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KSCO (1080 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 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
talk radio 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
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 ...
. The station is owned by Zwerling Broadcasting System, Ltd and 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
Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...
. The
radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...
s and offices are on Portola Drive in Santa Cruz. The station can be heard over much of
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, ...
during the day. By day, KSCO broadcasts at 10,000
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. Because
1080 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1080 kHz: 1080 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. KRLD Dallas, WTIC Hartford and KOAN Anchorage share Class A status on 1080 AM. Because 1080 kHz is a multiple of both 9 ...
is a clear channel frequency reserved for KRLD
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and WTIC
Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, at sunset, to avoid interference, KSCO reduces power to 28 watts. It uses a
non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining t ...
at all times KSCO also has three
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
stations to broadcast its programming on the FM dial.


History

KSCO
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 on September 21,
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
. It originally was powered at 1,000 watts by day and was housed in a distinctive
art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
building, which was constructed for the station, and still broadcasts there today. The founder was Charles Vernon Berlin, who also served as
general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
and chief engineer. In 1962, he added 99.1 KSCO-FM (now
KSQL KSQL (99.1 MHz, "Qué Buena 98.9 y 99.1") is a Spanish language radio station in Santa Cruz, California. The station simulcasts the signal of KSOL (98.9 MHz) in San Francisco. KSOL and KSQL program a format consisting of regional Mex ...
). In
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
, Berlin sold KSCO-AM-FM to Fuller-Jeffrey Broadcasting which owned numerous stations around the country. The AM station went to an
automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
format of
adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...
. On March 10, 1987, KSCO-FM changed its
call letters 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 Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...
to KLRS (Colors) and its format to a
new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather tha ...
format, the first station in North America to do so, with Mark Hammond as
program director In service industries, such as education, a program manager or program director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services. For example, in education, a program director is responsible for developing ...
and Jay Peterson
music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...
. Since 1991, KSCO has been owned by the Zwerling family and has a
talk radio 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...
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 ...
. The Zwerlings later acquired another local AM station, 1340
KOMY KOMY (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to La Selva Beach ( Santa Cruz County), California, United States, the station serves the Monterey Bay Area. KOMY was originally licensed to nearby Watsonville for man ...
. Both Michael and his mother Kay Zwerling took an active role in the station with the former regularly hosting the call-in show ''Saturday Special'' and the latter writing and voicing politically conservative commentaries on a variety of topics, especially politics and current events. On January 3, 2017 Kay Zwerling died at 95 years old. On September 25, 2006, the offices of KSCO and KOMY received an envelope containing white powder. The envelope, which had no return address and contained no letter, was addressed to "AUNTIE KSCO" in handwriting described by Program Director Rosemary Chalmers as "chicken-scratch." Emergency response teams arrived on scene, and all KSCO personnel in the building were evacuated by a HazMat crew. By the evening of Tuesday, September 26, an FBI lab had determined that the powder was inert, and KSCO/KOMY's broadcast studios were deemed safe. Regular broadcasting resumed at 8 p.m. None of the four people who came in contact with the envelope experienced symptoms of any illness. On October 24, 2022, the FCC proposed a $20,000 fine for Zwerling Broadcasting System, because KSCO had been operating outside of its licensed nighttime parameters since late 1996. On December 15, 2022, the FCC denied Zwerling Broadcasting's appeal, and affirmed the $20,000 fine for KSCO. Apparently as a consequence of the cited long-term unauthorized nighttime operations, KSCO was directed to apply for a daytime-only (Class D) license, with nighttime power sufficiently reduced to fully protect
KRLD (AM) KRLD ( ''NewsRadio 1080 KRLD'') is a commercial AM radio station in Dallas, Texas. Owned and operated by Audacy, Inc., the station runs news blocks during morning and afternoon drive time, with talk shows the rest of the day. Syndicated ...
. The application was submitted, and authorization was granted. The application requested 0.028 kW (twenty-eight watts) nights, non-directionally. Daytime power remains 10 kW, also non-directionally. The new license for 28 watts at night was granted on April 18, 2024.


Programming

The station programming is a mix of local, syndicated and brokered programming (meaning a person can purchase an available hour of time and produce their own show). A host can either pay for the hour out of his or her own pocket or find local businesses to sponsor the show in exchange for advertising. The programming is a mix of local and national shows. The morning hours feature a syndicated news and commentary show called Armstrong & Getty, followed by NewsMax host Rob Carson, financial advisor
Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American radio personality who offers financial advice. He is the founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions and a co-host of '' The Ramsey Show'', a nationally syndicated radio program. He ...
, and various local shows covering money management, real estate law, and everything about cars. Afternoon
drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
comedy and local interest is hosted by Dave Michaels. Evening and nighttime offerings include Dr. Joel Wallach, Wayne Allen Root, and
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 198 ...
with
George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American talk radio, radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is radio syndication, syndicated to ...
. KSCO does not subscribe to rating services, so listenership is unreported. Past KSCO local programs were hosted by Rosemary Chalmers, Michael Olson, Vernon Bohr, Ethan Bearman, Daryl Alan Gault, Rob Roberts, Brian Maloney, and more. Current local hosts include Pamela Fugitt-Hetrick, Duncan McCollum, and Dean Sutton.


Translators

On August 3, 2015, KSCO launched an FM
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) ...
on 104.1
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 ...
with translator K281CA from the Mt. Madonna Tower. It uses a
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...
with most of the signal directed at Santa Cruz. On May 11, 2017 KSCO was granted a license for translator K300DD on 107.9 MHz from the Mt. Madonna Tower. It uses a directional antenna with most of the signal directed at
Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining and recreation ...
. On June 8, 2017 KSCO was granted a license for translator K239CN on 95.7 MHz from the Mt. Madonna tower. It uses a directional antenna with most of the signal directed at Gilroy.


References


External links


FCC History Cards for KSCOKSCO 1080 AM Website
* * * * * * {{News/Talk Radio Stations in California SCO News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1947 Conservative talk radio 1947 establishments in California Santa Cruz, California