KLTY

Infobox Radio station
name = KLTY


city = Arlington, Texas
area = Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
branding = "94.9 KLTY"
slogan = "Safe for the Whole Family"
airdate = 1957 as KCLE FM
frequency = 94.9 MHz
format = Christian contemporary
power =
erp = 99,000 Watts
haat = 508 meters
class = C
facility_id = 2809
callsign_meaning = Light (a Christian reference to Jesus Christ, "The Light of the World")
former_callsigns = KCLE (1957-1969), KFAD (1969-1972), KAMC (1972-1976),KWJS (1976-1984), KJIM (1984-1985), KLTY (1985-1986), KHYI (1986-1991)KODZ (1991-1992), KSNN (1992-1996), KEWS (1996-1997), KWRD (1997-2000)
owner = Salem Communications
licensee = Inspiration Media of Texas, LLC
webcast = [http://klty-pl.streamguys.com/asx/kltyfm.asx Listen Live]
website = http://www.klty.com
affiliations =
sister_stations = KSKY, KWRD-FM

KLTY is a Christian contemporary music radio station owned by Salem Communications on 94.9 MHz with studios located in Irving, Texas, near Dallas. The format is similar to the "Fish" branded stations Salem owns elsewhere and its slogan is: "Safe for the Whole Family". It is considered the #1 Christian station in the country.

History

KLTY was first created by Jon Rivers (as Program Director) & Scott K. Ginsburg after he purchased KJIM 94.9 Arlington from Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and began playing a mix of contemporary Christian music (CCM) along with the preaching and teaching programs inherited from the Jimmy Swaggart operation. Key to the mass appeal of CCM on KLTY was the engagement of David Pierce as Program Director/afternoon drive time announcer and Jon Rivers as morning drive time announcer. David Pierce chose to drop the preaching/teaching programs in the mornings after several months of the new KLTY format. This version of KLTY lasted only from early August 1985 to late September 1986 when station owner Scott K. Ginsburg changed the call letters to KHYI and changed the format to Top 40 as "Y-95". The transmitter site was not at Cedar Hill but instead transmitted from Lillian, Texas with over 30,000 Watts.

Marcos Rodriguez purchased the music library from Ginsburg and began planning the conversion of 94.1 to all CCM. Unable to make a deal for the KLTY call letters (because they were held by an FM station in Liberty, Missouri) or the services of Rivers (who worked at 102.9 KMGC), he hired Paul Martin, Chuck Gratner and Mark Elfstrand (Johnson) and launched KOJO at 94.1 FM the following year. Elfstrand now leads the morning drive team at WMBI Chicago.

KOJO was notable for its commitment to being a "full service" radio station, including a solid news commitment. Morning and afternoon drive newscasts were anchored by former KVIL News Director Bob Morrison and Calvin Whitman, and later, Dave Tucker. Morrison went on to become News Director of Christian station KCBI, while working afternoon drive again at KVIL. He's now News & Sports Director of the USA Radio Network, based in Dallas.

In the spring of 1989, with a free Michael W. Smith concert, Rodriguez and his then GM Mark Hulme relaunched the station with Jon Rivers (joined by Tucker doing news) and the KLTY call letters at 94.1. Rivers became the vice president of programming and held that position through August 2001. Jon Rivers and his wife are now on K-LOVE Christian radio in the morning drive time. The early KLTY sales department was run by Pete Thompson from 1990 to 1996. (Thompson is now the GM of Salem's Dallas stations KWRD (Word) and KSKY.)

KLTY was on 100.7 MHz from January 2000 to December 2000, and was owned by Sunburst until it was sold to Salem. Salem swapped the Christian talk format that had been on 94.9 for nearly two and a half years known as the Word, and placed the popular KLTY on a 94.9 signal while the Word went to 100.7. This placed KLTY back on its original frequency.

The Vice President and General Manager of 94.9 FM KLTY is John L. Peroyea, who joined the team in July 1999. KLTY now transmits with 100,000 Watts from Cedar Hill, Texas.

Before it became 94.1 KLTY the frequency was used by then-sister station KESS.

The 94.9 frequency has a rich history, long predating the current format and ownership. KCLE was established in 1949 in Cleburne, TX by owners Jim Gordon and George Marti at 94.3 FM and 1120 AM. Marti was later the inventor of microwave transmitters (known as "Marti Units.") Employees included notables such as Russ Bloxom (later news anchor at WBAP/KXAS-TV,) Don Harris (personality at WBAP-AM) and Mike Ambrose (later with KLIF-AM, and a San Diego TV weatherman for 28 years.) The station moved to 94.9 in 1957.

In 1969, Gordon and Marti ended their partnership; Marti took the AM station and Gordon, the FM. Gordon flipped the FM to KFAD, with an underground/progressive rock format. Notables included Jon Dillon (still on the air today at KZPS) and Joe Nick Patoski (later the senior editor of Texas Monthly magazine.

On 1/1/1972, Dick Osburn took ownership of the station, and reimaged it as KAMC ("K-Mac") while continuing the underground music format. By 1974, the format flipped to "Hard-Core Country." A notable employee of KAMC was Bill Merrill, who did play-by-play for the Texas Rangers.

On 6/19/1976, with the station now licensed to Arlington, it was sold to Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and became KWJS (the Word of Jimmy Swaggart) and to new KJIM calls in 1984. (The KJIM calls were resurrected from KJIM-870 AM, who used them from 1957-1984.)

After the first incarnation of KLTY (1985-86) and then KHYI (1986-91,) 94.9 was home to KODZ "Oldies 94.9." After one year, it flipped to KSNN "Sunny 95" (1992-96,) then to KEWS - "The First All-News FM Station in America, Made in Texas" (1996-97.) Religious talker KWRD was established at 94.9 in early 1997 after a trade with KDFX-1190 AM.

"Celebrate Freedom"

A 94.9 KLTY annual two-day Christian festival occurs the weekend before the 4th of July at Southfork Ranch in Dallas. 94.9 KLTY/Interstate Batteries Celebrate Freedom.

In 2008, Celebrate Freedom will take place June 27-28 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, just 25 miles north of Dallas.

On-Air Personalities

Notable weekday air personalities include Frank Reed on mornings, Bonnie Curry on mid-days, Tony Lopez on afternoons, Andrea "Andi" Jaxson on evenings, and Rick DeVoe on overnights. Other notable on-air talent includes morning show news anchor Starlene Stringer, traffic reporter Perri Reavis, and producer Ryan Cox. Notable weekend air personalities include "New Music Cafe" host John Hudson, Sunday morning praise host Ron Taylor, Laurie Lynn, Shawn Bowman, Marc Anderson, Dominica, Dave Harrison, and Cindy Garcia.

94.9 FM KLTY Jingle

* [http://klty.com/mp3/73%20Track%2073.wma KLTY Jingle]

Former Logos

External links

* [http://www.klty.com/ KLTY official website]
* [http://www.knus99.com Mike Shannon's History of Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and TV]
* [http://www.dfwradioarchives.com DFW Radio Archives]

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