KRMG (740
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 ...
) is a
commercial AM 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 ...
in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
. The station is owned by
Cox Media Group and airs a
conservative news/talk radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
,
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, simultane ...
with co-owned 102.3
KRMG-FM. The studios and offices are located on South Memorial Drive near
Interstate 44 in Tulsa.
KRMG's
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is located at a six-
tower array on Tower Road in
Sand Springs, Oklahoma. KRMG broadcasts at 50,000
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 by day, the maximum power permitted for American AM stations. But it drops its power to 25,000 watts at night and uses 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 ...
at all times to protect other stations on
AM 740. Three towers are used during the day, providing at least secondary coverage to almost all of Oklahoma, as well as portions of
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 Osage ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. At night, power is fed to all six towers to protect
Class A CFZM Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, concentrating the signal in the Tulsa and
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
areas. KRMG-AM-FM are also heard on Channel 1980 through
Cox's digital cable service. The AM station is the Oklahoma primary entry point for the
Emergency Alert System
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via cable, satellite, or broadcast television, and both ...
.
Programming
Weekdays begin with ''The KRMG Morning News'' anchored by Dan Potter. ''The KRMG Evening News'' is anchored by Skyler Cooper in PM
drive time. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of
nationally syndicated talk shows hosted by
Sean Hannity,
Erick Erickson,
Brian Kilmeade,
Dana Loesch
Dana Lynn Loesch ( ; ; born September 28, 1978) is an American radio and TV host. She is a former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association and a former writer and editor for ''Breitbart News''. Loesch was the host of the program ''Dana'' ...
,
Jimmy Failla, Mark Kaye and Markley, Van Camp & Robbins.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, real estate, cars, gardening, home repair, law and technology, some of which are paid
brokered programming. Weekend hosts include
Kim Komando,
Bill Handel and
Chad Benson
Radio America is an American radio network specializing in conservative-oriented talk programming. A division of the American Studies Center, the network describes its mission as "to produce and syndicate quality radio programs reflecting a comm ...
. KRMG-AM-FM have a local news and weather sharing arrangement with co-owned
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate
KOKI-TV
KOKI-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Imagicomm Communications alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYT-TV (channel 41). The two stations share studios on East ...
(channel 23), with world and national news supplied by
ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...
.
History
On December 31, 1949, KRMG first
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
. It was founded by
Kerr-McGee Oil Company partners
Robert S. Kerr
Robert Samuel Kerr (September 11, 1896 – January 1, 1963) was an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. Kerr formed a petroleum company before turning to politics. He served as the 12th governor of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1947 and wa ...
and Dean McGee. The
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 ...
was chosen to take two letters from the names of the founding owners, KerR and McGee. Kerr, at the time a
U. S. Senator, wanted a station that would cover both Tulsa and Oklahoma City. KRMG had to protect co-channel stations to the north and south. So six towers were constructed to create a directional pattern hitting Oklahoma City as well as Tulsa. The station was powered at 50,000 watts in the daytime to achieve the desired coverage pattern, originally reduced to 10,000 watts at night.
In 1957, KRMG was acquired by the
Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...
, a publishing and broadcasting company. It was a
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
Network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
. KRMG aired a
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to:
* Full-service radio, a wide range of programming
* Full Service Network, a communications company
Entertainment
* "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block''
* F ...
middle of the road format from the 1950s to the early 70s.
In 1961, KRMG was acquired by Swanco Broadcasting. That same year, it added an FM
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
, KRMG-FM at 95.5 MHz. At first it
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, simultane ...
AM 740 but later switched to
beautiful music
Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...
as
KWEN
KWEN (95.5 FM) is a commercial radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Cox Media Group and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Memorial Drive in Tulsa. The transmitter is on Route 97 in Sand Spri ...
, and in 1982 it flipped to
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, ...
. KWEN changed ownership over the years but today is again co-owned with KRMG.
KRMG is credited with the development of Tulsa's River Parks. The station first hosted the "Great Raft Race" in 1973. It was a floating race down the
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
from Sand Springs to Tulsa, attracting large crowds to the river banks. The River Parks Authority was formed in 1974 to develop the area.
In the late 1970s, KRMG moved to a full service
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 ...
format. In the 1980s, as music listening began to shift from AM to FM, KRMG added talk shows at night from
NBC Talknet
NBC Talknet was a nighttime programming block on the NBC Radio Network from the 1980s to the 1990s. It comprised several advice-oriented call-in talk shows, the most notable personalities being Bruce Williams and Sally Jessy Raphael. At a time ...
. By the 1990s, the station dropped music altogether and made the transition to the current news/talk format.
Cox Media acquired KRMG and KWEN in 1997.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-363
/ref> In 2009, a new KRMG-FM was created at 102.3 MHz. That station's Christian contemporary music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
format was dropped to allow it to simulcast KRMG's talk programming, giving Tulsa radio listeners the choice of hearing KRMG on AM or FM. It also improved KRMG's nighttime coverage in portions of Tulsa.
On July 7, 2014, KRMG-AM-FM changed their slogan to "Tulsa’s 24-hour News, Weather and Traffic, News 102.3 and AM 740 KRMG."
Former hosts
Former KRMG hosts include John Erling, Ann Williams, Dianna Proffitt, Dick Andert, Jerry Vaughn, Watson Jelks, Johnny Martin, Trey Callaway, Rob Hough, and Wes Minter. In the KRMG newsroom, ABC's Bob Brown and CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
's Bob Losure once served as reporters. Frank Powers is now in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
. Rand LaVonn was news director in the late 1980s. He is now in Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
where he volunteered as President of PRSA Dallas in 2013 and President of the Press Club of Dallas from 2000 to 2001. LaVonn was a communications manager for electric and gas utilities in the Dallas region. John Durkee served as news director for 18-years prior to joining the City of Tulsa as Communication Director and then moving on to Tulsa's NPR affiliate KWGS
KWGS 89.5 FM is the flagship National Public Radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station was Oklahoma's first FM radio station and is one of two stations operated by the University of Tulsa. The station was established in 1947 through the init ...
. Union Public Schools Public Relations Director Gretchen Haas was an anchor and reporter. Richard Dowdell was a reporter and anchor for KRMG News for over 30 years.
References
External links
*
Voices of Oklahoma interview with Ken Greenwood.
First person interview conducted on March 5, 2009, with Ken Greenwood, former station manager and founder of Great Raft Race.
{{COXMG
RMG
Cox Media Group
News and talk radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1949
1949 establishments in Oklahoma