KGST

KGST (branded as Multi Cultural AM 1600) is a radio station serving Fresno, California and vicinity broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. The station operates on AM frequency 1600 kHz and is under the ownership of Lotus Communications. Its studios are located north of downtown Fresno with the transmitter tower in the city's southwest portion.

KGST
CityFresno, California
Broadcast areaFresno and vicinity
Frequency1600 kHz
BrandingMulti Cultural 1600 AM
Programming
FormatRegional Mexican
Ownership
OwnerLotus Communications
(Lotus Fresno Corp.)
KSEQ, KLBN, KKBZ, and KHIT-FM
Technical information
Facility ID38453
ClassB
Power5,000 Watts
Links
Websitemulticultural1600am.com

History
Former station logo as an ESPN Deportes Radio affiliate.

KGST, known for much of its history as "La Mexicana," started out as a mixed-format "international" station in 1949 with programs available in Armenian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Serbian. Its programs were hosted by brokers who paid for airtime and was one of the earliest radio stations in California and the first in the San Joaquin Valley with full-time Spanish-language programming. At its inception, KGST was the only independent (not affiliated with the four major networks) station in Fresno's five-station market (c.f. White's Radio Log, Fall 1949).

Juan Mercado, who got his start as the Spanish-language programming director at a Visalia station, was one of the most popular deejays at the station. In 1959, he was able to buy the station due to his success. Mercado died just two years later and the station was bought by a couple of men who were at the time running KLOK out of San Jose.

In the mid-1950s to 1960s, KGST was a "eclectic" mix of C&W, Blues, Jazz, and Spanish and other language programming. "Happy Harold's House of Blues" was a program fixture for many years (c.f. Fresno Bee radio logs). In that time, KGST was "sunrise-to-sunset" with a power of 1 kW (c.f. White's Radio Log, various editions).

In 1988, KGST was bought by Lotus Corporation.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.