3-Letter Calls For Radio
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - I wasn't sure what I would write about this week until I received a call from an account rep at KLUV-FM in Dallas (part of the CBS Radio group). We got to talking about things (mainly CBS Sunday Morning for this weekend's show honoring the career of Charles Osgood) but the subject of three call letter radio/TV stations came up.
Call letters for radio go back to the days of telegraphy when operators would identify each other with a few characters. When Congress passed the Radio Act Of 1912, it became mandatory for all radio operators to be licensed by the Commerce Department's Bureau Of Navigation (the FCC was not established until 1934). Per international agreements, the U.S. used call signs beginning with letters K, N, and W. The first license issued by the Bureau was to KDKA/Pittsburgh (also a CBS Radio station today) on October 27, 1920. After that a number of three-letter call signs were authorized until it became evident that the inventory of three letter calls would be depleted very quickly. The addition of a fourth letter was necessary to expand the call sign supply for what was at that time a very fast growing business. By the spring of 1922, the end of three letter calls came about with the last one issued in May 1922 to WHB/Kansas City.
Below is a partial list of some major market AM/FM radio stations, many of which are what we call "legacy" stations, listed by market, frequency, power, and format (some AM stations with co-owned FM and TV with three calls are denoted as well):
- WOR New York (710, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)
- KFI Los Angeles (640, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)
- KNX Los Angeles (1070, AM, 50,000 watts. All News)
- WLS Chicago (890, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk) ..FM/TV
- WGN Chicago (720, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk/Sports)…TV
- KYW Philadelphia (1060, AM, 50,000 watts, All News)…TV
- WRR Dallas/Fort Worth (101.1, FM, 100,000 watts, Classical)
- KGO San Francisco (810, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)…FM/TV
- WBZ Boston (1030, AM, 50,000 watts, News)…..FM/TV
- WSB Atlanta (750, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)…FM/TV
- WWJ Detroit (950, AM., 50,000 watts, All News)…..FM/TV
- WJZ Baltimore (1300, AM, 5,000 watts, Sports)….FM/TV
- WHO Des Moines (1040, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)….TV
- WMC Memphis (790, 5,000 watts, Sports)…FM/TV
- WWL New Orleans (870, AM, 50,000 watts, News/Talk)……FM/TV
- WSM Nashville (650, AM, 50,000 watts, Country)….FM
See you next time.