KATM (103.3 MHz, Kat Country 103) is a commercial FM

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 ...

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

and also heard in the nearby cities of Stockton and

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...

. The station is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

and airs a

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 Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. Its studios are in Stockton, and its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is located off South Bird Road in Vernalis, California. KATM often works with local charities and community organizations providing air time and fundraising opportunities, most notably the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquart ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on children's catastrophic diseases, par ...

Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. Th ...

, the

Second Harvest Food Bank Feeding America is a United States–based nonprofit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. ...

, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

and others. The station hosts a yearly Listener Appreciation Concert. As the concert crowds have grown, the venues have been changed to accommodate the growing number of attendees. The June 2nd show at the

Stanislaus County , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , ...

Fairgrounds hosted around 20,000 fans in

Turlock, California Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...

. In 2011, the Listener Appreciation Concert was held at Weber Point Event Center on the waterfront in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquired Rancho Campo de los Franceses. The city is named after R ...

History

On April 3, 1948, the station first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A digi ...

as KBEE-FM. It was one of the first FM stations in

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the S ...

, and was owned by

The McClatchy Company The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states an ...

, which publishes the ''

Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper, founded in 1884 as the ''Daily Evening News'' and published continuously as a daily under a variety of names. Before its purchase by Charles K. McClatchy and McClatchy Newspapers in 1924, it merged ...

'' newspaper, giving the station its

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 ass ...

, KBEE. A few years later, in 1951, McClatchy added an AM station, KBEE (970 AM). At first, both stations were

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, simul ...

, but through the late 1960s, 70s and 80s, while the AM station carried 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'' * Ful ...

middle of the road music format, KBEE-FM had a largely

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

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 mu ...

format. In 1992, the station was purchased by

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...

and moved from

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

to a hit country format, switching call letters to KATM (soon after the calls were made available after being used by a station in Colorado for about seven years) under the helm of then

Brand Manager A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

, Scott Mahalick. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media in 2011. Through the years, KATM has continued as a country music station, and is among the top rated stations in both Modesto and Stockton, with significant listenership in the Merced radio market.

Past Listener Appreciation performers

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

Craig Morgan Craig Morgan Greer (born July 17, 1964) is an American country music artist. A veteran of the United States Army as a forward observer, Morgan began his musical career in 2000 on Atlantic Records, releasing his self-titled debut album for th ...

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released nine studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billboar ...

The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry ( mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August ...

Lee Brice Kenneth Mobley Brice Jr. (born June 10, 1979), known professionally as Lee Brice, is an American country music singer and songwriter, signed to Curb Records. Brice has released five albums with the label: '' Love Like Crazy'', '' Hard to Love'', ...

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant Records (Warner), Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, ...

Tracy Lawrence Tracy Lee Lawrence (born January 27, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Atlanta, Texas, and raised in Foreman, Arkansas, Lawrence began performing at age 15 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in ...

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single "What's It to You", which reached Number One on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Song ...

Jerrod Niemann Jerrod Lee Niemann (born July 24, 1979) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one single for Category 5 Records (2006); three albums for Sea Gayle Music/Arista Nashville: ''Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury'' (2010), ''F ...

Eli Young Band Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (dru ...

Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on October ...

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ...

* Lee Ann Womack *

Steve Holy Stephen Kyle Holy (born February 23, 1972) is an American country music singer. Signed to Curb Records since 1999, he has released three studio albums: 2000's ''Blue Moon'', 2006's '' Brand New Girlfriend'', and 2011's '' Love Don't Run''. Fiftee ...

Montgomery Gentry Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo founded by singers Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry, both Kentucky natives. They began performing together in the 1990s as part of two different bands with Montgomery's brother, John Michael Mo ...

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 19 ...

Gretchen Wilson Gretchen Frances Wilson (born June 26, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She made her debut in March 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single " Redneck Woman", a number-one hit on the '' Billboard'' country charts. The ...

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

Thompson Square Thompson Square is an American country music duo composed of husband and wife Keifer and Shawna Thompson, both of whom alternate as vocalists. They signed to Stoney Creek Records, a sister label of Broken Bow Records, in 2010. The duo has relea ...

Parmalee Parmalee is an American country music band consisting of brothers Matt Thomas (lead vocals, guitar) and Scott Thomas (drums), along with their cousin Barry Knox (bass) and Josh McSwain (guitar), who is a best friend since childhood. They are si ...

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Ho ...

* Keith Anderson *

Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...

Josh Turner Joshua Otis Turner (born November 20, 1977) is an American country and gospel singer and songwriter. In 2003, he signed to MCA Nashville Records. That same year, his debut album's title track, "Long Black Train", was his breakthrough single ...

Carly Pearce Carly Pearce (born Carly Cristyne Slusser; April 24, 1990) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her material contains elements of both traditional and contemporary country-pop music. Pearce began performing professionally in her ...

Chris Janson Christopher Pierre Janson (born April 2, 1986) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Janson has recorded three full-length albums, '' Buy Me a Boat'', '' Everybody'', and '' Real Friends'', through Warner Bros. Records Nashville, alo ...

Locash LoCash (stylized as LOCASH), formerly known as LoCash Cowboys, is an American country music duo consisting of vocalists Chris Lucas and Preston Brust. They have released 3 studio albums, one each for Average Joes Entertainment, Reviver Records, a ...

* Jordan Davis *

Jimmie Allen James Edward Allen (born June 18, 1985) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is signed to Broken Bow Records imprint Stoney Creek, for which he has released the two singles " Best Shot" and "Make Me Want To" and the 2018 album ...

Mitchell Tenpenny Mitchell Tenpenny (born August 17, 1989) is an American country pop singer and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released three studio albums and five extended plays through Riser House Records, with the first being '' Telling All My ...

Cassadee Pope Cassadee Blake Pope (born August 28, 1989) is an American pop and country singer. She was the lead vocalist and songwriter of the pop band Hey Monday, with whom she released one studio album and two EPs. Pope embarked on a solo career in early ...

* Everette *

Dillon Carmichael Dillon Carmichael (born November 8, 1993) is an American country music singer. He signed to Riser House Entertainment in 2017 where he released his debut single, "Dancing Away With My Heart". In 2021 Carmichael released the Hot Beer EP, which ...

Program directors

*Scott Mahalick was the GM and spearheaded the branding of the "KAT". Mahalick went on to program in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

and now is at

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

country station KUPL. *Ed Hill left the station to serve as OM at KUBL in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1998. Hill left Citadel in 2011 to take on the job as program director of KMPS in Seattle, Washington. *Randy "Bubba" Black, a native of

Manteca, California Manteca (Spanish for "lard") is a city in San Joaquin County, California. The city had a population of 83,498 as of the 2020 census. History Manteca is a city in the Central Valley of California, located east of San Francisco. It was fou ...

was a KATM employee, from 1994-2011. Black was elevated to mgmt in 1997 and was sent to Reno, NV and then returned to the station after the departure of his mentor Ed Hill. Black had programmed the Bull in Reno and served as program director for the KAT from 1998 until 2011. Black continued the KATM tradition of market dominance during his tenure. Bubba's work was entered and won the Radio Station Of the Year by the CMA, a nationally recognized award, Bubba Black and KATM were also the winners of the prestigious award the ST. Jude Children's Research Hospital Promotion Of The Year for the now many times duplicated promotion The Quest For One Million Pennies netting the charity 36 Million Pennies. *Nikki Thomas, formerly of

WKSF WKSF (99.9 FM "Kiss Country") is a country music station licensed to serve Old Fort, North Carolina. The iHeartMedia, Inc. station broadcasts from a tower on Mount Pisgah, southwest of Asheville with an ERP of 53,000 watts. The tower is shar ...

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

and

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus ...

stations KWYE and KDJK in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, came to work for the station as Music Director in 2006 and served as program director after Black left in February 2011 until moving to WIVK Knoxville. Thomas programmed both KATM and WIVK from August 2016 until December 2016 when Andy Winford was brought in as the new program director. KATM was noted in the Congressional Record by Rep. Dennis Cardoza for Community Service, May 15, 2012 *Andy Winford arrived in December 2016 and is the current program director. Winford was formerly the program director of KATS-FM and KIT-AM in Yakima, Washington, the operations manager of KCTR, KMHK, KKBR and KBUL-AM in Billings, Montana, the program director of CHBN/Edmonton, Canada, program director of KKBZ-FM and KHIT-FM in Fresno, California, and the operations manager of KURQ, KSLY & KSTT in San Luis Obispo, California.

Air staff

*Morning Show (5am-10am): DJ Walker in the Morning with Jaimee Lee & Joe On The Go *Mid-Days (10am-2pm): Jaimee Lee *Afternoon Drive (2pm-7pm): Toni Marie *Evenings (7pm-12mid):Nights with Elaina *Overnight (12mid-5am):"Later with Lia" *Weekend's/Fill-ins:Tim Cruz *Weekend's/Fill-ins:Melissa McConnell *Assistant Program Director:Jaimee Lee *Program Director:Andy Winford

Awards

*KATM won the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2011. The station received the news via a phone call from CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee

, October 17, 2011. *KATM won the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...

Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2012. *KATM received their second

"Medium Market Station of the Year" nomination September 3, 2014. *KATM Morning Show Personalities DJ Walker In The Morning were nominees for Medium Market Broadcast Personalities of the Year September 9, 2015. *KATM received their third

"Medium Market Station of the Year" nomination August 31, 2016 *KATM was nominated in 2018 for the ACM Medium Market Station of the Year Award. *In 2020 KATM was nominated for both the ACM and CMA Medium Market Radio Station of the Year Awards.

References

External links

Kat Country 103's Official Website
* {{coord, 37.575, N, 121.355, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title ATM Country radio stations in the United States Mass media in San Joaquin County, California Mass media in Stanislaus County, California Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in California