KRKS (990

kHz 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 uni ...

"990 The Word") 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 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 ...

licensed to

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. The station is owned and operated by

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 airs a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

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, ...

. Its studios and offices are located on South Vaughn Way in

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, with the AM

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 ...

located on East 56th Avenue in North Washington. KRKS with co-owned KRKS-FM; together, are known as "The Word," but carry most programs at different times of the day. KRKS is powered at 6,500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s by day; because AM 990 is a Canadian clear channel frequency, KRKS must reduce power at night to only 390 watts. During

critical hours Critical hours for radio stations is the time from sunrise to two hours after sunrise, and from two hours before sunset until sunset, local time. During this time, certain American radio stations may be operating with reduced power as a result of Se ...

at sunrise and sunset, the station broadcasts at 4,200 watts.

Programming

KRKS airs updates from SRN News at the top and bottom of each hour. Programming on KRKS-AM-FM includes "Insight for Living with

Chuck Swindoll Charles Rozell Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded Insight for Living, headquartered in Frisco, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2 ...

," " Grace to You with John Macarthur," "Pathway to Victory" with

Robert Jeffress Robert James Jeffress Jr. (; born November 29, 1955) is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church (Dallas), First Baptist Church, a megachurch i ...

, "

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...

with Jim Daly," "Truth for Life" with

Alistair Begg Alistair Begg (born May 22, 1952) is an American pastor of Scottish birth. He is the senior pastor of Cleveland's Parkside Church (located in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio), a position he has held since 1983. He is the voice behind ...

, " In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley," "Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef," and " Haven Today" with Charles Morris. Most shows are paid

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 com ...

with the hosts asking for donations to support their ministry. "The

Eric Metaxas Eric Metaxas (; born June 27, 1963) is an American author, speaker, and conservative radio host. He has written three biographies, ''Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery'' about William Wilberforce (2007), ' ...

Show", syndicated by the

Salem Radio Network Salem Radio Network is a United States–based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group. Network information Salem ...

, airs from 1:00 to 2:00pm, and from 10:00pm to midnight.

History

On August 1, 1953, the station 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 ...

as KLIR. It was a 1,000

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

, required to be off the air at night. It was owned by George Basil Anderson during many of its early years. In 1959, Anderson put KLIR-FM on the air (now

KIMN KIMN (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Denver, Colorado. The station is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format. Studios and offices are located on Yosemite Street in Lone Tree, and ...

). In the 1970s, KLIR got a boost to 5,000 watts, but it still had to

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

at sunset. On November 1, 1970 the call sign was changed to KRKS, and the station switched to a religious format, and eventually becoming the heritage and oldest Christian Radio station in the Denver market; while KLIR-FM continued as a beautiful music station. In the 1980s, KRKS was granted authorization by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) to broadcast around the clock, but at the reduced nighttime power of 390 watts. In 1993, Salem Communications paid $400,000 to acquire KRKS. Salem owned Christian radio stations in several dozen large and medium markets around the United States, and continued KRKS's format. The following year, 94.7 FM was bought by Salem and paired up with AM 990, as KRKS-FM.

Expanded Band assignment

On March 17, 1997 the FCC announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with KRKS authorized to move from 990 to 1650 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. A construction permit for the expanded band station, also located in Denver, was assigned the call letters KBJD on August 10, 1998. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and both stations remain authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership."Re: WDDD (AM) Application for Consent to Assignment of AM Broadcast Station License"
(August 23, 2010 correspondence from Peter H. Doyle, Chief, FCC Audio Division, Media Bureau. Reference Number 1800B3-TSN)

References

External links

*
FCC History Cards for KRKS
(covering 1952-1980 as KLIR / KRKS) {{Salem Communications RKS RKS Radio stations established in 1961 Salem Media Group radio stations