KFOO (1440 AM) 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 ...

that is licensed to

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...

and broadcasts to the Riverside—

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

area. The station is owned by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly 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 fou ...

and airs an

all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...

format as an affiliate of

Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...

. The KFOO studios are located in Riverside and the transmitter tower is in Colton along the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting throug ...

History

Early years

The station first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A dig ...

in 1941 as KPRO and was owned by Broadcasting Corporation of America. In December 1964, KPRO was purchased by radio and television personality

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

. The station was held under the name Progress Broadcasting, a wholly owned subsidiary of

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music ...

. In March 1978, Progress sold KPRO to Inland Empire Broadcasters, majority-owned by station vice president Howard N. Fisher, for $780,000. In the early 1980s, KPRO aired a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format with some sports programming. By 1984 the station was facing severe financial difficulties, and in May of that year KPRO filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

and reduced its programming to only sports play-by-play. Because the station's programming dropped to under 12 hours daily, 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) considered KPRO to have gone

silent Silent may mean any of the following: People with the name * Silent George, George Stone (outfielder) (1876–1945), American Major League Baseball outfielder and batting champion * Brandon Silent (born 1973), South African former footballer * C ...

. In June 1986, Klein/Ray broadcasting sold KPRO to Lincoln Dellar-owned Inland Wireless Co. for $710,000. The new owner 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 assig ...

to KDIF on September 23. KDIF changed hands only three years later on October 24, 1989, when Hispanic Radio Broadcasters, headed by Gilberto Esquivel, bought the station.

Jacor/Clear Channel/iHeartMedia era (1998–present)

KDIF, which was airing a

regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...

format, was purchased by

Jacor Communications Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...

in May 1998 for $2.65 million. The station immediately added Los Angeles Dodgers game broadcasts in English, though it otherwise retained its Spanish-language programming. Jacor merged with

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly 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 fou ...

later that year. On September 27, 2010, KDIF flipped from Spanish

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 ...

to an all-comedy format branded "

24/7 Comedy 24/7 Comedy was a 24-hour live, commercial-free radio format produced by iHeartMedia's Premiere Networks in the United States and by Bell Media in Canada.It showcased the stand-up comedy routines of established and emerging comedians in a rapid-f ...

" and began using new call letters KFNY (meaning "funny"). On August 4, 2014, following the demise of the 24/7 Comedy radio network, the station flipped to news/talk as "NewsTalk AM 1440". Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia a month later. On May 15, 2017, KFNY exchanged formats with

KKDD KKDD (1290 AM) is a radio station in San Bernardino, California. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. It airs a Catholic talk format for the Inland Empire region of Southern California including Riverside and San Bernardino. History In ...

in San Bernardino, flipping to Spanish adult hits and sending the news/talk format to 1290 AM. KFNY was rebranded as "La Preciosa 1440". On November 14, the station swapped call signs with KFOO in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

as part of an impending sale of the latter station. On June 29, 2020, fifteen iHeartMedia stations in markets with large

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

populations, including KFOO, began stunting with speeches by prominent African Americans, interspersed with messages such as "our voices will be heard" and "our side of the story is about to be told", with a new format slated to launch the following day. On June 30 at 9:00 a.m., KFOO began broadcasting as a charter affiliate of

(BIN), an

format targeted to the African American community.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for KFOO
* * {{All-News Radio FOO (AM) Mass media in Riverside, California All-news radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1941 1941 establishments in California IHeartMedia radio stations Black Information Network stations