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KYKN

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For the airport in Yankton, South Dakota assigned ICAO code KYKN, see Chan Gurney Municipal Airport.
KYKN
Broadcast areaSalem, Oregon
Frequency1430 kHz
Branding1430 KYKN
Programming
FormatTalk Radio
NetworkTownhall News
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerJeff Morgan, President - Willamette Broadcasting Co.
History
First air date
1951; 74 years ago (1951)
Former call signs
  • KGAE (1951–1956)
  • KGAY (1956–1986)
[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72474
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
44°55′36″N 122°57′19″W / 44.92667°N 122.95528°W / 44.92667; -122.95528
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitekykn.com

KYKN (1430 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Keizer, Oregon, and serving the Salem area. It airs a talk radio format with conservative programming[3][4][5] and is owned by the Willamette Broadcasting Company headed by Michael Frith. The studios are on Cherry Avenue NE in Keizer.

KYKN is powered at 5,000 watts non-directional. To protect other stations on 1430 AM from interference, at night it uses a directional antenna with a three-tower array. The transmitter is on Cordon Road SE at State Street in Four Corners, Oregon.[6]

Programming

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Most of KYKN's programming is nationally syndicated talk shows with an hour of local talk and news at noon on weekdays.

Local hosts include Mike Allegre,[7] Jake Atsma,[8] Warren Franklin,[8] Charlie McGuire,[7] Hunter Newton,[9] and Denise Quinn.[9] National hosts include Glenn Beck,[9] Larry Elder,[8] Sebastian Gorka,[9] Lee Habeeb,[8] Hugh Hewitt,[8] Charlie Kirk,[8] Bill O'Reilly, Joe Pags,[8] Dennis Prager, Todd Starnes,[9] and Chris Stigall.[8]

Weekend specialty shows focus on travel, law, technology, guns, car repair, and the outdoors. Weekend hosts include Kim Komando,[9] Rudy Maxa, and Erick Erickson. Most hours begin with an update from Townhall News.

In autumn, sports programming includes local high school football.[9] KYKN is also the Salem affiliate for the Seattle Mariners,[10] as well as for football and basketball at the University of Oregon.[9]

History

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KGAE

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This station began broadcasting in 1951 as KGAE. It had 1,000 watts of power as a daytime-only station.[11] The original call sign was KGAE and its city of license was Salem, Oregon. It was owned by a partnership known as Allen, Truhan, & Clark, with partner W. Gordon serving as president and general manager.[11]

This partnership would be soon dissolved leading to a now-oft cited[citation needed] court case that went all the way to the Oregon Supreme Court.[12] As a result, Allen took control of the stations in 1952 with the broadcast license transferred to a new company called KGAE, Inc.[13] Allen remained president but Hal Davis took over the general manager duties.[13]

KGAY

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In 1956, the station's call sign was changed to KGAY and the name of the license holding company was changed to KGAY, Inc., with W. Gordon Allen still in control.[14] That same year, KGAY was authorized to increase the power of its broadcast signal to 5,000 watts, although it was still restricted to daytime operation.[14]

After a succession of station managers through the 1950s, W. Gordon Allen resumed the general manager duties in 1959.[15]: A-214  By this time Allen, who owned a two-thirds interest in flagship KGAY, had also acquired a 70% interest in KGAL in Lebanon, Oregon, and a 48% interest in KMAT in Winnsboro, Louisiana, as part of his W. Gordon Allen Stations group.[15]: B-43 

After nearly a decade of ownership, W. Gordon Allen and KGAY, Inc., agreed to sell the station to a company known as Radio Wonderful Willametteland, Inc.[16] The deal was consummated on July 1, 1961.[16] Glen M. Stadler took the title of general manager while Robert Bruce was named station manager.[16] Stadler owned a one-third interest in KGAY, as did his partners Harry Rubenstein and Alex Dreier.[17] The three men also owned equal shares in KGAL in Lebanon, Oregon.[17] Stadler was the sole owner of KEED and KEED-FM in the area of Springfield-Eugene, Oregon.[17] By the end of the 1960s, KGAY, Inc. was wholly owned by Glen Stadler and his wife, Helen N. Stadler, who also served as vice president of the company.[18]

In 1968, the Stadlers announced their intention to retire from radio to "enter the academic field" and so they put KGAY up for sale.[19] They contracted to sell the station to Capitol Equities, Inc., for a reported cash price of $175,000.[19] The deal closed on August 15, 1968, and Donald H. Cushing took over as president of the company with Leslie J. Manning as general manager.[20][21] By 1970, the station was airing a pure country & western music format.[20] They would maintain this focus on country music throughout the 1970s.[22][23][improper synthesis?]

KYKN

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In April 1985, the station applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make major changes to its licensed operation. It wanted to add nighttime service with 5,000 watts of power, add a directional antenna array to the new nighttime signal, and change the legal community of license from Salem to nearby Keizer, Oregon.[24][permanent dead link] The FCC granted a new construction permit to authorize these changes on September 18, 1985,[24] and, after one extension, the station received its license to cover these changes on January 16, 1987.[25][permanent dead link]

While these changes were underway, the station was assigned the KYKN call sign by the FCC on May 15, 1986.[1] The station slogan was "Kickin Country". The station remained a country music format until it switched to news/talk in the spring of 1991. DJ Tim O'Brian (Tim Hay) signed off the country music format with "The Last Cowboy Song" by Ed Bruce on Sunday, May 5, 1991 at midnight. The Station signed on at 5:00 am Monday, broadcasting CNN Headline News.

In April 1991, Capitol Equities Corporation reached an agreement to sell KYKN to Willamette Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 1, 1991, and the transaction was consummated on September 18, 1991.[26]

Former hosts

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Notable former hosts include Bill Post, who suspended his talk show in 2014 due to a competitive political race.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Retrieved May 16, 2009.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KYKN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ a b Gaston, Christian (March 11, 2014). "Oregon House candidate Bill Post suspends radio show, opponent charges FCC, election violations". OregonLive. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  4. ^ Sweat, Jeremy. "Gator Gaynor KYKN Interview". hisair.net. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  5. ^ "KYKN - 1430 AM Keizer United States". raddio.net. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  6. ^ "KYKN-AM 1430 kHz - Keizer, OR". radio-locator.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Staff". 1430 KYKN. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h "1430 KYKN Radio". Keizer Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on April 22, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "About KYKN". 1430 KYKN. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  10. ^ "Broadcast Affiliates". MLB.com. Seattle Mariners. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Directory of the AM and FM stations of the United States". 1952 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1952. p. 240.
  12. ^ "Oregon Supreme Court Reports - CLARK v. ALLEN ET AL, 215 Or. 403". Loislaw. February 18, 1959. This case involves the dissolution of a partnership formed to establish and operate radio station KGAE in Salem.
  13. ^ a b "Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States". 1953 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1953. p. 250.
  14. ^ a b "Directory of AM and FM Stations and Market Data for the United States". 1957 Broadcasting Yearbook-Marketbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1957. p. 220.
  15. ^ a b "Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1960.
  16. ^ a b c "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S.". 1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1962. p. B-138.
  17. ^ a b c "Group Ownership". 1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1962. p. B-226.
  18. ^ "The Facilities of Radio". 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1969. p. B-140.
  19. ^ a b "Broadcasting". Cahners Publishing Company. 1968. p. 74.
  20. ^ a b "The Facilities of Radio". 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1971. p. B-172.
  21. ^ Oregon Blue Book. Office of the Secretary of State of Oregon. 1973.
  22. ^ "The Facilities of Radio". 1979 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-182.
  23. ^ "Country Music Sourcebook". Billboard. July 7, 1979. p. 49.
  24. ^ a b "Application Search Details (BP-19850429AD)". FCC Media Bureau. September 18, 1985.
  25. ^ "Application Search Details (BL-19860917AA)". FCC Media Bureau. January 16, 1987.
  26. ^ "Application Search Details (BAL-19910419EB)". FCC Media Bureau. September 18, 1991.
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