KUMA (1290 AM, "News/Talk 1290") 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

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

, United States. The station is owned by Randolph and Debra McKone's Elkhorn Media Group and 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 ...

is held by EMG2, LLC.

Programming

KUMA broadcasts a

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

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 featur ...

format which features programming 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 ...

and

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...

. Local weekday programming includes ''The Morning Edition'' with Butch Thurman and Danny Houle plus a 30-minute program called ''The Coffee Hour''. Syndicated programming includes

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

s hosted by

Lars Larson Lars Kristopher Larson (born March 6, 1959)"Lars Kristopher Larson". ''Who's Who in the West'', 26th ed. Accessed June 17, 2013 via LexisNexis. is an American conservative talk radio show host based in Portland, Oregon. Larson worked in televis ...

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 ...

, and

Jim Bohannon James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' orig ...

, plus ''

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 19 ...

'' hosted by

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 ...

. KUMA also airs ''

The Huckabee Report ''The Huckabee Report'' was a radio program hosted by former Republican governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, that aired from January 2009 to May 1, 2015. The program was broadcast on Cumulus Media Networks (formerly Citadel Media and ABC Radio Net ...

'' with former Arkansas governor

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 ...

. Weekend programming includes syndicated shows hosted by

Kim Kommando 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. ...

and

Dr. Dean Edell Doctor is an Academic degree, academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an Agent noun, agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europ ...

plus '' At Home with Gary Sullivan''.

History

KUMA began regular broadcasting on August 25, 1955, as a 1,000

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 ...

daytime-only station broadcasting at 1370

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, owned and operated by the Pendleton Broadcasting Company, began unlimited 5,000 watt operation at 1290 kHz on January 3, 1956. Pendleton Broadcasting Company was owned by the Fisher family as one of four Oregon radio stations controlled by the Fisher Stations Group. Pendleton Broadcasting Company, licensee of KUMA, was acquired by Theodore A. "Ted" Smith and his wife Phyllis on November 1, 1966. Ted Smith had joined Pendleton Broadcasting Company in 1955, as general manager of KUMA, after his service in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. Ted Smith served as the president of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters in 1962. KUMA was joined by 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 ...

, dubbed

KUMA-FM KUMA-FM (92.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Pilot Rock, Oregon, United States. The station, established in 2006, is owned by Randolph and Debra McKone's Elkhorn Media Group and the broadcast license for this station is held by EMG2, ...

, in 1978. In September 1988, Ted and Phyllis Smith applied to the FCC to transfer control of the Pendleton Broadcasting Company to Gregory A. Smith, their son. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 18, 1988. In March 1993, Pendleton Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station and AM sister station KUMA to Capps Broadcast Group's Round-Up Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 1, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on the same day. KUMA switched to its current all-talk format in October 2002. The station's initial talk lineup included syndicated news and talk programming hosted by Rush Limbaugh,

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

Michael Reagan Michael Edward Reagan (born March 18, 1945) is an American political commentator, Republican strategist, and former radio talk show host. He is the adopted son of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. He wo ...

, Laura Ingraham, Jim Bohannon, and

Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program ''Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds of ...

. Effective November 1, 2017, Capps Broadcast Group sold KUMA and nine other broadcast properties to Elkhorn Media Group for $1.75 million.

Facilities

KUMA shares a studio building with

sister stations 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 ...

KTIX KTIX (1240 AM, "103.1 The Outlaw") is a radio station licensed to serve Pendleton, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting as KWRC in May 1941, is currently owned by Randolph and Debra McKone's Elkhorn Media Group and the ...

(1240 AM),

KWVN-FM KWVN-FM (107.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "107.7 Hot FM") is a commercial radio station city of license, licensed to serve Pendleton, Oregon, United States. The station, originally launched in October 1978, is currently owned by Randolph and Debra McKon ...

(107.7 FM), and

KWHT KWHT (103.5 FM, "K-Wheat") is a radio station licensed to serve Pendleton, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1984, is currently owned by Randolph and Debra McKone's Elkhorn Media Group and the broadcast license is ...

(103.5 FM). This multi-station Capps Broadcast Group facility is located at the west end of

Eastern Oregon Regional Airport Eastern Oregon Regional Airport (Eastern Oregon Regional Airport at Pendleton) is a public airport three miles northwest of Pendleton, in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. Commercial service is provided by Boutique Air to Portland, subsid ...

References

External links

KUMA official website
* * {{News/Talk Radio Stations in Oregon

UMA Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1955 Pendleton, Oregon 1955 establishments in Oregon