KHNR (690
AM) is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
radio station in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
. It is owned by the
Salem Media Group
Salem Media Group, Inc. (formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher based in Irving, Texas, targeting audiences interested in Christian values and wh ...
and it broadcasts a
conservative talk 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 broadcasting, ...
. The radio studios and offices are on North King Street in Honolulu's
Kalihi district.
KHNR is powered at 10,000 watts, using a
non-directional antenna. The
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 on Ahui Street in the
Kakaako district of Honolulu, on
Māmala Bay. Programming is also heard on 250-watt
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 tr ...
K232FL at 94.3
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
.
Programming
Most of KHNR's weekday schedule is
nationally syndicated shows from the
Salem Radio Network including
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American conservative political commentator, radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network, attorney, academic, and author. He writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States ...
,
Mike Gallagher,
Charlie Kirk
Charles James Kirk (born October 14, 1993) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political activist, author and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist media personality. With Bill Montgomery (activist), Bill Montgome ...
,
Dennis Prager,
Sebastian Gorka and
Brandon Tatum. From
Westwood One, KHNR also carries
Mark Levin.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, food and travel. Syndicated weekend hosts include
Rudy Maxa,
Eric Metaxas and
Jim Daly. Most hours begin with an update from
Fox News Radio.
History
KULA and KKUA
The station
signed on the air on . Its original
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 ...
was KULA. It was an
affiliate of the
ABC Radio Network and carried its schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "
Golden Age of Radio". It was owned by the Pacific Frontier Broadcasting Company with the studios at 1525 Kapiolani Boulevard.
During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the station had the call sign KKUA, playing
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hits, aimed at Honolulu's young listeners. In the 1980s, the Top 40 format moved to
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 ...
93.1
KQMQ-FM, with KKUA 690 switching to a
full service,
adult contemporary
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, soul ...
format. Then from 1987 until 1999, AM 690
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) ...
the music on KQMQ-FM 93.1.
KORL and KHCM
On October 13, 1999, the station became the Hawaii affiliate for
Radio Disney
Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California.
The network broadcast music programming ...
, making it a
children's/
contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
station. It picked up the call letters of former Top 40 rival KORL on April 26, 2002. In 2005, Visionary Related Entertainment sold KORL.
The station then flipped it to a
Japanese language
is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...
format on December 31, 2003.
In 2006, Salem and KORL's owners swapped signals, and in the process moved the KHCM call sign and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
format over to the 690 from the 1180 frequency, which in turn became the new home for KORL.

In 2004, Salem acquired
rock music
Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
station KPOI-FM 105.9 and dropped the format. The FM station began airing a talk radio format, giving Hawaii its first FM talk station.
KAIM (870 AM) became its simulcast after the switch was made. On September 3, 2007, KHCM switched to both 870 AM and
97.5 FM
The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 97.5 MHz:
Argentina
* A in Posadas, Misiones
* Beat in Córdoba
* Cadena urbana in Río Tercero, Córdoba
* Clave in Puerto Esperanza, Misiones
* Concepto in Gualeguaychú, Entre R� ...
, keeping its country music format and taking the KHCM call letters for both stations.
KHNR
The talk radio format and KHNR callsigns moved to 690 AM. KPOI-FM is now owned by Visionary Related Entertainment and airs a
soft adult contemporary
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, soul ...
sound. Since 2007, KHNR has carried programming from the
Salem Radio Network as a
conservative talk radio station.
Like many Salem talk stations, KHNR calls itself "The Answer". That branding is also used on Salem's talk station in New York City,
WNYM, and on its talk station in Los Angeles,
KRLA.
Salem Media Group, Inc. announced on March 17, 2025, the sale of their remaining radio stations and digital assets in Honolulu, Hawaii to Malama Media Group. Malama intends to keep all radio stations in their present formats.
References
External links
*
FCC History Cards for KHNR*
*
{{coord, 21, 17, 41, N, 157, 51, 49, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
1947 establishments in Hawaii
Conservative talk radio
Radio stations established in 1947
HNR
Salem Media Group radio stations
Talk radio stations in the United States