longmont and northern colorado branding 560 klz the source slogan freedom . liberty . truth . frequency 560 khz also hd digital sub channel first air date march 10 1922 also amateur station licenses as 9je 1920 1921 and 9zaf 1921 1922 format talk power 5 000 watts class b facility id 35088 transmitter coordinates 39 50 36 n 104 57 14 w 39.84333 n 104.95389 w 39.84333 ; 104.95389 callsign meaning none random reissue 1 owner crawford broadcasting webcast listen live website 560thesource . com klz 560 am is a radio station licensed to denver colorado and currently owned by crawford broadcasting . it was the first thus making it still the oldest broadcasting station in the state of colorado . its talk radio format primarily consists of locally originated programming supplemented by nationally syndicated programs including the laura ingraham show and the dana show . the station also transmits an hd digital sub channel . 2 3 contents 1 station history 2 klz timelines 2.1 later history 2.2 ownership 3 references 4 external links station history edit klz was first licensed as a broadcasting station on march 10 1922 to the reynolds radio company in denver colorado . however the company s president dr. william d. doc reynolds jr. had been making entertainment broadcasts since 1920 and the station has traditionally traced its founding to that year . 4 in september 1915 reynolds then living in minneapolis minnesota was issued his first license for an amateur radio station with the call sign 9wh . 5 this initial station employed a spark transmitter that could only transmit the dots and dashes of morse code moreover with the entrance of the united states into world war one in april 1917 all civilian radio stations were ordered to cease operations for the duration of the conflict . in late 1919 the amateur radio ban was ended and reynolds who had subsequently moved to colorado springs colorado relicensed his amateur station which was now issued the call sign of 9je . 6 during the war vacuum tube radio transmitters had been developed that made audio transmissions practical . reynolds began work with the u.s. forestry service to evaluate the practicality of using radiotelephones to aid department communication . 7 he also took advantage of the equipment provided by the forestry service to experiment with entertainment broadcasts and one of his first radiotelephone tests in may 1920 provided musical selections for a dance held by students at the local high school . 8 in late october 1920 a newspaper account stated that reynolds was broadcasting nightly concerts . this report also noted he had decided to suspend his dental practice in order to devote full time attention to radio and had founded the reynolds radio specialty company which would be located at his home on south prospect street . 9 the following february another newspaper article stated that he had been broadcasting regular sunday evening concerts and it was also announced that reynolds was making plans to move his family and his company to denver . 10 reflecting this change the commerce department s june 1921 amateur station call book entry for 9je lists its new location as denver operated by the reynolds radio specialty co. 11 after moving to denver reynolds joined with other radio enthusiasts in making a number of mobile demonstrations where radio receiver equipped automobiles picked up special programs . most notably he participated in the may 19 1921 broadcast of the opera martha from the denver municipal auditorium . 12 in the summer of 1921 reynolds was issued a special amateur license with the call sign 9zaf . 13 this allowed transmissions on 370 meters 811 khz a wavelength freer from the interference previously encountered by 9je on the congested standard amateur wavelength of 200 meters 1500 khz . in addition to experimental broadcasts 9zaf acted as an important relay station link for coast to coast messages passing through a cooperative network of amateur radio relay league stations . 14 in october it was announced that 9zaf s equipment had been recently upgraded and in addition to sunday evening concerts from 8 00 to 9 30 p.m. the station was broadcasting daily weather forecasts twice a day at 8 30 a.m. and 9 00 p.m. 15 in early 1922 the rocky mountain news announced it was providing news bulletins as a supplement to the nightly station concerts . 16 the paper also started providing extensive publicity for 9zaf referring to the station as the news times reynolds broadcasting station . initially there were no formal restrictions about which radio station license categories could make broadcasts intended for the general public . however effective december 1 1921 the department of commerce which regulated u.s. radio at this time adopted a regulation that stations making general broadcasts now had to hold a limited commercial license . 17 to comply with this new standard the reynolds radio company applied for the appropriate license and on march 10 1922 a broadcasting station authorization the first in the state of colorado with the randomly assigned call letters of klz was issued to the company . klz was given permission to use both of the broadcasting wavelengths established by the new regulations 360 meters 833 khz for entertainment broadcasts and 485 meters 619 khz for market and weather reports . 18 reynolds amateur radio transmissions although using the same equipment as klz continued as 9zaf on 370 meters . in late march the rocky mountain news reported the station s schedule as klz ex 9zaf news times reynolds service begins broadcasting news market reports and concerts and a good night story for the children at 7 30 p.m. sermons and music sundays from 8 00 to 9 30 p.m. at 360 meters in addition to market reports and financial news daily at 12 30 noon except sundays at 485 meters . 19 klz was initially located at reynolds 1124 south university home in denver . two 80 foot 25 meter towers had been erected one in front of the house and the other behind to support a large flat top transmitting antenna and counterpoise . a room in the house was set aside as a studio and also housed the station s transmitter . initially reynolds who played saxophone and violin and his wife naomi who played piano provided much of the entertainment and they were later joined by their young son . 20 klz s studios later moved to the shirley savoy hotel with the station antenna constructed atop the building . in 1927 the federal radio commission was formed to regulate radio stations in the united states . it embarked on a major restructuring of the broadcast band and on november 11 1928 under the provisions of general order 40 klz was assigned to operate on 560 khz which it has continued to use ever since . this assignment specified a transmitting power of 1 000 watts then the maximum permitted for stations operating on a regional frequency . klz was later able to take advantage of the adoption of higher limits eventually increasing its power to 5 000 watts its current rating . dr. reynolds died in november 1931 and klz signed off for three hours in his memory . 21 in 2014 he was inducted into the broadcast pioneers of colorado s broadcast pioneers hall of fame . 22 klz timelines edit later history edit 1947 klz fm broadcasting on 106.7 mhz became the first fm station on the air west of st. louis . march 12 1949 klz received the small station alfred i. dupont award for meritorious service for its medical series knave of hearts . nov. 1 1953 klz tv channel 7 went on the air as a cbs affiliate . 1954 klz debuted denver s first call in shows . circa 1956 original klz fm deleted . 1957 klz tv won a peabody award for panorama a weekly public affairs series . 1962 new klz fm licensed now kbpi . circa 1976 klz fm s call sign changed to kazy not to be confused with present day kazy of cheyenne . 1978 klz dropped its mor format and switched to country . 1983 klz signed an agreement to broadcast the denver gold usfl football games as flagship station of the curt gowdy network . may 1 2007 the station changes from a sports talk format to a christian rock format . 23 it is a former affiliate of espn radio and sporting news radio . ownership edit march 10 1922 original klz license issued to the reynolds radio company . 1927 one third share of klz given to wholesale grocer frederick w. meyer in exchange for his providing 2 500 to pay a freight bill for an organ . 1935 the reynolds radio company sold klz to edward k. gaylord and his oklahoma publishing company which later purchased the broadmoor and other assets from spencer penrose s el pomar foundation . 1949 aladdin radio and television inc. bought klz . 1954 time life broadcasting co. inc. bought klz radio & tv from gaylord . 1972 time life sold klz tv to mcgraw hill and the station s call sign changed to kmgh tv . feb. 12 1972 time life sold klz am and klz fm to group one broadcasting co. west for 2 750 000 . group one was 45 % owned by knight newspapers and 55 % owned by roger g. berk sr. and associates . may 1977 according to radio historian tom mulvey klz was sold to the roger berk family at this time . this probably means that group one broadcasting became 100 % owned by the family i.e. knight newspapers 45 % share was bought out . 1987 group one sells klz kazy to dkm broadcasting . references edit broadcast station calls with a past by william fenwick radio broadcast july 1928 page 150 . the klz call had previously been assigned to a marine radio station aboard the speedwell which sank on september 29 1920 in the gulf of mexico during a hurricane . http 560thesource . com hd radio klz hd http hdradio.com station guides widget.php id 71 hd radio guide for denver variety annual radio directory 1938 edition page 202 . establishment date for klz is listed as 1920 . the electrical experimenter february 1916 amateur radio stations licensed during the month of september 1915 page 567 . the 9 in 9wh s call sign indicated that the station was located in the 9th radio inspection district . amateur radio stations of the united states edition june 30 1920 ninth district alphabetically by owners of stations page 103 . reynolds prepares to send messages by wireless phone colorado springs gazette may 13 1920 page 10 . dance music by wireless transmitted by reynolds colorado springs gazette may 14 1920 page 8 . reynolds will devote time to inventions and wireless colorado springs gazette october 25 1920 page 8 . radio specialty company to open plant in denver colorado springs gazette february 23 1921 page 10 . amateur radio stations of the united states edition june 30 1921 ninth district alphabetically by call signals page 190 . amateurs pick up denver radio music rocky mountain news may 20 1921 page 12 . radio service bulletin august 1 1921 new stations special land stations page 3 . the z in 9zaf s call sign indicated that the station held a special amateur license . amateur radio stations 9zaf qst magazine january 1923 pages 61 62 . wireless telephone here to talk on 1 000 mile radius rocky mountain news october 17 1921 page 5 . news will send bulletins every night by wireless rocky mountain news january 7 1922 page 9 . radio service bulletin january 3 1922 amendments to regulations page 10 . limited commercial license serial 316 issued on march 10 1922 for three months . daily radio program