KFJZ (AM)

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KFJZ-AM

City of license	Fort Worth, Texas
Broadcast area	Dallas/Fort Worth
First air date	1924 (as KFQB on AM 1270)
Frequency	870 kHz
Format	Spanish Catholic
Callsign meaning	Fort Worth Jazz (from 1980-1986)
Former callsigns	KFQB (1924-1929) KTAT (1929 and 1930-1939) KSAT (1929-1930)
Owner	Garden City Broadcasting

KFJZ is an AM radio station broadcasting in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex as a Spanish Catholic station. This station is licensed in Fort Worth, Texas and it's owned and operated by Garden City Broadcasting.

[edit] History

The station started out as KFQB (callsign meaning Keep Folks Quoting The Bible) as a religious station owned and operated by Fundamentalist Baptist J. Frank Norris, who in 1909 was accused of setting fire to his own church, and was given 30 days to leave town by area deacons (he defied them and stayed.) He was expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for his anti-evolution beliefs and preachings, as the theory of evolution was endorsed and taught at SBC's Baylor University. In 1926, Norris sold the station to J. M. Gilliam, who changed the format from religious to Entertainment, and hired Glenn Hewitt and Zack Hurt ("Glenn and Zack,") to host a comedy program.

On January 6, 1929, the station changed the callsign to KTAT using the same format, but it went dark 6 days later. Later that time, the station was resurrected as KSAT, and the same entertainment format was re-established. Three months later, KTAT was re-established. In 1935, KTAT swapped frequencies with KGKO (now KLIF) on AM 570, but the stations traded back places. Afterwards, KTAT was the flagship of the new Texas State Network for 11 hours.

By 1939, KTAT's license was cancelled and the call letters were changed once again to KFJZ, still maintaining its Entertainment/Variety format. In the 1970s, the station changed its format to the Top 40. A decade later, formats changed to Jazz Standards; Notable artists appeared on this station such as Guy Lombardo, Bing Crosby, etc. By 1984, the station was moved to AM 870 and Big Band was later added to the Standards format. In 1986, KAAM has picked up their previous format so that KFJZ could switch to Spanish music and was branded Super Tejano 870. Two years later, they've switched to a Catholic-religion format under the Spanish language. KFJZ filed for bankruptcy in 1994, but still remains on the air...only during the daytime hours. This station simulcasts with KJON.

[edit] External links

• Query the FCC's AM station database for KFJZ
• DFWRadioArchives
• DFWRADIO HISTORY.COM - DFW AM Stations