KANE (1240 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

broadcasting an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...

music format. Licensed to

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, and forms part of the Lafa ...

, United States, the station serves the Lafayette area. The station is currently owned by Coastal Broadcasting of Lafourche, L.L.C. and features programming from

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

History

A partnership of George H. Thomas, James J. Davidson Jr., and Daniel H. Castille, the New Iberia Broadcasting Company, received a construction permit from the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

for a new 250-watt, unlimited-time radio station to serve New Iberia on January 9, 1946. The new station permit selected the call letters KNEI before changing to KANE on May 16 of that year. From studios on St. Peter Street, signed on in August and joined the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...

on December 15. In the early years of the station, there were several changes of ownership in the New Iberia Broadcasting Company. Dierrell Hamm became a partner in 1952; he sold his stake to Don Bonin in 1957. The station also changed network affiliations from Mutual to ABC in 1952, airing both networks' output for seven months. Ten years later, KANE was approved to increase its power to 1,000 watts during daylight hours. KANE news reports were scrutinized after an August 1969 clash between five White and 35 Black students. The station reported that the principal of New Iberia Senior High School, at the time in the process of

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

, and two White students had been injured and hospitalized when, in fact, the principal was unhurt. However, based on KANE's erroneous reporting, many parents pulled their children from school, and police tear gassed the Black youths. In 1977, original owners Thomas and Davidson sold KANE after more than 30 years to a group headed by general manager Arthur Suberbielle for $629,000. Suberbielle, a New Iberia native, invested in AM stereo for KANE, converting in 1983, In addition to KANE, Suberbielle also owned an outdoor advertising company and published ''Acadiana Lifestyle'' magazine. Michael F. Starr purchased KANE in 2001 for $430,000. Starr sold 49 percent of KANE to Jerry Gisclair, forming Coastal Broadcasting, later that year.

References

External links

{{Authority control Radio stations in Louisiana Oldies radio stations in the United States Americana radio stations Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Louisiana