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Another class C AM leaves the air permanently

Mark Roberts

Mark Roberts

Dockins Broadcast Group has filed a cancellation request with the FCC for KYLS (1450), Fredericktown, in the general Farmington area. A similar request has not (yet?) been filed for KYLS's translator, K232FS. Although the stations are still listed on Dockins' website, the audio stream, branded "K94.3", isn't functioning. The last song on the playlist displayed for K94.3, as seen on February 20, was from more than 42 days previous.

As usual for cancellation requests, no explanation was provided. KYLS had filed neither a suspension of operations notice nor a silent STA recently, though there had been silent STAs for the station in the past.
 
Per the authorization for the translator, it is tied to the AM license, and specifically states that the relinquishment of the parent station automatically cancels both licenses.
 
Unless I'm mistaken, KYLS' departure means that Missouri has just one AM station licensed on the 1450 frequency, and it's in Warrensburg in the northwestern part of the state.
 
KIRX in Kirksville, KOKO in Warrensburg and KWPM in West Plains remain alive and well at 1450. KYLS served Fredericktown, and does not have a good signal in Dockins' home market of Farmington.
 
exdjted said:
KIRX in Kirksville, KOKO in Warrensburg and KWPM in West Plains remain alive and well at 1450. KYLS served Fredericktown, and does not have a good signal in Dockins' home market of Farmington.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Ted. I should've remembered KIRX...having grown up in the same area and having known Vera Faurot Burk...but, for some crazy reason, the idea got stuck in my head that it's at 1490. Nope, you're right, it's 1450. KIRX has an FM translator and is part of a small cluster, including KRXL, which it put on the air in 1968..and which was the first FM station I ever heard. I could get KIRX in my southern Iowa town with some effort; I've been going back there a couple of times a year over the last few years but haven't thought to try picking it up. When driving through Kirksville, I'll either listen to KRXL or the KIRX translator at 99.7. They seem to be doing just fine. KRXL is a full class C.

The possible source for my momentary confusion may have been this: KTTN in Trenton was planning to go on 1490, but at the last minute before getting their CP in 1954 they went for higher power and daytime-only status, moving to 1600. The story I heard was that, at 1490, there would have been interference with a proposed station in Newton, Iowa, which eventually changed its application to 1280. There's also a 1490 in Sedalia, which would have been a tight squeeze for Trenton (then KTTN probably never would have been able to increase power when that became possible around 1961; it would have been hemmed in kind of like KCOG in Centerville, Iowa is at 1400). The partners who owned KIRX (including Sam Burk) also built KTTN.

(Edit to add - ) The 1490 frequency in central Iowa eventually went to a station in Indianola, now KXLQ but originally KBAB.
 
Joplin still has a 1450, the old WMBH (now KQYX). It was technically relicensed to Galena, KS in order to move some things around, but still operates from it's studio location in the western part of the city so still a Missouri station.
 
Mark Roberts said:
...(Edit to add - ) The 1490 frequency in central Iowa eventually went to a station in Indianola, now KXLQ but originally KBAB.
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A few years ago, I stopped in front of the KXLQ studio building and tower on Highway 92 in Indianola. Stone cold dead. Had been for a looooong time. Might be time for another short road trip. A good excuse to stop at the local A&W and get some onion rings.
 
Mark Roberts said:
Dockins Broadcast Group has filed a cancellation request with the FCC for KYLS (1450), Fredericktown, in the general Farmington area. A similar request has not (yet?) been filed for KYLS's translator, K232FS. Although the stations are still listed on Dockins' website, the audio stream, branded "K94.3", isn't functioning. The last song on the playlist displayed for K94.3, as seen on February 20, was from more than 42 days previous.

As usual for cancellation requests, no explanation was provided. KYLS had filed neither a suspension of operations notice nor a silent STA recently, though there had been silent STAs for the station in the past.
Click to expand...
This makes me sad. As a kid, I used to listen to 1450 when I was staying at S Bar F Boy Scout Camp. Just another owner saying "AM" isn't worth it. Forget the fact that you actually have "AM" listeners....you just don't know it because you're not asking the right questions. But what can you do...it's the real end of the road for our industry. Makes me sick.
 
Sorry, but reality has the better hand over childhood memories. Like four of a kind beats a full house.

AM has been in decline for some time now, and we're just now really beginning to see the effect. While a station may actually have listeners, there are not likely enough of them to justify the expense of operation.

Sad? I agree. But it's only the end of the road for "AM Street". "FM Boulevard" will survive for a while yet, and despite competing platforms we still have a respectable audience on that band.
 
See this thread (starting with post #4) which provides more context on what the Dockins group is doing in the lead-belt area of Missouri. The short version is that this appears to be a group with less-than-desirable properties that now it feels compelled to do something about.

radiodiscussions.com

Dockins cancels 106.7 KDKN Ellington

https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/fmDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff39c99784e019c9b4a838501d5&id=25076ff39c99784e019c9b4a838501d5&goBack=N
radiodiscussions.com radiodiscussions.com
 
johntherogger said:
This makes me sad. As a kid, I used to listen to 1450 when I was staying at S Bar F Boy Scout Camp. Just another owner saying "AM" isn't worth it. Forget the fact that you actually have "AM" listeners....you just don't know it because you're not asking the right questions. But what can you do...it's the real end of the road for our industry. Makes me sick.
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@johntherogger Fred is the dominant operator in the area, really. Read the post above that Mark linked from @exdjted .. its written by someone who knows the area and the people real well. He and i have had some long talks about various stations and people.

Just because a signal exists, doesnt mean it should modulate or even shouldve been built in the first place. Too many think "just because i can, i should" with radio signals. Thats never the case.

Fred is old, cutting dead weight. Staions that likely havent been profitable in years...... and he doesnt wanna leave himself open to competition by selling it
 
johntherogger said:
This makes me sad. As a kid, I used to listen to 1450 when I was staying at S Bar F Boy Scout Camp. Just another owner saying "AM" isn't worth it. Forget the fact that you actually have "AM" listeners....you just don't know it because you're not asking the right questions. But what can you do...it's the real end of the road for our industry. Makes me sick.
Click to expand...
Listened to AM 1450 (then KFTW) at S-F Scout Camp. I was an Eagle Scout in Troop 786 (1976). KFTW 1450 had a good sounding Top 40 format in those days (broadcasting days and nights) and it boomed into Camp Famous Eagle and Camp Sakima along Nims Lake. KREI 800 was nearly as strong (at our lake) but it was a day timer with a live Full Service MOR format. A strange new country music signal appeared at the Boy Scout Camp in 1977 at 98.5 FM The Boot KTJJ in Farmington playing automated country music. I was suprised I could ride its signal from Knob Lick all the way to South St. Louis County. I later realized it was a 100,000 watt F,m on top of a huge mountain west of Framington, so the signal coverted in stereo most of St. Louis County and all the way to Columbia, MO. I was suprised, because it seemed almost "short-spaced" to 98.1 KSLQ in St. Louis. So we had 98.1 in St. Louis, 98.3 in Columbia (only 3KW back then) and KTJJ at 98.5.
 
johntherogger said:
Forget the fact that you actually have "AM" listeners....you just don't know it because you're not asking the right questions.
Click to expand...

This comment caught my attention. What are the "right questions?" Remember that radio stations don't monetize the listeners. The listeners don't pay any money. Perhaps as you say they have listeners, but can't get advertisers. So perhaps the right question to ask is "How much money would the listeners pay to keep this station on the air??" In other words, go non-commercial, listener sponsored. Would that work in rural Missouri? I have no idea.

My guess is a lot of these 1K AMs may have some listeners, but not enough to justify the expense of running an AM.

johntherogger said:
But what can you do...it's the real end of the road for our industry. Makes me sick.
Click to expand...

Depends on what you think "the industry" is. If you think it's running towers and transmitters, you're probably right. At some point the number of people who still have AM radios will go to zero. The radio industry as you knew it is changing into content creation companies. That's what people want, and they have devices that can receive streams. You don't need towers or transmitters for that.
 


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