| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
|---|---|
| Branding | WorldWide KFUO |
| Slogan | We Are Where You Are |
| Frequency | 850 kHz AM (HD Radio) |
| First air date | December 14, 1924 |
| Format | Contemporary Christian Music |
| Power | 5,000 watts day |
| Class | B |
| Owner | Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod |
KFUO (850 AM) is the longest continually operating AM radio station in the United States. Owned and operated by The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), KFUO-AM boasts an array of audio resources from worship services to inspirational music to in-depth study of God's Word through programs including "The Bible Study," "Ask the Pastor," "Studio A," and "Law & Gospel."[1] KFUO also offers syndicated short-form programs like Dr.Paul Devantier's "By The Way," Dr. Mary Manz-Simon's "Front Porch Parenting," and Concordia Seminary President Dr. Dale Meyer's "The Meyer Minute." KFUO also carries 30-minute programs each weekday from Focus on the Family.[2]
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Among those designated as founders of KFUO-AM were the Rev. Prof. J. H. C. Fritz, the Rev. Richard Kretzschmar and the Rev. Dr. Walter A. Maier. Other Lutheran Institutions connected to the start-up of the station included Concordia Seminary, the Walther League, the Lutheran Laymen's League, and the St. Louis Lutheran Publicity Association.[3] On October 26, 1924, KFUO went on the air for the first time, broadcasting to St. Louisans the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Clayton campus of Concordia Seminary, which would house the station's permanent studio.[4] When KFUO-AM officially went on the air Dec. 14 of that year, the first broadcast originated from the attic of one of the seminary buildings.[5] Three years later, on May 29, 1927, the studio was dedicated.[6] A sister FM station, eventually to be known as "Classic 99," was added in 1948. KFUO-AM became a Synodical enterprise in 1927.
During the 1930's, when KFUO-AM and KSD (now KTRS (AM)) shared the 550 frequency, the stations became entangled with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an effort to have a frequency to themselves. At that time, KFUO-AM was also making deals with the FCC to increase its transmitter power and hours of operation. As a result, the FCC moved KFUO-AM to the 830 kHz frequency in 1940, and then to its present 850 khz frequency a year later. The following September, the FCC increased the station's power to 5,000 watts from its previous 1,000 watts of power.[7] During this time, KFUO-AM also began broadcasting The Lutheran Hour which is still heard on over 700 stations worldwide.
KFUO-AM officially launched its Web site, http://www.kfuoam.org, in 1998, offering listeners a live audio stream of its broadcast. Program archives on the site were spotty until the station began formally archiving its programs in 2003. In 2004, KFUO-AM made another digital leap by launching its HD station, the first in Missouri.
In 2000, KFUO won a "Gold Angel" award at the 23rd annual "International Angel Awards" ceremony held in Hollywood, California. The award is the highest honor bestowed by Excellence in Media, a Hollywood-based organization devoted to promoting morality in film, television, video, radio, and print.[8]
During Holy Week 2008 (March 18) the theological talk show, Issues, Etc., was abruptly discontinued from KFUO-AM's program line-up after 15 years on the air. Issues Etc. was the most popular program produced by KFUO-AM and the only one with a national audience. The show was distributed to Christian radio stations across the U.S. In each city outside the St. Louis area the program was sponsored by local LCMS congregations, not by KFUO-AM or the national LCMS office. The producer and host of Issues, Etc. were fired with no explanation.
Three weeks after the cancellation KFUO-AM management issued an official announcement citing programmatic and stewardship (business) reasons as the cause for cancellation.[9] Management claimed that the station was running deficits into the hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, that Issues, Etc. (the most expensive program to produce at KFUO-AM) was contributing significantly to those deficits, and that the Synod no longer had the ability to subsidize or overcome these shortfalls.[10] Unfortunately, there is no way to verify management's claims because KFUO-AM has never had a policy of making its financial information available to the public.[11]
In the weeks following a group of some 50 to 60 people suspecting ulterior motives for the cancellation held a demonstration at the LCMS International Center (April 14, 2008) and an online petition to reinstate the show collected more than 7,000 signatures.[12][13]
Issues Etc. resumed operations as an independent listener-supported broadcast on June 30, 2008 on another St. Louis radio station and through on-line internet streaming at http://issuesetc.org. Radio stations in five other states carry the program live and podcast downloads are distributed through the show's website. In February 2009 the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod officially gave up its legal claim to the trademark name "Issues Etc." which it had allowed to lapse in 1999. The trademark name is now owned by Lutheran Public Radio, the current production company of Issues. Etc.
The station accepts pledges from businesses, individuals, congregations, and organizations which go directly to the station's owner, the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. The Synod subsidizes the station as needed. KFUO-AM derives no revenue from advertising and retains its non-commercial status. Because KFUO-AM does not report financial data, as most Christian ministries do, the station has earned a financial transparency grade of "F" from Ministrywatch.com. [14]
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