KFMA (102.1 FM) is commercial

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 radio ...

located in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, broadcasting to the

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

area. KFMA airs an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

music format An audio format is a medium for sound recording and reproduction. The term is applied to both the physical recording media and the recording formats of the audio content—in computer science it is often limited to the audio file format, but its w ...

. It runs the week day jumpstart with Riley week mornings. KFMA has an ERP of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. Its studios are in northern Tucson while the transmitter is southeast of the city. KFMA formerly broadcast on 92.1 MHz with a repeater on 101.3. The signal was sometimes hard to pick in all areas of the Tucson Metro Area due to distance, and the fact that the 92.1 frequency had an ERP of 50,000

s. To overcome this, it has K267AF, a

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

located in Tucson that broadcasts on 101.3, which in many parts of Tucson is much easier to hear. Nevertheless, Lotus Communications coordinated a frequency swap with '

KCMT KCMT (92.1 FM) is an American Regional Mexican radio station that serves Tucson, Arizona. KCMT is licensed to broadcast from Green Valley, Arizona (a southern suburb of Tucson), and broadcasts on the frequency of 92.1 MHz. KCMT is owned by ...

' because the 92.1 frequency better served their target audience while the 102.1 frequency better served the target audience of 'KFMA'

History

Easy listening (1982-198?)

In 1982 the station began using the calls KEZG, as a class A station, which aired easy listening and 'beautiful' music.

Top 40 (198?-1991)

After changing hands in the mid-1980s it became KFXX, a top 40 station. In the early 1990s, the station was sold to Bill Yde, who eventually sold it Lotus Radio, its current owner.

Rock (1991-1993)

Between October 15, 1991 and September 21, 1993, it was KTZN, which played a

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

mix.

Adult alternative (1993-1995)

KTZN then became ''92.1 and 101.3 The Echo'' with the call letters KEKO. As the Echo, it was an

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

station.

Alternative (1995-2014)

In November 1995 the flip to KFMA and alternative rock was made. KFMA began streaming audio on the internet in 2003. Effective March 21, 2014 KFMA moved to 102.1 MHz.

Active rock (2014-present)

In 2014, the station shifted to an active rock playlist using the name "Rock 102-1." From 2017-19, the station aired the syndicated Billy Madison Show in morning drive. Since then, the station has returned to local programming in mornings.

Awards

Tucson Weekly The ''Tucson Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan area of about 1,000,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Altern ...

Best of Tucson: public-vote winner for its radio station category (usually Best Rock Station) every year since 1996 except once.Best of Tucson 2005
/ref>

Logos

Image:Kfmalogosmall.PNG, KFMA Logo, circa 1998 Image:KFMA logo 4-04.jpg, Logo from circa 2002 until April 2004 Image:KFMA Logo.png, Logo from April 2004 to March 2014

References

External links

* {{coord, 32.003, N, 110.798, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title FMA Active rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in Arizona Lotus Communications stations