KWKH (1130
AM) is a
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
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 ...
serving
Shreveport, Louisiana. The
50-kilowatt station broadcasts at 1130
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 ...
. Formerly owned by
Clear Channel Communications and
Gap Central Broadcasting
Gap Broadcasting Group was a group of companies that owned around 116 broadcast stations (including 1 low-power television station and 5 low-power stations) in 23 radio markets in northwestern and central southern United States in the late 2000s. ...
, it is now owned by
Townsquare Media
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
. Its studios are shared with its other five sister stations on Westport Avenue in West Shreveport (one mile west of
Shreveport Regional Airport), and the transmitter is a three-
tower array
A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...
in
Belcher, Louisiana
Belcher is a village in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 263 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Shreveport- Bossier city metropolitan statistical area.
History
Previously named Horseshoe after the bayou that runs th ...
.
KWKH is no longer the local affiliate of the
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
, but still broadcast the
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...
(hence its nickname, "1130 The Tiger") as well as
Fox Sports Radio. It is a 50,000-watt
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 ...
station, one of two in Louisiana; the other being
WWL in
. A single tower is used during the day, providing at least secondary coverage to most of northern Louisiana (as far east as
Monroe and as far south as
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, northeastern
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 ...
and southwestern
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 ...
. At night, power is fed to all three towers in a directional pattern to protect
WBBR
WBBR (1130 AM) is a Class A clear-channel radio station licensed to New York, New York. It serves as the flagship station of Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg L.P.'s radio service. The station offers general and financial news reports 24-hours a ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, the other Class A station on 1130 AM. Even with this restriction, KWKH can be heard across much of the central portion of North America at night.
History
KWKH has a colorful history. It was founded by
W. K. Henderson, owner of Henderson Iron Works and Supply Company, and native of
Bastrop, Louisiana. Henderson signed KWKH on the air from his country estate at Kennonwood, north of Shreveport, in 1926 after selling his
earlier venture into radio the year prior, which had also bore the call letters KWKH at the time. Henderson developed a celebrated on-air persona amongst the station's listenership, and a notorious reputation with government regulators.
[Hall, Lillian Jones, "A Historical Study of Programming Techniques and Practices of Radio Station Kwkh, Shreveport, Louisiana: 1922-1950." (1959). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 558.
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/558] He often sparred with the
Federal Radio Commission
The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...
over his profanity-laced rants against
chain store
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
s and the
United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
, as well as over his desire to operate the station in the manner he wished, using as much radiated power as he felt necessary. The broadcaster initially enjoyed the patronage of
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Huey P. Long Jr., whose son,
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long (November 3, 1918 – May 9, 2003) was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987. Because of his seniority, he advanced to chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, servin ...
, was born in 1918 in Shreveport. Ultimately, the outspoken Henderson lost Long's support and his radio license as well.
KWKH's future came into question in 1932 when Henderson filed for
personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corporat ...
during the
Depression. An article in the trade publication
''Broadcasting'' reported that the bankruptcy "may be made an issue at a hearing involving the KWKH license renewal to be held probably in February
933"
Bowing to this pressure and at the advice of his attorneys, Henderson sold the station in September, 1932 to International Broadcasting Corporation, a firm composed of local investors.
At that time, KWKH operated nighttime on 850 kHz, the same frequency as
WWL in New Orleans, Louisiana. WWL had applied for full-time status, and "a local insurance company" had applied for the 850 kHz frequency in Shreveport.
Under this new ownership, KWKH became affiliated with the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
network in 1934.
On May 28, 1935, 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 ...
approved transfer of ownership of KWKH to the Times Publishing Company Ltd. of Shreveport. ''Broadcasting'' magazine reported, "KWKH is listed as being assigned to 850 kc. with 10,000 watts, but with special authorization to operate on 1100 kc. unlimited time." The company simultaneously became the owner of KWEA in Shreveport, which operated on 1210 kHz with 100 watts (unlimited).
In April, 1948, KWKH launched the ''
Louisiana Hayride
''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...
'', a live country music show broadcast from the
Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport. The successful show helped launch the careers of a number of important music artists. In the mid-1950s, KWKH was the first major radio station to feature the music of
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
on the ''Louisiana Hayride''.
Horace Logan
Horace Lee Logan, Jr. (August 3, 1916 – October 13, 2002), known as Hoss Logan, was the program director for the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana, which showcased country music singing stars in the 1950s. He originated the catch- ...
, long-term KWKH Program Manager and originator of the "Hayride", and
Frank Page introduced Presley on Hayride. The station carried games for the
Shreveport Steamer
The Shreveport Steamer were a professional American football team in the World Football League. The franchise began the 1974 season in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Texans (no connection to the current NFL team of the same name), playing their ...
during the 1974
World Football League
The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...
season.
Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...
was the color commentator for the Steamer games.
International Broadcasting Corporation sold KWKH in 1977 and the station's music format was changed to strictly country. Prior to the sale, KWKH maintained a
full-service format – airing a variety of music, news, sports, farm reports, and other locally-produced programming.
On May 31, 2012 KWKH changed its format to sports, branded as ''The Tiger''.
KWKH is a Louisiana State Relay of 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 bot ...
, and is in charge of The Shreveport Area EAS operations.
References
External links
KWKH official websiteFCC History Cards for KWKH
{{Coord, 32, 42, 18, N, 93, 52, 55, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
Sports radio stations in the United States
Radio stations in Louisiana
Radio stations established in 1926
Townsquare Media radio stations
Clear-channel radio stations
Fox Sports Radio stations
1926 establishments in Louisiana