KNX () is a commercial all-news AM radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned by Audacy, Inc. KNX is one of the oldest stations in the United States, having received its first broadcasting license, as KGC, on December 8, 1921, in addition to tracing its history to the September 1920 operations of an earlier amateur station. The radio studios and offices—shared with KNX-FM, KCBS-FM, KROQ-FM, KRTH and KTWV—are located on Wilshire Boulevard, along Los Angeles' Miracle Mile.
KNX holds a class A license as one of the original clear-channel stations. Its 50,000-watt non-directional signal is heard throughout all of Southern California in the daytime. When conditions are right, it can be picked up at night throughout much of the Western United States and parts of Mexico and Canada. The station is even received by DXers in Hawaii and across the Pacific Ocean. The transmitter site is in Columbia Park in Torrance, near Hawthorne Boulevard (California State Route 107) and 190th Street. KNX is authorized to broadcast a digital HD Radio signal.
KNX and KFI are the local primary stations for the Los Angeles Emergency Alert System. They are responsible for activation of the EAS when hazardous weather alerts, and disaster area declarations are issued."FCC Local Area Plan for the Emergency Alert System" Los Angeles County: Revision 2.0 7-24-2002 (caloes.ca.gov)
Programming KNX broadcasts "traffic and weather together" every 10 minutes on the fives with traffic reports on the freeways and toll roads in the Greater Los Angeles area and weather forecasts for Southern California, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Local news coverage include the latest news from the Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and public safety. Business news from Bloomberg Radio headlines and weather from KCBS-TV/KCAL-TV are heard every half hour. Each hour begins with world and national news from ABC News Radio.
From December 2021 until May 2026, KNX was also simulcast on KNX-FM (97.1 FM) which previously aired a CHR format; the two stations were branded as "KNX News 97-1 FM". During this period, the simulcast between the AM and FM stations was temporarily broken on Saturday mornings as the AM signal broadcast brokered programming while the all-news format continued on the FM signal with the simulcast resuming for the remainder of the day.
History Origin Although KNX received its first broadcasting station license on December 8, 1921, the station has traditionally dated its founding to September 10, 1920,"45th Year Marked By Station KNX", Billboard, September 25, 1965, page 56. reflecting broadcasts conducted by Fred Christian over his amateur station, 6ADZ.The government's June 30, 1921, annual listing of amateur radio stations has 6ADZ licensed to the Electric Lighting Supply Company, 216 West Third Street, Los Angeles. ("Sixth District", Amateur Radio Stations of the United States (edition June 30, 1921), page 122.) The leading "6" in 6ADZ's call sign specified that the station was located in the sixth Radio Inspection district. The fact that the call sign's first letter, "A", was in the range A-W reflected its status as a standard amateur station.
Christian was a former shipboard radio operator, who lived at 5118 Harold Way in Hollywood, California, and was the manager of the Electric Lighting Supply Company at 216 West Third Street, Los Angeles. He later explained that he began the broadcasts in order to provide something to listen to by customers who had constructed receivers from parts purchased at the store."KNX Spans 7 Decades of Los Angeles Radio History" , Los Angeles Radio Guide, November/December 1995, pages 22-26. Christian began making broadcasts with a five-watt vacuum-tube transmitter, operating on the standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters (1500 kHz).
KGC Initially there were no specific standards in the United States for radio stations making transmissions intended for the general public, and numerous stations under various classifications made entertainment broadcasts. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at this time, adopted a regulation that formally created a broadcasting station category, and stations were now required to hold a Limited Commercial license authorizing operation on wavelengths of 360 meters (833 kHz) for "entertainment" broadcasts or 485 meters (619 kHz) for "market and weather reports"."Miscellaneous: Amendments to Regulations", Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 10. By the end of 1922, over 500 stations were authorized nationwide.
On December 8, 1921, the Electric Lighting Supply Company was issued a broadcasting station license with the randomly assigned call letters KGC, the second in the county after KQL, authorizing operation on the 360-meter entertainment wavelength. The station's location was listed as Fred Christian's Harold Way home."New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 2. One year Limited Commercial license with the call letters KGC, serial #248, issued December 8, 1921, to the Electric Lighting Supply Company, 5118 Harold Way, Hollywood, California. This license was canceled on June 20, 1922. The shared 360 meter wavelength required timesharing agreements between an increasing number of stations needing exclusive time periods. On May 4 the Los Angeles Times reported that a total of seven local stations were slated to make broadcasts that day, comprising a schedule that ran from noon to 9 p.m., with KGC assigned 2-2:30 and 7:30-8 p.m."What's Doing Today: Radio", Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1922, Part II, page 20.
KNX
On May 4, 1922, the Electric Lighting Supply Company was issued a broadcasting license for a station with the randomly assigned call letters of KNX, also on 360 meters, and located at the company's Los Angeles store on West Third Street."New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, June 1, 1922, page 3. Three month Limited Commercial license with the call letters KNX, serial #358, issued May 4, 1922, to the Electric Lighting Supply Company, 216 West Third Street, Los Angeles. This was technically considered to be a second station in addition to KGC, however, after KGC was formally deleted on June 20, 1922, the Department of Commerce concluded that KGC and KNX were functionally the same station, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) records list KGC's initial license date, December 8, 1921, as KNX's "date first licensed".Due to the overlap of the KGC and KNX licenses, the Department of Commerce's June 1, 1922, list of active authorizations included both KGC and KNX (June 1, 1922 list. However, the station list in the May 11, 1922, issue of the Los Angeles Times no longer included KGC, with KNX designated as one of the "stations not yet on the air". ("What's Doing Today: Radio", Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1922, Part II, pages 1, 10.)
The new authorization coincided with preparations for a move to the California Theater, broadcasting live music, with Fred Christian continuing as station manager. On June 12, 1922, the Los Angeles Times reported that "After more than two months of preparation, the new broadcast station at the California Theater had its opening program Saturday evening at 9:15, sending out a wavelength of 510 meters [588 kHz].Although 360 meters was the normal transmitting wavelength during this period, on occasion the sixth district Radio Inspector, J. F. Dillon, would give permission for stations to make broadcasts on 510 meters. ("Radio Puts on Miners' Benefit", Oakland Tribune, September 15, 1922, page 32.) The station is said to be one of the best in the land, the call letters of which are KNX.""Listening in: KHJ", Los Angeles Times, June 12, 1922, Part II, page 2. KNX's regular broadcast schedule on 360 meters was 9:00 to 10:00 a.m."What's Doing Today: Radio", Los Angeles Times, June 8, 1922, Part II, page 24. A week after it commenced operations from the theater, the Times reported that "Numerous reports have come into The Times radio department commending the quality and audibility of material broadcast from KNX, the California Theater radiophone. This station differs from other stations in that it gives its listeners-in the music of the complete orchestra of the California Theater."(untitled filler, third column), Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1922, Part II, page 2.
KNX's power was raised to 100 watts in early August 1922."KHJ's 'Radio Cave'", Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1922, Part II, page 6.
Los Angeles Evening Express In the fall of 1924, Guy Earl Jr., owner of the Los Angeles Evening Express, arranged for the newspaper's purchase of KNX. The Express made significant upgrades, including increasing the power to 500 watts, and began broadcasting from the Paul G. Hoffman Studebaker building in Hollywood."New Radio Station to Open Tonight", Santa Ana (California) Register, October 10, 1924, page 1. KNX was one of the last stations to remain on the original 360 meter wavelength, and the newspaper engineered a move to 890 kHz. It remained on this frequency until November 11, 1928,Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the U.S. (Edition June 30, 1928), page 173. when the station was reassigned to 1050 kHz, under the provisions of a major reallocation resulting from the Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40.
In early 1928, Guy Earle sold his share of the Evening Express newspaper and reorganized KNX as the Western Broadcast Company. In 1929, Earle moved the KNX studios to the Paramount Pictures lot, signing a five-year contract, and the station's transmitter power was upgraded from 500 to 5,000 watts. In 1930, KNX became the first station to broadcast the Academy Awards. In 1932, it increased to 10,000 watts. In 1933, the station moved its studios to the former Peerless Motor Company building at 5939 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, after being granted permission by the FRC on June 7, 1932, to raise its output to 25,000 watts. The following year, KNX's transmitting power was raised to the nationwide maximum of 50,000 watts, which the station continues presently."KNX 1070 kHz Los Angeles, CA" by Paul Sakrison (sakrison.com)
CBS ownership CBS purchased KNX in 1936, and began operating it as its West Coast flagship, which ended CBS's eight-year affiliation with KHJ."Biggest station deal in history effected." Broadcasting, April 1, 1936, pp. 7, 62. In 1938, the CBS Columbia Square studios were dedicated for KNX as well as West Coast operations for the entire CBS radio network. That October, the station carried Orson Welles' celebrated version of The War of the Worlds. In March 1941, the station was shifted to 1070 AM as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement assignments, where it has been ever since.
Theatre legend Jerome Lawrence got his start in radio writing at KNX in the late 1930s. Legendary performers from the "Golden Age of Radio" used KNX studios for their national broadcasts, included Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Edgar Bergen and Gene Autry. Steve Allen conducted a freewheeling late night show over KNX in the late 1940s, which opened the door to his national success. TV situation comedy star Bob Crane was KNX's morning host between 1957 and 1965 at the same time he was appearing as a featured supporting player on the ABC television network series The Donna Reed Show."Bob Crane Biography" (who2.com)
FM and TV stations On March 30, 1948, KNX added a sister station. The original station with the call sign KNX-FM signed on the air, mostly simulcasting 1070 AM. At first it was on the old FM band, but switched to 93.1 a few years later. Today that station is KCBS-FM, while a new version of KNX-FM exists today on 97.1 as a simulcast of the AM station.