KOHU (1360 AM, "Real Country") is a

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 ...

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 serve

Hermiston, Oregon Hermiston () is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Its population of 19,696 makes it the largest city in Eastern Oregon. Hermiston is the largest, and fastest-growing, city in the Hermiston-Pendleton Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1956, is owned by West End Radio, LLC, and serves

Umatilla County Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 80,075. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remains the county seat. Umatilla County is part of ...

and

Morrow County, Oregon Morrow County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,186. The county seat is Heppner. The county is named for one of its first settlers, Jackson L. Morrow, who was a member of the ...

Programming

KOHU broadcasts a

classic country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old- ...

format relying in large part on the "

Real Country Real Country is a 24-hour radio format produced by Westwood One. Real Country is marketed at the demographic of men aged 35 to 64. Its programming consists of a fairly broad playlist of "Today's Stars and the Legends." Classic country is the st ...

" satellite-fed programming service from

Citadel Media Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which w ...

. In addition to its music programming, KOHU broadcasts local news, agricultural news,

high school sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing ...

, and a community affairs program called "The Odds n Ends Show". Syndicated programming includes shows hosted by

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, Baptist minister, and political commentator who served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate for the Republican Party presidential nomina ...

and Dr. James Dobson. These programs run every weekday on the "Morning Update." The Morning Update is a morning show that's hosted by "Jeff Walker" and "Erick Olson". Also included in "The Morning Update" is "The Odds n Ends Show" and the "Flea Market", a show where listeners can call in and buy, sell, or trade items. "The Morning Update" runs an hour longer during the summer for "The Lawn and Garden Show". "The Lawn and Garden Show" is a show when two extension agents, from the OSU Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center give expert advice to listeners about their lawn or garden. The show was discontinued at the end of the 2010 growing season.

History

Launch on 1570

Original owners Carl F. & Sarah Knierim were issued a

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

in 1955 by 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 jurisdiction ...

for a new AM radio station broadcasting with 250

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 of power, daytime-only, on a frequency of 1570

kHz 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 on ...

. The station, assigned the KOHU

call sign 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 unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

by the FCC, began regular broadcast operations on February 6, 1956. In 1959, the station was authorized to increase its daytime signal power to 1,000 watts. The Hermiston Broadcasting Company purchased KOHU from Carl F. & Sarah Knierim in a transaction that was consummated on June 9, 1966. Robert Chopping was president of the company and Harmon Springer was named the station's

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 ...

. In 1968, the station was airing 12 hours of

country & western Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...

music each week in addition to its previous middle of the road music format. By 1970, the format was an even split between country and MOR music. The FCC granted KOHU authorization to add nighttime service at the same 1,000 watt power level as its daytime broadcasts, albeit with a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

array to minimize interference with other stations on the same frequency.

Move to 1360

KOHU changed

frequencies Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

to 1360

in 1974 which allowed the station to cover a larger area with the same power output and also allowed the station to use a non-directional antenna during the daytime. The station began to experiment by adding some

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

to the format. However, by 1978 the station was airing the pure

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format that it would air in one form or another for the next three decades. In February 1997, the Hermiston Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to sell KOHU to the Capps Broadcast Group through their West End Radio, LLC, subsidiary. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 16, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on May 1, 1997.

KOHU today

In January 2003, the Capps Family, co-owners of KOHU licensee West End Radio, LLC, announced an agreement to transfer control of the company to Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 14, 2003, and the transaction was consummated on June 4, 2003. In March 2004, Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes applied to the FCC to transfer the

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...

for KOHU to the Ronald L. Hughes and Gloria Hughes Living Trust. The transfer was approved by the FCC on April 7, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on April 12, 2004.

References

External links

Go Hermiston
{{Country Radio Stations in Oregon OHU Classic country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1956 Hermiston, Oregon 1956 establishments in Oregon