KWKH

KWKH
City Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Broadcast area Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area
Branding The Tiger
Frequency 1130 kHz
First air date August 6, 1926
Format Sports
Power 50,000 watts
Class A (Clear channel)
Facility ID 60266
Callsign meaning W. K. Henderson (station founder)
Affiliations Fox Sports Radio
Owner Townsquare Media
(Townsquare Media Shreveport License, LLC)
Sister stations KEEL, KRUF, KTUX, KVKI, KXKS
Webcast Listen Live
Website kwkhonline.com

KWKH (1130 AM) is a sports radio station serving Shreveport, Louisiana. The 50-kilowatt station broadcasts at 1130 kHz. Formerly owned by Clear Channel Communications and Gap Central Broadcasting, it is now owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios are shared with its other five sister stations in West Shreveport (one mile west of Shreveport Regional Airport), and the transmitter is in Belcher, Louisiana.

KWKH is no longer the local affiliate of the New Orleans Saints, but still broadcast the LSU Tigers as well as Fox Sports Radio. A 50,000-watt clear-channel station, KWKH can be heard across much of the central portion of North America at night. The station's studios are located at 6341 West Port Avenue in Shreveport.

History

KWKH has a colorful history. Its founder, William Kennon Henderson, Jr., a native of Bastrop, Louisiana, often sparred with the Federal Radio Commission over his profanity-laced rants against chain stores and the United States government. Henderson's family came to Shreveport in the 1890s. The broadcaster initially enjoyed the patronage of Governor Huey P. Long, Jr., whose son, Russell B. Long, was born in 1918 in Shreveport. Ultimately, the outspoken Henderson lost Long's support and his radio license as well.[1]

KWKH's future came into question in December 1932 when Henderson filed for personal bankruptcy. 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 [1933]."[2] At that time, KWKH operated 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.[2]

On May 28, 1935, the Federal Communications Commission 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 W (unlimited).[3]

In the mid-1950s, KWKH was the first major radio station to feature the music of Elvis Presley on its long-running Louisiana Hayride program at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium. Horace Logan, long-term KWKH Program Manager and originator of the "Hayride", introduced Presley to the Louisiana Hayride, a Country music program presented from 1948 to 1960.[4]

W. K. Henderson's son, William Carter Henderson, Sr., was one of the founders of KSLA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport. W. K.'s grandson, William C. "Bill" Henderson, Jr. (January 30, 1940–March 10, 2010), was active in real estate management for his family's Henderson Properties Company.[5]

Prior to 1952, the station had been owned by the family of newspaper publisher John D. Ewing of Shreveport.

The station carried games for the Shreveport Steamer during the 1974 World Football League season. Larry King was the color commentator for the Steamer games.

Lloyd E. Lenard, later a member of the Caddo Parish Commission and a past president of the Americanism Forum, hosted the KWKH public affair program Party Line during the 1960s. He also spoke before various civic clubs and schools on themes of patriotism and history.[6]

Barney Cannon was until his death in 2009 at the age of fifty-three the program director and morning deejay on KWKH. He was also considered a source authority on Country music.[7]During Cannon's time at KWKH, the station carried America's Trucking Network, a program formerly hosted by Dale Sommers ("The Truckin' Bozo"), KWKH was the last station to carry the show in syndication but dropped it in 2010.

Louise Alley hosted "Open House" for four hours weekdays on KWKH and also operated her own advertising agency.[8]

Danny Fox (born Wayne Grimes August 7, 1954 in Phenix City, Alabama - died May 21, 2014 in Shreveport), co-hosted with Fabienne Thrash, his program director, Fabienne and the Fox. The two had first worked together in Texarkana, Texas, before they were transferred to Shreveport. Fox joined KWKH in 1990. He subsequently became a webmaster for GAP Broadcasting. A bass player, he also performed with many bands over the years. Fox's memorial service was held on June 1, 2014 on the back porch of KWKH, with his brother-in-law, Michael Madden presiding. Fox is survived by his wife, Kathleen; son, Sean, and a sister, Margie G. Madden.[9]

On May 31, 2012 KWKH changed its format to sports, branded as "The Tiger".[10]

References

  1. ↑ Vaillant, Derek. "Bare-Knuckled Broadcasting: Enlisting Manly Respectability and Racial Paternalism in the Battle Against Chain Stores, Chain Stations, and the Federal Radio Commission on Louisiana's KWKH, 1924–33." Radio Journal 1, no. 3 (2004): 193-211.
  2. 1 2 "Files in Bankruptcy" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 15, 1932. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "KWKH and KWEA Sold" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 1, 1935. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Frank Page Obituary". Shreveport Times. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "William C. "Bill" Henderson obituary". The Shreveport Times, March 13, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Conservative Speaker Set Tomorrow for Lions Club," Minden Press-Herald, Minden, Louisiana, August 3, 1966, p. 1
  7. ↑ "Obituary of Barney Cannon". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Louise Frances Koury Alley". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Wayne Grimes obituary". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/58418/1130-kwkh-shreveport-goes-sports/#.T8fu-44Zy70

External links

Coordinates: 32°42′18″N 93°52′55″W / 32.70500°N 93.88194°W / 32.70500; -93.88194

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