KERW (101.3 FM) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

that is

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to Los Osos-Baywood Park, California and broadcasts to the

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

area. The

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station is owned by

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...

and broadcasts an eclectic music

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

known as "Eclectic 24". The KERW

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located off TV Towers Road on Cuesta Peak in Santa Margarita.

History

The station at 101.3 FM first

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air in 1987 as KEDZ, but it soon changed its

call sign 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 as ...

to KLZZ. It broadcast an

adult contemporary music Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, sou ...

format from the beginning.

KSTT-FM

On March 9, 1989, Diaz Broadcasting sold KLZZ to Stratosphere Broadcasting L.P. (later Mondosphere Broadcasting Inc.) for $1.3 million. On December 1, 1990, the station changed its call letters to KSTT-FM. The ownership of KSTT-FM changed several times during the 2000s. In September 2000, Mondosphere Broadcasting sold 11 stations throughout

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the U.S. state of California, north of Southern California (which includes Los Angeles and San Diego) and south of Northern California (which includes San Francisco and San Jose, ...

, including KSTT-FM, plus a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

for a twelfth station, to

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

Inc. for $45 million. In July 2007, the station was one of 16 Clear Channel outlets in California and Arizona purchased by El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.

KERW

In early 2016, El Dorado Broadcasters began divesting its stations on the Central Coast. On May 31, the company sold the

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

of KSTT-FM, branded "Coast 101.3", to

American General Media American General Media is a media company specializing in radio. It was founded by Lawrence Brandon and is operated by sons Anthony and Rogers. American General Media is headquartered in Bakersfield, California. Lawrence Brandon owned and op ...

, who placed the call letters and AC format on KIQO (102.5 FM). The 101.3 FM frequency itself was not sold but remained with El Dorado and adopted the call sign KJRW. In July 2016, El Dorado donated KJRW to

, owner of

station

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

. The last in a series of divestments by El Dorado, the donation was consummated on September 15. On November 7, KERW began

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

ing "Eclectic 24", KCRW's

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

-formatted HD2 subchannel.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 35.360, N, 120.656, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title ERW Mass media in San Luis Obispo County, California Radio stations established in 1987 1987 establishments in California Santa Monica College Organizations based in Santa Monica, California