KCMO (710

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

licensed to Kansas City, Missouri. Owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

, the station airs a news/

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

. The studios and offices are located in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. A ...

. KCMO is also heard on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

103.7 MHz K279BI and on the

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...

of co-owned 101.1 KCFX-

HD2 HD1 is a proposed Redshift#Extragalactic observations, high-redshift galaxy, and is considered, as of April 2022, to be one of the earliest and most List of the most distant astronomical objects, distant known galaxies yet identified in the ob ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is off North Eastern Road, near

Interstate 435 Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. Route description I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and in ...

, on Kansas City's Northeast side. KCMO broadcasts with 10,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s by day and 5,000 watts at night, using a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performan ...

at all times. The station is heard around the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, in sections of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

. With a good radio, the signal can also be heard in parts of

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, Oklahoma,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

. Due to KCMO's low transmitting frequency, plus Kansas's flat terrain and excellent ground conductivity, the station has an unusually large daytime coverage area, reaching a population area of nearly 12 million people.

Programming

Weekdays begin with a local news and information show hosted by Pete Mundo. Nationally

syndicated Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enoug ...

shows make up the rest of the day's broadcast schedule. Hosts include

Chris Plante Chris Plante (born December 12, 1959) is a syndicated radio talk show host, based at WMAL Radio in Washington D.C., and heard on the Westwood One Network. He is also a frequent guest on both Fox News and Fox Business. Chris Plante is the st ...

Dan Bongino Daniel John Bongino (born December 4, 1974) is an American conservative political commentator, radio show host, and author. He served as a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer from 1995 to 1999 and as a Secret Service agent from 1999 ...

Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States ...

Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as ''Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admini ...

, Michael J. Knowles, "

Red Eye Radio ''Red Eye Radio'' is a talk radio program currently hosted by Eric Harley and Gary McNamara. The program is syndicated nationwide by Westwood One, and originates from WBAP in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The show traces its history through ...

," " First Light" and " America in The Morning." KCMO also carries " The Dave Ramsey Show." Weekends feature shows on money, health, religion, cooking, travel, gardening and horses, some of which are

brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...

. At various times in its history, KCMO has carried hourly newscasts from either

CBS Radio News CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, F ...

. At the beginning of 2015, KCMO and most Cumulus talk stations switched to

Westwood One News Westwood One News was a radio news network launched on January 1, 2015, and operated by Westwood One through its parent company Cumulus Media. Using audio from CNN reports and correspondents, and anchored by Cumulus employees, it provided radio s ...

, a Cumulus network. When that service ended in 2020, KCMO returned to hourly updates from Fox.

History

Early years

The station started in 1925 by Wilson Duncan Broadcasting as AM 1370 KWKC. In 1936 it changed its

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

to KCMO (Kansas City, Missouri). In 1939 it moved to 1450 AM and then 1480 AM in 1941. In November, 1947 it moved to 810 AM. It stayed at 810 for more than half a century. During much of that time, KCMO was a

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. ...

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation pla ...

, carrying its line up of dramas, comedies, news, sports,

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

broadcasts during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...

was a sports announcer at the station in 1936 with the on air name of "Walter Wilcox". While at KCMO, Cronkite met his wife, Mary Elizabeth Maxwell, and later left to become a reporter for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the ...

, before becoming a long-time TV anchor for CBS News.

Acquisition by Meredith Corp.

In 1953, television station KCMO-TV (now

KCTV KCTV (channel 5) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV (channel 62). Both stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway ...

) was launched. The

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

acquired both the radio and television stations in October 1953, less than a month after the television station went on the air. Meredith later acquired what became KCMO-FM, 94.9 FM. In 1955, it switched network affiliations to

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broa ...

, swapping network affiliations with KMBC-AM, as part of a group deal that Meredith saw a radio and TV affiliation deal with CBS in three cities for five stations In 1978 Meredith built a new facility for its broadcasting stations in

Fairway, Kansas Fairway is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is included in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area census designation and the Shawnee Mission postal services designation. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,17 ...

. The radio stations were spun off from the television station in 1983. Later, the TV station changed its call letters to KCTV. (Meredith continues to own KCTV to this day.) That year, Richard Fairbanks (a one-time owner of what is today

WXIA-TV WXIA-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL (channel 36). Both stations share studios at One Monroe Place on the north ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

) bought both KCMO and KCMO-FM. The stations were then sold to the

Summit Communications Group The Summit Communications Group is an Atlanta-based communications company which once owned 16 radio stations around the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or Ameri ...

in 1985, then to the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Bonneville International Bonneville International Corporation is a media and broadcasting company, wholly owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation. It began as a radio and TV netwo ...

, which already owned rival stations KMBZ and KLTH (now

KZPT KZPT (99.7 FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1962 under the call sign KMBC-FM. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter is locat ...

), acquired both KCMO stations in 1993.

Sale to Entercom and switch to AM 710

In 1997, Bonneville sold its entire Kansas City cluster plus three radio stations in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Entercom Communications Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...

. On October 3, 1997, shortly after Entercom assumed control of the KCMO stations, KCMO swapped frequencies with WHB, with KCMO moving to its present-day dial position of 710 AM and WHB relocating to

810 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 810 kHz: 810 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. KGO San Francisco and WGY Schenectady share Class A status on 810 AM. In Argentina * Federal in Buenos Aires * Mitre in ...

. Due to the way the switch was structured, 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 ...

(FCC) considers KCMO to be legally the same station as the old WHB. In 2000, Entercom was forced to sell both KCMO stations to

Susquehanna Radio The Susquehanna Radio Corporation was a media corporation which operated from 1941 to 2006 that was headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. The company was a unit of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, a conglomerate more widely known for the Pfaltzgraff ki ...

after its purchase of Sinclair Broadcasting's Kansas City properties, KQRC-FM, KXTR-FM and WDAF-FM. The acquisition left Entercom two stations over the FCC's single-market ownership limit.

became the owner of both KCMO and its FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

in 2006 with its acquisition of Susquehanna.

Changes under Cumulus ownership

When Cumulus assumed control of the station in mid-2006, local morning host Van Patrick quit on air, apparently upset over the firing of his producer as well as others in the building, during a national layoff of Cumulus employees. On September 12, the station began a new morning show, hosted by Chris Stigall. Stigall has since left the station, being replaced by Rob Carson. Carson was later replaced by Gregg Knapp as morning host. Pete Mundo is the latest morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cla ...

personality. On April 30, 2012, KCMO began simulcasting on FM

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

103.7 K279BI via

KCFX-HD2 KCFX (101.1 FM, "101 The Fox") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to the suburb of Harrisonville, Missouri, it serves the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. The stati ...

Controversy

In light of Michael Savage's controversial remarks concerning Islam, a group of 70 representatives from various local religious groups including

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

and Islam, gathered in a May 2008

interfaith Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

meeting against alleged

bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

and urged KCMO to drop Savage's program.Religious group wants KCMO 710-AM to drop Michael Savage’s program
/ref> Savage's show, "The Savage Nation," was syndicated by Westwood One Network, co-owned with KCMO, and heard afternoons on AM 710.

Former hosts

* Don Harrison * Rusty Humphries * Rick Roberts * Chris Baker *

Claudia Lamb Claudia Lamb (born December 3, 1963) is a former radio journalist and child actress known for portraying Heather Hartman in the syndicated soap opera satire ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' as well as the show's sequel '' Forever Fernwood''. About ...

Scott Mayman Scott Mayman is an Australian radio presenter. Born in Australia, he has worked professionally in both his home country, and in the United States, (oTVas well as Radio) where he has won a number of awards, including "Best Radio News Story" at ...

Kevin Harlan Kevin Harlan (born June 21, 1960) is an American television and radio sports announcer. The son of former Green Bay Packers executive Bob Harlan, he broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS and the NBA for TNT. 2022 will be his 38th c ...

* Conrad Dobler *

Wayne Larrivee Wayne Larrivee is an American sportscaster. Larrivee is currently the radio play-by-play voice of the Green Bay Packers on the Packers Radio Network alongside color commentator Larry McCarren and calls college football and basketball for the ...

* Harold Ensley * Dr. Marshall Saper * Mike Murphy * John Boss * Beth Albright * Dave Dawson * Bob Doyle * Terry Hickman * Jamie McFerrin * Bobbi Marks

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control CMO News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Missouri Cumulus Media radio stations Kansas City Kings Kansas City Scouts