KFIV (1360 AM) is a broadcast

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...

in the United States. Licensed to Modesto, California, it has a

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

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 informati ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Founded in 1950 as KMOD, the station became KFIV in 1957 and had a

hit music ''Hit Music'' was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to '' Music Week''. ''Hit Music'' existed for almost nine years, supplying the official UK music charts (as compiled by Gallup and later OCC/CIN). The founding editors were ...

format branded "K-5" for much of its first four decades. From 1989 to 1991, the station had call sign KASH and a

business news Business journalism is the part of journalism that tracks, records, analyzes and interprets the business, economic and financial activities and changes that take place in societies. Topics widely cover the entire purview of all commercial act ...

format. KFIV returned to its present call sign in 1991 and began broadcasting a news/talk format around 1994. Clear Channel Communications, predecessor to iHeartMedia, bought KFIV in 2000.

History

As KMOD (1950–1957)

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A dig ...

the air March 20, 1950 as KMOD, a 1,000-watt station owned by Radio Modesto, Inc. KMOD was a network affiliate of ABC Radio and broadcast popular ABC programs such as '' The Lone Ranger'' and commentaries by

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

and

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

. KMOD's studios were once located in the Hotel Covell prior to moving to Orangeburg Avenue and Oakland Road in 1953. Among early programming on KMOD were early morning shows in foreign languages including Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish; popular and country music; and a Saturday afternoon program featuring the music of Glenn Miller. '' The Billboard'' observed in 1954 that KMOD DJ Gene Williams played "good danceable instrumentals" on his program.

First time as KFIV (1957–1984)

In 1957, Radio Modesto sold KMOD to the Finley Broadcasting Company for $170,000. KMOD became KFIV on May 5, 1957 and was sold by Finley to K-Fiv, Inc. in 1959 for nearly $103,000. Branded "K-5", KFIV was a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or "conte ...

station into the 1980s. KFIV increased its power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts in 1965. Kilibro Broadcasting bought KFIV for $475,000 in 1966. Kilibro founded a KFIV-FM sister station in 1977. In 1982, the KFIV stations were part of a four-station, $5.7 million sale from Kilibro and Monterey Peninsula Communications to Community Pacific Broadcasting.

As KZUN (1984–1985)

The station became KZUN, "Modesto’s Country Cousin" station featuring popular country and western music in 1984. KZUN was unsuccessful against established country stations KTRB and KMIX AM and FM.

Second time as KFIV (1985–1989)

The station became KFIV again in September of 1985. KZUN changed its call letters back to KFIV and its format back to Adult Contemporary but this time they utilized the Satellite Music Network's Starstation AC. In 1987, KFIV dropped Adult Contemporary and went to Contemporary Hit Radio which they simulcast on their FM sister station, KFIV-102.3.

As KASH (1989–1991)

The call sign changed to KASH on March 17, 1989. KASH changed from music to business news and talk and joined the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. rad ...

Third time as KFIV (1991–present)

left, 150px, Logo of Power Talk 1360 KFIV prior to 2002. The station became KFIV again on February 22, 1991 and retained its previous business format. By 1994, KFIV became a standard

news/talk 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. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

station. Community Pacific Broadcasting purchased

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

station KJAX (later KWSX) in 1996 and made KJAX a full-time simulcast of KFIV. 1360 AM News Talk KFIV logo 2002

After 50 years of local ownership, KFIV was acquired by

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

, the forerunner to today's iHeartMedia, Inc., in 2000. KFIV was branded "Power Talk 1360 KFIV" around 2001. By 2003, KFIV had a local morning show along with syndicated talk shows including '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', '' Dr. Laura'', and '' The Savage Nation''. file:News Talk Radio K5 K6 logo 2006.svg, left, 150px, Logo of the "K5/K6" simulcast with KWSX in

in late 2006. In 2006, KFIV and KWSX began a new simulcast branded "K-5 and K-6" after KWSX changed from a religious to news/talk format and introduced a new morning show hosted by Bill Mick. Dave Bowman (formerly Dave Diamond) replaced Mick as morning host for KFIV/KWSX in 2007 and moved to afternoons before resigning in 2015. 150px, Logo of the "K5" simulcast with KWSX from 2006 to 2008. The KFIV/KWSX simulcast was rebranded "Power Talk" in September 2013. Trevor Carey replaced Bowman as afternoon drive host in February 2015. Dan Conry became afternoon drive host in July 2016. In June 2018, KWSX dropped the KFIV simulcast and became a Fox Sports Radio affiliate.

Programming

Most weekday programming is

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States wher ...

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enoug ...

shows. They include '' The Glenn Beck Program'', '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', and '' The Sean Hannity Show'' from

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...

, '' The Mark Levin Show'' from

Westwood One Westwood One 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 1978. The company w ...

, and ''The Chad Benson Show'' from Radio America. KFIV broadcasts hourly news bulletins from Fox News Radio. KFIV also broadcasts some sports coverage, such as '' NFL on Westwood One Sports''. KFIV also broadcast San Jose State University football in 2005, 2008, and from 2012 to 2019.

References

External links

* {{IHeartMedia FIV Modesto, California Mass media in Stanislaus County, California Radio stations established in 1950 IHeartMedia radio stations Talk radio stations in the United States