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:''For other stations that used the KFI callsign, please see KFI (disambiguation).'' KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922, and after a succession of power increases, became one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations. KFI, which broadcasts on 640 AM, is the dominant class A 50,000 watt station in North America. It operates as a talk radio station, airing a mixture of syndicated and locally originated news and talk programming. In the Spring 2006 quarter Arbitron rating, KFI was the most listened to radio station in Los Angeles, averaging approximately 1.5 million listeners during any given weekday. The station was the most listened to AM radio station as well as the most listened to news/talk radio station in the country, beating out WABC in New York City and WSB (AM) in Atlanta. Its studios are located in Burbank between the Warner Bros. Studios and The Burbank Studios, and it has a transmitter site in La Mirada near the Artesia Boulevard exit of Interstate 5, the Santa Ana Freeway. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications until September 2014). KFI is licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to broadcast in the HD (hybrid) format.〔http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=34425〕 Los Angeles media has recently reported (August 12, 2015) that KFI has turned off the AM HD signal.〔http://www.dailynews.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150812/is-kfi-switch-a-sign-am-radio-is-really-dead〕〔http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=36〕 ==History== In 1922, Earle C. Anthony was the founder and owner of what eventually became 50,000 watt KFI - AM 640 radio, a station he controlled until his death in 1961. From 1929 to 1944, he also owned KECA-AM 1430, later 780 and now 790 KABC. The E.C.A. in KECA stood for Earle C. Anthony. He was an early president of the National Association of Broadcasters and, during his term, oversaw the establishment of the organization's first paid staff. He was also a founder of one of the earliest television stations in Los Angeles, KFI-TV channel 9, and KFI-FM, both of which were disposed of in 1951. KFI initially used a 50-watt transmitter and made from a crank telephone. Early on, Anthony operated the station from his garage, and later from atop his Packard automobile dealership. In its early days, it was typically on the air for only four and a half hours a day. From the time of its inception in 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) operated two networks, the Red Network and the Blue Network. The Red Network carried the commercial programs, while the Blue Network carried the sustaining ones (those without commercial sponsors). The red and blue designations came from the colors of the lines drawn on network maps. In 1931, NBC reorganized its West Coast operations, creating Orange and Blue networks for that area to replace its previous Pacific Coast network. KFI was part of the Orange group, along with KGO, Oakland; KGW, Portland, KOMO, Seattle, and KHQ, Spokane. KFI-AM, 640 kHz, was an affiliate of the NBC Red Network and KECA-AM, 1430 kHz, carried programming from NBC's Blue Network. In 1939, KECA moved to 780 kHz, the frequency of the former KEHE. Anthony sold KECA in 1944 and it moved to 790 kHz and became KABC. KFI helped to keep the calm during the dark days of World War II by airing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Fireside Chats." Later, it carried "Monitor (NBC Radio)," the network's very successful weekend radio service. As a side note to KFI's participation in World War II, there is a bullet hole in the ceiling of the transmitter building, located in La Mirada, California, where a National Guardsman accidentally discharged his rifle on December 10, 1941, three days following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The bullet hole is still there to this day, preserved as a monument to KFI's wartime service. KFI's call letters were assigned sequentially but many people assumed that the "FI" stood for "Farmers Information." Every winter evening between 1924 and 1956, KFI would deliver a frost report at 8 pm that would tell citrus farmers whether to turn on wind machines or light "smudge pots" to keep their orange and lemon groves from freezing.〔Blackstock, Joe. "Pomona radio legend was citrus ranchers' savior - On frosty nights, Jack Benny lost ratings to Floyd Young". ''Inland Valley Daily Bulletin'', December 8, 2002.〕 The frost warnings moved to 7 pm until the late 1970s when they were removed from the schedule. KFI also was one of the early FM stations in Southern California. The first FM station west of the Mississippi went on the air in Los Angeles in August 1941 from Mt. Lee. That was K45LA on the old 42-50 megacycle FM band. This was what soon became KHJ-FM and is today's KRTH at 101.1 MHz. It was on 44.5 MHz initially but, when the old 42-50 megahertz band was needed for television, the FCC allocated 88-108 MHz as the FM band. So, KHJ-FM was moved to 99.7 in 1945 and by 1948 to 101.1 FM (). On November 29, 1944, KFI officials broke ground on Mount Wilson for construction of a new FM and TV transmitting facility. The ceremony was broadcast live over KFI (AM) from Mount Wilson from noon to 12:15 pm that afternoon. KFI-FM went on the air from that site at 105.9 megacycles (MHz today) in July 1946 with its first test program, though some later sources say the station went on the air in 1947. The station only lasted until 1951 when the owner, Earle C. Anthony, decided to turn off the FM station and returned the license to the FCC. This was common at the time, when some station owners saw no money from FM and no future in FM. In the early 1950s, while the audio quality was much better than AM, FM radios were not cheap, there were no AM-FM combination radios yet and stereo broadcasting on FM didn't happen until 1961. KFI-FM was the first Los Angeles FM station to have its transmitter on Mt. Wilson. According to an article written by Marvin Collins several years ago, KFI-FM used a General Electric 3 kW Phasotron transmitter, operating with a 2-bay antenna, giving the station an ERP of 10 kW.〔(The Story of Mt. Wilson, California Part 3--Broadcasters Invade )〕 Later, the 1951 Broadcasting Yearbook listed KFI-FM's power as 16,500 watts. Through 1948 and 1949, KFI-FM broadcast its own music programs, separate from KFI 640-AM. A sample from the ''Los Angeles Times'' radio page for December 1949 from 3 to 9 pm shows KFI-FM offering those with FM receivers programs with titles such as Afternoon Melodies, Classics, Music For You, Symphony Moods and World of Music. By 1950, KFI-FM was broadcasting simultaneously the same programs from KFI-640. Five other FM stations were also simulcasting the programs from their AM stations, while at least three other area FM stations had their own programs, according to a ''Los Angeles Times'' radio log. Most of the FMs were only on the air from mid-afternoon to about 9 pm, while some like KFI-FM were on the air from 6 am to midnight with the simulcast of their AM stations. Along with KHJ-FM, other early day FM stations in the Los Angeles region that went on the air in 1946 were the non-commercial KUSC-91.5 and KCRW-89.9. KFI-FM and KMPC-FM were broadcasting by 1947. By 1948 and 1949, other early FM stations on the band around L.A. included KNX-FM at 93.1; KWIK-FM in Burbank at 94.3; KFMV-Hollywood at 94.7; KECA-FM 95.5; KRKD-FM 96.3; KVOE-FM in Santa Ana at 96.7; KKLA (owned by KFSG-AM 1150) at 97.1; KAGH-FM in Pasadena at 98.3; KMGM (owned by the movie studio) at 98.7; KMPC-FM at 100.3; KNOB in Long Beach at 103.1 (moved to 97.9 by 1958); KFAC-FM at 104.3 (moved to 92.3 by 1955); KCLI-105.1 and KFI-FM on 105.9. (KCLI was owned by the founders of KIEV-870 in Glendale.) By 1950, KCLI was gone along with KMPC-FM. KFI-FM was listed in the 1951 Broadcasting Yearbook, but was gone from newspaper radio logs by mid-1951 and gone from the 1952 Broadcasting Yearbook. KKLA-97.1 also went off the air for good in 1951. So, while KFI-FM made history as the first Los Angeles FM to transmit from Mt. Wilson, its short history lasted only about five years on 105.9. The station was not sold. The owner, Earle C. Anthony, simply shut the station down and returned the license to the FCC. A new license for 105.9 in Los Angeles was issued in 1956 with the call letters KBMS (Better Music Station). This FM station's original city of license was Glendale. The new station license had no ties to the defunct KFI-FM. After a few call letter changes, the current 105.9 FM license is still on the air today and has been known over the years as KWST, KMGG and since 1986 has been KPWR. For many years, KFI was the Los Angeles area affiliate of the NBC radio network, most particularly the NBC Red Network, as distinguished from the NBC Blue Network of less powerful stations, which became the American Broadcasting Company. KFI's sister station, KECA, was the affiliate of the Blue network. The anti-trust decision that divested NBC Blue also forced Earle C. Anthony to sell KECA (which became KABC). During this period the station carried such sporting events as the World Series and the Rose Bowl. From 1960 to 1973, the station was the flagship station of the Los Angeles Dodgers radio network. Its programming transitioned during this period from block programming, often featuring 15-minute programs, to full service radio with disk-jockeys playing records interspersed with aggressive local news coverage. In April 1972, KFI celebrated its 50th birthday with a 12-hour special, featuring new interviews and commentaries from many former NBC Radio personalities of the past. In 1973, Cox Broadcasting headquartered in Atlanta, purchased KFI for $15 million, at that time the highest amount ever paid for a radio station. James Wesley, Cox's manager at WIOD in Miami and that station's Operations Manager, Elliott "Biggie" Nevins, were dispatched to Los Angeles to manage the station. Cox instructed Wesley to find an FM facility in the Los Angeles market and purchase it also. A deal was reached with Dallas broadcaster Gordon McLendon, to purchase his KOST-fm for $2.2 million. Wesley also decided against renewing the long term agreement for carrying Dodger baseball, positioning KABC to become the new Dodger station in Los Angeles. Starting in the mid-1970s, KFI successfully programmed Top 40 music. Owner Cox Broadcasting hired John Rook as program director. Rook was considered the force behind WLS Chicago's success. One of Rook's first hires was Dave Sebastian (Williams) as Music Director and Air Personality. Dave had recently left 93/KHJ, Los Angeles. Rook's first air staff included Al Lohman and Roger Barkley (top-rated in the morning), Mark Taylor (mid day), Bob Shannon (afternoon Drive), (Music Director) Dave Sebastian Williams (evenings). Within the first year Dave left abruptly for crosstown Top Forty rocker KTNQ (Ten-Q). John Rook then moved in Eric Chase (mid-day), Charlie Fox (early evening) and Dave Diamond (late night). By the late-1970s the staff was revised to Lohman & Barkley mornings, Tim & Ev Kelly in mid-days, Jack Armstrong afternoons, Big Ron O'Brien evenings and Charlie Fox at night. Rook and several of the on air personalities left in the early-1980s with KFI softening to a more Adult top 40 format (sort of in between Top 40 and adult Contemporary). By the mid-1980s the station was more news and personality intensive than music intensive with a Full Service format. For nearly 20 years during the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, KFI boasted one of the most listened-to shows in Los Angeles radio history, "The Lohman and Barkley Show," featuring the comedy duo of Al Lohman and Roger Barkley. During this time, throughout the day the station featured a hybrid format combining adult contemporary music with comedian hosts. Other hosts included Hudson & Landry (of "Ajax Liquor Store" fame), Charlie and Mitzi (Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall of ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In),'' and Gary Owens. In the early-1980s, KFI began broadcasting in stereo, with the C-QUAM system (continued until January 2000) (). By the mid-1980s ratings began to slip; by the spring of 1984, KFI was ranked twenty-eighth in the Los Angeles Arbitron ratings, ahead of only KHJ among AM music stations in the market. KFI moved the music to more of a Soft Gold-based AC and began to play less and less of it. The talk show moved from a blend of entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle to more political issues. Writer/Producer John Thomas was assigned to Lohman & Barkley in 1984 and raised the ratings for the morning show to a tie for #1 in the 25-54 demographic in Fall 1985. Shortly after Thomas left KFI for WLS in Chicago the morning show fell apart. Barkley split off from the morning show to go to KABC. The music was dropped in 1988 and KFI evolved to an issue-oriented talk format. The first hosts were Dr. Toni Grant, former disk jockey Geoff Edwards, doing talk in the midday, and Tom Leykis, with a politically oriented "combat radio" program.〔"Rosen, Craig. RADIO NEWS & NOTES -COMPETITION HEATS UP ON AM DIAL". ''Los Angeles Daily News'', July 18, 1988. Page L20〕 Competitor KABC, which had been doing talk radio for some time, sued KFI in U.S. District Court to have KFI cease and desist using the term "Talk Radio" with the call letters. Therefore, the slogan ''More Stimulating Talk Radio'' was created.〔"KFI GRANTED CONDITIONAL OK TO LABEL ITSELF 'TALK RADIO'." ''Los Angeles Daily News'', May 6, 1989.〕 Rush Limbaugh replaced Edwards in 1989 after Edwards refused to play promo spots for the controversial Leykis show. The station was owned by Cox Radio until 1999 when Chancellor Media traded 13 stations to Cox for it along with KOST 103.5. Cox opted to exit the Los Angeles market and focus on medium market radio stations and its TV stations. Chancellor merged with Capstar in 1999 and became known as AMFM Inc. In 2000, they merged with Clear Channel Communications making KFI Clear Channel's flagship AM radio station in Los Angeles. (In 2014, Clear Channel would become iHeartMedia after its iHeartRadio internet streaming platform.) Like other stations owned by iHeartMedia, KFI uses iHeartRadio to stream its webcast. The legal title of the station continues to be held by a subsidiary of Capstar. () 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「KFI」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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