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KISW (99.9 FM) is a
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 ...
broadcasting a
mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
format in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
. It is owned by
Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
and has studios in
Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...
and a transmitter on Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. In addition to a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, KISW broadcasts using
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
technology and is available online via
Audacy Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio Computing platform, platform developed by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a Recommender system, mus ...
. On the air since 1950, KISW was originally a fine music station before Kaye-Smith shifted it to a rock format in 1971. It has continued in the rock format since under various owners; live shows include ''The Mens Room'' afternoon show, which for a time was nationally syndicated.


History


Classical (1950–1971)

KISW began broadcasting on January 16 or 18, 1950. The station's founder and first owner was Ellwood W. Lippincott, a resident of Centralia and engineer for the
Weyerhauser The Weyerhaeuser Company ( ) is an American timberland company which owns nearly of timberlands in the U.S., and manages an additional of timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. The company has manufactured wood products for over a c ...
Timber Company. The station programmed a
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
format. At first, the station was powered at slightly over 2,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and operated from studios at 9201 Roosevelt Way NE in North Seattle. From 1954 to 1956, the station was managed by Harvey Manning. The station increased its power to 10,500 watts in 1960. During the week, Lippincott's job required him to travel around the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
maintaining the company's radio equipment, and he would spend his weekends managing the station. Twice during its first 11 years on the air, the station ran into financial difficulty, and listeners contributed more than $3,000 each time to keep KISW on the air.


Rock (1971–present)

In 1969, the station was purchased by Kaye-Smith, a partnership of famed entertainer
Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...
and businessman Lester Smith; at that time, Kaye-Smith were also the owners of the leading
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 ...
station in Seattle, KJR, and also owned Kaye-Smith Studios in Seattle, where records by
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
, Steve Miller and
Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Randy, Robbie Bachman, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner (musician), Fred Turner, in 19 ...
were recorded. With
Pat O'Day Paul W. Berg (September 24, 1934 – August 4, 2020), known professionally as Pat O'Day, was an American broadcaster and concert promoter in the Pacific Northwest. O'Day was the afternoon drive personality at Seattle's KJR (AM), KJR 950 radio sta ...
, the firm owned Concerts West, a booking and promotion company that handled
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
,
Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...
,
The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s in ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
and others, and were original owners of the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...
. Kaye-Smith expressed its intention to change the format of the station, which led to objections from members of the public. On February 15, 1971, KISW became a
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
(or "underground") station, similar to the format pioneered by Tom Donahue at
KMPX KFAA-TV (channel 29) is an independent television station licensed to Decatur, Texas, United States, serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside ABC affiliate WFAA (channel 8). The two stations are based at ...
and KSAN in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. KOL-FM was also experimenting with free-form rock at night. Over time, KISW moved to an album oriented rock format by playing the best-selling albums from the top rock acts. In 1982, Danny Kaye sold his interest in the company; the new corporation was called Alexander Broadcasting and was owned by Smith. In 1987,
Nationwide Communications Nationwide Communications Inc., originally known as Peoples Broadcasting Corporation, was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, ...
, a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of
Nationwide Insurance Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scott ...
, acquired KISW for $13 million from Smith. As an
April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...
prank in 1991, the radio station changed its format to "classical rock", mixing classical and rock selections for a day. Longtime DJ Steve Slaton, who had been at KISW from 1973 to 1992, was fired by Nationwide over differences in creative opinion that had been simmering since the station's sale years prior.
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
, forerunner to Audacy, acquired KISW in 1996, along with $25.5 million, as part of a three-way swap with Nationwide Communications and Secret Communications that involved stations in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
. The KISW acquisition and other deals gave Entercom a "lock on rock" in the market. In 2000, the popular "Twisted Radio" morning show led by Bob Rivers left KISW after 11 years to join rival KZOK-FM. KISW briefly aired the syndicated ''Rob, Arnie and Dawn'' from
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
sister station
KRXQ KRXQ (98.5 FM, "98 Rock") is a commercial radio station in Sacramento, California. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a mainstream rock format. KRXQ's studios are located in North Highlands (with a Sacramento address) and its ...
, but with no rating success, the station began airing
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American broadcaster and media personality. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1 ...
's nationally syndicated show in May 2001. During this time, from 2001 to 2002, the station had a classic hits lean before dropping it a year later. At the end of 2005, Stern moved to
Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...
. On January 3, 2006, '' The BJ Shea Morning Experience'' (originally from
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 ...
KQBZ) replaced Stern. On January 3, 2024, "The Daly Migs Show", with hosts Taryn Daly and Steve Migs, replaced "The BJ Shea Morning Experience" (which ended as "BJ & Migs" on December 15, 2023) after Shea's departure for KZOK).


Programming

The station aired ''BJ & Migs'' (BJ Shea and Steve Migs) in mornings until Shea's final show at KISW on December 15, 2023. The Daly Migs Show (Taryn Daly and Steve Migs) premiered on January 3, 2024 as the replacement for BJ & Migs. The station airs Ryan Castle in middays. KISW is the originating station for ''The Mens Room'' in afternoon drive; hosted by Miles Montgomery, Steve "The Thrill" Hill, Thee Ted Smith and Mike Hawk, the show entered syndication on June 5, 2017, and was distributed by
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. 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 1976. The co ...
until June 2020. Weekend programming includes ''Loud & Local'', which highlights local music from the greater Seattle area, hosted by Kevin Diers.


References


External links

* {{Entercom 1950 establishments in Washington (state) Active rock radio stations in the United States Nationwide Communications Radio stations established in 1950 ISW Audacy, Inc. radio stations