from this month's Phoenix Mag., p. 56. Not posted out of any support for the station... just thought it was a mildly interesting article.
----
KTAR Turns the Dial
This month, after decades on the AM dial, KTAR officially takes its news and talk to FM. It's big news, but some things will stay the same, including many of the familiar old voices.
by Kelly Kramer
Some voices are unmistakable -- like those that belong to Walter Cronkite, Howard Cosell, Jimmy Durante and, most likely, your mother. They resonate in our memories like a favorite song or movie line, instantly recognizable and only occasionally irritable.
And then there's Pat McMahon, who, for the past several decades, has been the Valley's most familiar voice. For much of that time -- 25 years to be exact -- McMahon has been behind the microphone at KTAR 620 AM, covering everything from Mother Teresa's 1989 visit to the Valley, to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Diamondbacks' World Series win. But in mid-September, he became a part of his own news story, broadcasting for the first time on the FM dial.
"I think I got a little bit of whiplash when I heard just how clear everything sounded," the veteran broadcaster says. "News and talk just sound better on FM."
After KTAR's parent company, Bonneville International Corporation (which also owns KPKX 98.7 FM and KMVP 860 AM), sold the rights to Power 92.3, that station moved to 98.3 FM and news/talk KTAR moved in to take over the frequency.
For nearly three months, the station's programs have been simulcast on 92.3 FM and 620 AM, but beginning this month, all news and talk programs will be broadcast from the FM side, while the AM station will be devoted entirely to sports programming. Both stations will retain the KTAR call letters.
"Everybody won when we made this deal," says Erik Hellum, KTAR's vice president and market manager. "Power 92.3 gets to survive on another frequency, people who love all news and all talk all the time can get that on 92.3, and people who love sports can get their updates constantly on 620."
As far as broadcast love stories go, the Valley's affair with KTAR is a longstanding one. When it debuted as KFAD in 1922, it was the first radio station in the area, broadcasting daily news programs and the occasional serial story. But by the time it was purchased by the owners of the Arizona Republican in 1929, the station, which broadcast from the Heard Building at Central Avenue and Adams Street, was gaining a fairly large following.
In those early days, it wasn't uncommon for the station to send transmission receipts to listeners who had successfully tuned in to a broadcast, which was then considered "an increasingly excellent service to the radio audiences in Phoenix, all of Arizona and the Southwest." It hit the airwaves with 1,000 watts during the day and 500 watts at night at a frequency of 620 kilocycles and 483.6 meters (thus, the 620 AM dial designation).
Some listeners, like Lieutenant Charles M. O'Brien, were even capable of tuning in from as far away as Jersey City, New Jersey.
"We are glad to verify your reception of KTAR December 27, 1945, at 1:00 to approximately 1:20 a.m. EST, as reported in your letter of December 27," wrote station representative D.R. Warford in a letter to the lieutenant dated February 28, 1946. "Thank you for your report -- it is correct in every detail."
{I'ma try and describe the image that's here on the page. It's a receipt with the following text:}
"ARIZONA'S GREATEST BROADCASTING STATION"
PHOENIX .. KTAR .. ARIZONA (radio antenna logo with a lightning bolt through it between 'K' and 'T')
January 15, 1934
Dear Radio Friend:
It is with pleasure that we acknowledge your recent communication relative to reception of our program on: 12/6/33 SPECIAL TEST PROGRAM - RECEPTION VERIFIED - 2:55 AM MST
We are indeed grateful for your response and would appreciate hearing from you often.
Sincerely,
(signed) Aileen Striegel {I think it's Aileen. Maybe Arleen? I guess it could be Arlun, too.}
KTAR
(fine print) Owned and operated by The Arizona Republican and Electrical Equipment Company and rendering an increasingly excellent service to the radio audience in Phoenix, all of Arizona, and the Southwest. 1,000-Watt Daytime, 500-Watt Nighttime -- 620 Kilocycles and 483.6 meters. Modern 1,000-Watt Western Electric equipment with crystal control and 100% modulation. "Growing with Arizona."
{Back to the article.}
The station changed its call letters to KTAR -- reportedly an acronym for Keep Taking the Arizona Republican -- in 1930, and served as the newspaper's companion station, as well as an NBC affiliate, for nearly 40 years, until it was sold to advertising guru Karl Eller in 1968. It became an ABC radio affiliate five years later, and was swallowed up by Pulitzer Publishing Company in 1979. Eventually, the station went through two more owners -- Heasrt-Argyle and Emmis Communications -- before Bonneville acquired it in 2004.
Despite the station's history in the Valley, however, some people are not as familiar with it as you might imagine.
"Back in the 1980s, we convened a focus group and asked them how they pronounced the name of the radio station," recalls former KTAR vice president and general manager Jim "Taz" Taszarek. "Nearly half of the participants said they pronounce the station as 'kaytar.' We said, 'No! No! It's k-t-a-r.'"
There's no confusion, however, when it comes to recognizing KTAR's on-air talent, thanks to such legends as McMahon.
"People don't just listen to KTAR, they use it," says Taszarek, who now works as a station consultant. "The idea is that if you see smoke on the horizon, tune into KTAR. They'll know what's going on." He adds that having such storied on-air talent is unprecedented in the industry.
"Now that we have talent like Pat McMahon broadcasting on the FM dial," he says, "there's even more competition between the traditional morning shows. Music stations will need to be that much more community-oriented in order to compete."
But McMahon, who is perhaps most famously knows for his many roles -- from bratty "Gerald" to pompadour-coiffed "Hub Kapp" -- on the legendary Wallace & Ladmo television show, is anything but pretentious when it comes to discussing the longevity and depth of his career. In fact, he insists that his success is quite simply the result of loving what he does.
"It's so easy for me to get interviews because of the reputation of the station in general," he says. "Ann Symington showed up in the studio during her husband's [former Gov. Fife Symington] 1997 fraud trial because she felt safe here. Everyone is treated with dignity at KTAR."
And although Hellum and Taszarek jokingly accuse McMahon of launching "velvet hardballs" at interviewees, they are the first to applaud his unequaled ability to question even the most difficult-to-book subjects.
"I can't tell you how many presidents have called Pat from Air Force One as they were flying over Phoenix," Taszarek says, chuckling. "Everyone loves being interviewed by 'Gerald.'"
But it's the little-known -- or not-at-all-known -- people that McMahon enjoys talking to most. Their stories, he says, are often deeply moving. He remembers one in particular about a soldier who had served in the Korean War. The soldier phoned into McMahon's show one Patriot's Day to tell the story of how he hid from enemy forces under a pile of dead bodies in a railroad car. When he was certain that North Korean Army soldiers had left the area, he crawled out, seriously wounded. He wanted to thank the medic who ultimately saved him, but never knew his name. "The other line rang," McMahon says. "It was the medic."
Sound bites like the ones recorded that day, as well as McMahon's 1989 interview with Mother Teresa, are the ones that he is most excited to share with a new generation of listeners on the FM dial.
"I told Mother Teresa that my listeners would want to know what people could do to help her mission," McMahon remembers. "She said very simply, 'I want everyone who is listening to go out and find someone who has no one -- go out and love them.' It isn't often that you can pair hard-hitting news and messages like that one on the airwaves."
And as far as new beginnings go, McMahon is convinced that KTAR's move to FM is the first in a number of progressive steps to come. "It's like an 84-year-old giant dozed off for a while," he says. "And he woke up in the fountain of youth."
----
KTAR Turns the Dial
This month, after decades on the AM dial, KTAR officially takes its news and talk to FM. It's big news, but some things will stay the same, including many of the familiar old voices.
by Kelly Kramer
Some voices are unmistakable -- like those that belong to Walter Cronkite, Howard Cosell, Jimmy Durante and, most likely, your mother. They resonate in our memories like a favorite song or movie line, instantly recognizable and only occasionally irritable.
And then there's Pat McMahon, who, for the past several decades, has been the Valley's most familiar voice. For much of that time -- 25 years to be exact -- McMahon has been behind the microphone at KTAR 620 AM, covering everything from Mother Teresa's 1989 visit to the Valley, to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Diamondbacks' World Series win. But in mid-September, he became a part of his own news story, broadcasting for the first time on the FM dial.
"I think I got a little bit of whiplash when I heard just how clear everything sounded," the veteran broadcaster says. "News and talk just sound better on FM."
After KTAR's parent company, Bonneville International Corporation (which also owns KPKX 98.7 FM and KMVP 860 AM), sold the rights to Power 92.3, that station moved to 98.3 FM and news/talk KTAR moved in to take over the frequency.
For nearly three months, the station's programs have been simulcast on 92.3 FM and 620 AM, but beginning this month, all news and talk programs will be broadcast from the FM side, while the AM station will be devoted entirely to sports programming. Both stations will retain the KTAR call letters.
"Everybody won when we made this deal," says Erik Hellum, KTAR's vice president and market manager. "Power 92.3 gets to survive on another frequency, people who love all news and all talk all the time can get that on 92.3, and people who love sports can get their updates constantly on 620."
As far as broadcast love stories go, the Valley's affair with KTAR is a longstanding one. When it debuted as KFAD in 1922, it was the first radio station in the area, broadcasting daily news programs and the occasional serial story. But by the time it was purchased by the owners of the Arizona Republican in 1929, the station, which broadcast from the Heard Building at Central Avenue and Adams Street, was gaining a fairly large following.
In those early days, it wasn't uncommon for the station to send transmission receipts to listeners who had successfully tuned in to a broadcast, which was then considered "an increasingly excellent service to the radio audiences in Phoenix, all of Arizona and the Southwest." It hit the airwaves with 1,000 watts during the day and 500 watts at night at a frequency of 620 kilocycles and 483.6 meters (thus, the 620 AM dial designation).
Some listeners, like Lieutenant Charles M. O'Brien, were even capable of tuning in from as far away as Jersey City, New Jersey.
"We are glad to verify your reception of KTAR December 27, 1945, at 1:00 to approximately 1:20 a.m. EST, as reported in your letter of December 27," wrote station representative D.R. Warford in a letter to the lieutenant dated February 28, 1946. "Thank you for your report -- it is correct in every detail."
{I'ma try and describe the image that's here on the page. It's a receipt with the following text:}
"ARIZONA'S GREATEST BROADCASTING STATION"
PHOENIX .. KTAR .. ARIZONA (radio antenna logo with a lightning bolt through it between 'K' and 'T')
January 15, 1934
Dear Radio Friend:
It is with pleasure that we acknowledge your recent communication relative to reception of our program on: 12/6/33 SPECIAL TEST PROGRAM - RECEPTION VERIFIED - 2:55 AM MST
We are indeed grateful for your response and would appreciate hearing from you often.
Sincerely,
(signed) Aileen Striegel {I think it's Aileen. Maybe Arleen? I guess it could be Arlun, too.}
KTAR
(fine print) Owned and operated by The Arizona Republican and Electrical Equipment Company and rendering an increasingly excellent service to the radio audience in Phoenix, all of Arizona, and the Southwest. 1,000-Watt Daytime, 500-Watt Nighttime -- 620 Kilocycles and 483.6 meters. Modern 1,000-Watt Western Electric equipment with crystal control and 100% modulation. "Growing with Arizona."
{Back to the article.}
The station changed its call letters to KTAR -- reportedly an acronym for Keep Taking the Arizona Republican -- in 1930, and served as the newspaper's companion station, as well as an NBC affiliate, for nearly 40 years, until it was sold to advertising guru Karl Eller in 1968. It became an ABC radio affiliate five years later, and was swallowed up by Pulitzer Publishing Company in 1979. Eventually, the station went through two more owners -- Heasrt-Argyle and Emmis Communications -- before Bonneville acquired it in 2004.
Despite the station's history in the Valley, however, some people are not as familiar with it as you might imagine.
"Back in the 1980s, we convened a focus group and asked them how they pronounced the name of the radio station," recalls former KTAR vice president and general manager Jim "Taz" Taszarek. "Nearly half of the participants said they pronounce the station as 'kaytar.' We said, 'No! No! It's k-t-a-r.'"
There's no confusion, however, when it comes to recognizing KTAR's on-air talent, thanks to such legends as McMahon.
"People don't just listen to KTAR, they use it," says Taszarek, who now works as a station consultant. "The idea is that if you see smoke on the horizon, tune into KTAR. They'll know what's going on." He adds that having such storied on-air talent is unprecedented in the industry.
"Now that we have talent like Pat McMahon broadcasting on the FM dial," he says, "there's even more competition between the traditional morning shows. Music stations will need to be that much more community-oriented in order to compete."
But McMahon, who is perhaps most famously knows for his many roles -- from bratty "Gerald" to pompadour-coiffed "Hub Kapp" -- on the legendary Wallace & Ladmo television show, is anything but pretentious when it comes to discussing the longevity and depth of his career. In fact, he insists that his success is quite simply the result of loving what he does.
"It's so easy for me to get interviews because of the reputation of the station in general," he says. "Ann Symington showed up in the studio during her husband's [former Gov. Fife Symington] 1997 fraud trial because she felt safe here. Everyone is treated with dignity at KTAR."
And although Hellum and Taszarek jokingly accuse McMahon of launching "velvet hardballs" at interviewees, they are the first to applaud his unequaled ability to question even the most difficult-to-book subjects.
"I can't tell you how many presidents have called Pat from Air Force One as they were flying over Phoenix," Taszarek says, chuckling. "Everyone loves being interviewed by 'Gerald.'"
But it's the little-known -- or not-at-all-known -- people that McMahon enjoys talking to most. Their stories, he says, are often deeply moving. He remembers one in particular about a soldier who had served in the Korean War. The soldier phoned into McMahon's show one Patriot's Day to tell the story of how he hid from enemy forces under a pile of dead bodies in a railroad car. When he was certain that North Korean Army soldiers had left the area, he crawled out, seriously wounded. He wanted to thank the medic who ultimately saved him, but never knew his name. "The other line rang," McMahon says. "It was the medic."
Sound bites like the ones recorded that day, as well as McMahon's 1989 interview with Mother Teresa, are the ones that he is most excited to share with a new generation of listeners on the FM dial.
"I told Mother Teresa that my listeners would want to know what people could do to help her mission," McMahon remembers. "She said very simply, 'I want everyone who is listening to go out and find someone who has no one -- go out and love them.' It isn't often that you can pair hard-hitting news and messages like that one on the airwaves."
And as far as new beginnings go, McMahon is convinced that KTAR's move to FM is the first in a number of progressive steps to come. "It's like an 84-year-old giant dozed off for a while," he says. "And he woke up in the fountain of youth."