations such as Las Vegas or Italy.
At the end of the Cure-a-Thon, Ray Taliaferro generally encourages more donations by shouting his signature phrase that "It is not enough." The Cure-a-Thon then continues past the designated 24 hour mark (with encouragement from Ray), causing the station management to have a fit because advertisers have paid for advertising that isn't being broadcast. However, this long-running joke was spoofed in 2006 when the Cure-a-Thon was planned to run a bit over 24 hours.
- Brian Copeland
- John Rothmann
- John Hamilton (broadcaster)
- Jim Wieder
- Joanie Greggains
- Gene Burns - Dining Around, with Gene Burns
- Karel
- Rich Walcoff
- Bernie Ward - God Talk
- Dr. Bill Wattenburg
- David Lazarus
- Jennifer Jones
- Bret Burkhart
- Ed Baxter
- Rosie Allen
- Greg Jarrett
- Jon Bristow
- Lloyd Lindsay Young
- Stan Burford
- Michaelynn Meyers
Sometimes regular hosts fill in for each other's shows, particularly Gene Burns, Brian Copeland, John Rothmann and Bill Wattenburg.
- Ira Blue
- Chris Clarke
- Al "Jazzbo" Collins
- Russ Coughlan
- Joe Dolan
- Jim Eason
- Dwayne Garrett
- Christine Kraft
- J.P. McCarthy
- Shann Nix
- Michael Savage
- Owen Spann
- Joe Starkey
- Michael Krasny
- Mel Ventor
- Pete Wilson - died July 20, 2007 after suffering a massive heart attack during hip replacement surgery at Stanford Medical Center, Palo Alto, California.
- KGO 810 AM - offers live internet streaming feeds and a 24 hour archive in one hour segments.
- KGO History - Some Events of the Past Decade (Unauthorized)
- Dining Around with Gene Burns
- Query the FCC's AM station database for KGO
- Radio Locator Information on KGO
- Aerial photo of KGO transmitter from Google Local
