KTLK (1150 AM) is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Clear Channel Communications through Citicasters Licenses, the station brands itself as K-Talk AM 1150, broadcasting a progressive talk format.

Programming [link]

The current program lineup features both local and national shows.

Nationally-syndicated hosts are Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, Norman Goldman, Clark Howard, Mike Malloy, Phil Hendrie, and Bill Press. Miller is distributed by Dial Global, Rhodes, Howard, and Hendrie by Premiere Radio Networks (which has the same parent company as KTLK), Goldman by Compass Media Networks, and Malloy is self-syndicated.

Two local shows are in the weekday lineup: Diverse L.A., which promotes itself on the station's webpage as follows: "We as Angelenos don’t look, think or even vote alike…so why should we sound alike?", and an afternoon drivetime show hosted by David Cruz.

Former programs include those of Ron Reagan, Lionel, and Thom Hartman. The first two left the schedule when Air America Media folded, and Hartman was taken off the schedule when Dial Global moved the show to the exact time slot as Rhodes' show.

On weekends, the station features local hosts including Johnny Wendell (a.k.a. Johnny Angel), Angela V. Shelton, Frances Callier and Mario Solis-Marich. The syndicated Star Talk Radio Show hosted by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson airs on Sunday afternoons. The station also broadcasts four traffic reports every hour, 24 hours a day.

Sports [link]

It is the flagship station of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League, and also airs games of the UCLA Bruins, and Anaheim Ducks in case of conflicts with other radio stations. It has also aired National Football League games from Westwood One. KTLK is the former radio home of the Los Angeles Clippers (traded to KSPN in exchange for Kings' rights, now on KFWB), the Los Angeles Sparks (contract not renewed after 2008), Los Angeles Avengers (team folded), and Los Angeles Galaxy (no games are known to be on local radio since at least 2011).

On April 2, 2012, KTLK broadcast the NCAA men's basketball championship game in which Kentucky defeated Kansas. The tourney had been carried locally on KLAC, but KLAC, which became the flagship radio station of the Los Angeles Dodgers that season, had a conflict with the Dodgers' spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and carried that instead.

History [link]

KMIC, Inglewood, signed on in 1927. The call letters changed to KMCS in 1930. In 1932, new owners moved what was KRKD to the Spring Arcade building at 541 S. Spring Street in Los Angeles, and the two towers, with "a long-wire flattop transmitting antenna", had the KRKD letters on the side.

From 1928 to 1961, KFSG 1120 shared the KRKD transmitter. The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel bought KRKD to keep from having to share time, airing mostly secular programming. From 6 P.M. to midnight, KRKD aired services from Angelus Temple.

KRKD-FM aired the same programming as the AM station before 1966. After that, the two stations aired the same adult standards programming after 2 in the afternoon and were known as "Your Album Stations of Southern California". On its own KRKD-FM aired theatrical performances, light classical music and opera. At one point, the AM aired college football while the FM kept the album format, and when the games ended, the AM continued the album format and the FM aired theater and opera. Jack Nemo hosted a rock and roll from 10 p.m. to midnight on weekdays.

KRKD-AM was a Mutual Broadcasting System affiliate. The Foursquare Church sold KRKD-AM in 1970 and changed KRKD-FM to KFSG (now KXOL). After four decades, the KRKD-AM call letters changed to KIIS after Combined Communications (which was later absorbed by Gannett Company), the owners of KIIS-FM bought the station and changed it to soft rock with jingles performed by Richard and Karen Carpenter. It was known as "the Kiss of California." Then the station became Christian radio KPRZ ("K-Praise").

In the early 1980s, KMPC dropped its adult standards format and fired its DJs. Dick Whittinghill, Gary Owens, Johnny Magnus and Pete Smith moved to KPRZ, which took over the KMPC music and called it "The Music of Your Life". Whttinghill would complain about "all that noise down the hall at sister station KIIS-FM". If the door to the KPRZ studios was open, the Top 40 music on KIIS could even be heard in the background on the AM station.

KMPC returned to standards a few years later, which hurt KPRZ. The station ended its standards format New Year's Eve 1984 and became KIIS-AM again.^[1] Prior to that, 1150 AM broadcast contemporary hit music as KIIS, and in the mid 80s, it was transmitting its programming in AM stereo, with an AM version of the jingle packages which had been produced for its sister FM station. KIIS carried a virtual simulcast of its programming, although with different DJs, to avoid FCC restrictions on simulcasting.^[2]

In 1997, KIIS-AM became sports radio KXTA, the flagship station of the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[1] The KIIS call letters would later resurface in Santa Clarita in 1998, with another simulcast of KIIS-FM (that station is now known as KHTS, having changed its call letters in 2003).

XTRA Sports 1150 flipped to Fox Sports 1150 for a time.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, KXTA, by this time a Clear Channel Communications station, was falling off in the ratings and had lost the Dodgers to KFWB. KXTA flipped back to XTRA Sports, this time on both 1150 AM and 690 AM, the successful XTRA in San Diego.^[3]

On February 4, 2005, Clear Channel conducted a far-reaching format swap of three radio stations in the area. The XTRA Sports format moved to AM 570, where it retains its call letters of KLAC. It had the slogan XTRA Sports 570, but is now known as just AM 570. AM 690 took on KLAC's previous format, an adult standards station called The Fabulous 570 and redubbed The Fabulous 690.

On February 4, 2008, KTLK altered several of its time slots. Marc Germain, also known as "Mr. K," was removed from the lineup and replaced by Rachel Maddow from 3 to 6 p.m. Mike Malloy's show was returned to the station. Finally, Phil Hendrie's show was returned to the lineup, from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Ed Schultz was dropped.^[4] The station removed its award-winning and popular weeknight show "Harrison on the Edge," hosted by Cary Harrison ^[5] and produced by Linda Blake^[6] on February 27, 2007 after an 18-month run.

Other KTLK stations [link]

Despite sharing call letters and owner with KTLK-FM in Minneapolis, the two stations air opposing political viewpoints, as the Minneapolis station's schedule includes shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other right-leaning hosts.

In 1965, the call letters KTLK originally operated at 1280 on the AM dial in Denver. That station was among the first talk formatted radio stations nationally. Later, the call sign moved to 760AM; that station is now another progressive talk outlet owned by Clear Channel, KKZN.

References [link]

External links [link]

• History of AM 1150 in Los Angeles
• Official web site
• Query the FCC's AM station database for KTLK
• Radio-Locator Information on KTLK
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for KTLK

Coordinates: 34°02′00″N 117°59′00″W / 34.0333333°N 117.9833333°W / 34.0333333; -117.9833333