KMBZ

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KMBZ
Broadcast area	Kansas City, Missouri
Branding	Newsradio 980 KMBZ
First air date	1922
Frequency	980 kHz
Format	Talk radio
ERP	10,000 watts daytime 5,000 nighttime
Class	B
Callsign meaning	K Midland Broadcasting Z (to differentiate from KMBC-TV)
Former callsigns	WPE (1922-1923) KLDS (1923-192?) KFIX (192?-1928) KMBC (1928-1967)
Owner	Entercom
Website	www.kmbz.com

"Newsradio 980" KMBZ is a news and talk AM station broadcasting from Kansas City, Missouri. Though KMBZ was the Royals flagship station for some time, their format is currently mostly news and political talk.

Rush Limbaugh got his start in political commentary on the station in 1993.

The station now carries Limbaugh's nationally syndicated show along with those of Bill O'Reilly, Neal Boortz, and Mark Levin as well as local hosts Mike Shanin & Scott Parks and Darla Jaye.

KMBZ is the oldest surviving station in Kansas City, first going on the air on April 5, 1922, with the callsign WPE. The Reorganized Church of Latter-Day Saints bought the station in 1923 and renamed the station KFIX and later KLDS. In 1928, Midland Broadcasting bought the station and renamed it KMBC. The AM radio and television station were separated in 1967, prompting the new owners Bonneville International to change the station name to KMBZ. Now owned by Entercom, KMBZ consistently ranks as the most listened talk radio station in the Kansas City market.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the station's nickname was "Z-98".

[edit] External links

• KMBZ's Web site
• KMBZ Frequency History
• History of KMBZ
• Query the FCC's AM station database for KMBZ