KMLB
 | |
| |
Broadcast area | Monroe, Louisiana metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 540 kHz |
| Branding | News Talk 105.7 FM & 540 AM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KJLO-FM, KLIP, KMVX, KRJO, KRVV | |
| History | |
First air date | 1944 |
Former call signs | KNOE (1944–2008) |
Former frequencies |
|
Call sign meaning | "Monroe Louisiana Broadcasting" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 35249 | |
| Class | D |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 32°32′36″N92°10′45″W / 32.54333°N 92.17917°W |
| Translator | 105.7 K289CG (Houma) |
| Links | |
Public license information |
|
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | kmlb.com |
KMLB (540 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a talk radioformat. Licensed to Monroe, Louisiana, the station is owned by Holladay Broadcasting.[2] Studios are located in Monroe.
The station's transmitter site is a single-tower non-directional antenna in nearby West Monroe, Louisiana. KMLB operates with 4,000 watts by day, covering parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.[3] But because AM 540 is a clear-channel frequency reserved for Canada and Mexico, the station must greatly reduce power at night to 26 watts.
KMLB's programming is simulcast on FMtranslator K289CG at 105.7 MHz.[4]
Programming
Most of KMLB's schedule is made up of nationally syndicatedconservative talk shows, including, Moon Griffon, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey, The Mark Levin Show, and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Weekends feature Kim Komando, Bill Cunningham, Ben Ferguson, Bill Handel and Somewhere in Time with Art Bell. Most hours begin with world and national news from Fox News.
History
The station first signed on, as KNOE, on October 4, 1944, at 1230 kHz. It was founded by former Governor of LouisianaJames A. Noe.[5][6]
In November 1948, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a frequency shift for KNOE from 1230 to 1390 kHz, with a concurrent increase in power from 250 watts to 5,000 watts. At that time, the station was an NBC Red Networkaffiliate.[8] On September 27, 1953, the station signed on a TV station, Channel 8 KNOE-TV.[9] On January 9, 1967, 101.9 KNOE-FM (now KMVX) came on the air.
In the early 1960s, KNOE moved to 540 kHz, with a daytime power of 5,000 watts, and a nighttime power of 1,000 watts.
Noe's son, James Albert "Jimmie" Noe Jr., ran KNOE for almost four decades, along with its FM and TV sister stations.[10] When Jimmie Noe died from cancer in 2005, the remaining family members agreed to place the stations up for sale and exit broadcasting.[11]
In November 2006, the Noe family reached an agreement to sell KNOE on 540 kHz to Clay Holladay's Holladay Broadcasting. On March 6, 2007, the station announced extensive programming changes, moving Rush Limbaugh to KNOE and adding new programming. According to the news story, KMLB, then at 1440 AM, would be a "general interest talk" station, while 540 KNOE would become a "political talk" station.[12]
At the time of the 2006 station sale to Holladay, the FCC noted that "The conditional grant... required Holladay to surrender the license for the station that at the time bore call sign KMLB (AM) ('Old KMLB'), Monroe, Louisiana, prior to Holladay consummating its acquisition" of KNOE.[13] Thus, the original KMLB on 1440 AM was taken off the air, with its license surrendered to the FCC on March 4, 2008.[14]
Thirteen days later, the call letters on 540 AM were changed from KNOE to KMLB,[15] and programming previously on 1440 AM was consolidated to the transferred KMLB. The station began operating from a new transmitter site, and switched from a directional to a non-directional antenna, resulting on a daytime power reduction from 5,000 to 4,000 watts, while the nighttime power was decreased from 1,000 to 26 watts, with a corresponding reclassification of KMLB as a "Class D" facility.
Alumni
External links
- Facility details for Facility ID 35249 (KMLB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- KMLB in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for KMLB (covering 1940-1979 as KJAE / KNOE)
- Facility details for Facility ID 142407 (K289CG) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- K289CG at FCCdata.org