KMLB (540 AM) is a 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 radi ...

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. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

format.

Licensed A license (or licence) 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 party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to Monroe, Louisiana, the station is owned by Holladay Broadcasting. All programming is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/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, simulta ...

on FM

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 ''transl ...

K289CG at 105.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

. Studios are located in Monroe, and its transmitter site is in nearby

West Monroe, Louisiana West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the Ouachita River, across from the neighboring city of Monroe. The two cities are often referred to as the Twin Cities of northeast Louisiana. Its population ...

. KMLB operates with 4,000

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 ...

s by day, using a

non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna (electronics), antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (mathematics), axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle ...

, covering parts of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. But because

AM 540 AM or Am may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A minor, a minor scale in music * ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album) * ''A.M.'' (Wilco album) * ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album) * ''AM'' (Arctic Monkeys album) * AM (musician), American musicia ...

is a

clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-cou ...

frequency reserved for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the station must drastically reduce power at night to 26 watts.

Programming

Most of KMLB's schedule is made up of nationally syndicated

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 enough ...

shows, including

Rick and Bubba ''The Rick and Bubba Show'' is an American comedy radio show based in Birmingham, Alabama. Nationally syndicated and produced at WZZK-FM, the show is live every weekday for five hours and is hosted by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey. ...

, Moon Griffon,

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of '' The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commen ...

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...

Michael Savage Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Na ...

, 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 1 ...

with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American 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 syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

''. Weekends feature

Kim Komando Kimberly Ann Komando (born 1967) is the host of two daily radio shows and one weekend radio show about consumer technology. On her weekly call-in show, she provides advice about technology gadgets, websites, smartphone apps, and internet security. ...

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player * Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profe ...

Ben Ferguson Benjamin Grant Ferguson (born August 28, 1981) is an American cable television talk show host and a radio talk show host on 600WREC/Memphis, TN. His radio show originates from his home in Texas. His nationally syndicated radio show, ''The Ben F ...

Bill Handel William Wolf Handel (born August 25, 1951) is a Brazilian-born American radio host and attorney. Handel currently hosts two radio programs on KFI in Los Angeles, California. First is KFI's local morning drive time show, in which he comments on ...

and ''Somewhere in Time with Art Bell''. Most hours begin with world and national news from ABC News Radio.

History

The station first signed on, as KNOE, on October 4, 1944, at 1230 kHz. It was founded by former Governor of Louisiana James A. Noe. In November 1948, the

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

(FCC) approved a frequency shift for KNOE from 1230 to 1390 kHz with a concurrent increase in power from 250 watts to 5,000 watts. At that time, the station was an

NBC Red Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...

affiliate. On September 27, 1953, the station signed on a

TV station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

, Channel 8

KNOE-TV KNOE-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Monroe, Louisiana, United States, serving the Monroe, Louisiana– El Dorado, Arkansas market as an affiliate of CBS and ABC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power dual CW ...

. On January 9, 1967, 101.9 WNOE-FM (now KMVX) came on the air. Noe's son, James Albert "Jimmie" Noe Jr., ran KNOE for almost four decades, along with its FM and TV sister stations. When Jimmie Noe died from cancer in 2005, the remaining family members agreed to place the stations up for sale and exit broadcasting. On March 6, 2007, the statio
announced
extensive programming changes, moving Rush Limbaugh to KNOE and adding new programming. According to the news story, KMLB, then at 1440 AM, would be a "general interest talk" station while 540 KNOE would become a "political talk" station. In November 2006, the Noe family reached an agreement to sell KNOE to Clay Holladay's Holladay Broadcasting; the following year, its other stations would be sold, with KNOE-FM sold to another Holladay subsidiary, Radio Monroe; and

sold to Hoak Media Corporation. This sales agreement placed KNOE and KMLB (1440 AM) under common ownership. The FCC placed a restriction on the sale that: "This grant is subject to the following condition: Consummation of this transaction is subject to the prior or concurrent cancellation of the license for KMLB(AM), Monroe, Louisiana (Facility ID #48636)"."KNOE AM 540 S-O-L-D"
November 7, 2006. All programming was consolidated on 540 AM from 1440 AM. The original KMLB on 1440 AM was taken

off the air In the broadcasting industry, a dark television station or silent radio station is one that has gone off the air for an indefinite period of time. Usually unlike dead air (broadcasting only silence), a station that is dark or silent does not e ...

, with its license surrendered to the FCC on March 4, 2008. Thirteen days later, the call letters on 540 AM were changed from KNOE to KMLB.FCC Call Sign History (540 AM)
(Facility ID: 35249)

References

External links

Radio Locator Information for K289CG
* {{News/Talk Radio Stations in Louisiana Radio stations in Louisiana Mass media in Monroe, Louisiana Talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1944 1944 establishments in Louisiana The Radio People radio stations