| City of license | KNWZ: Coachella, California KNWQ: Palm Springs, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Coachella Valley |
| Branding | K-News 94.3 |
| Frequency | KNWZ: 970 kHz KNWQ: 1140 kHz |
| Repeaters | KNWH 1250 AM (Yucca Valley) K232CX 94.3 FM (Catehdral City) |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Power | KNWZ: 5,000 watts day 1,000 watts night KNWQ: 10,000 watts day 2,500 watts night |
| Class | KNWZ: B KNWQ: B |
| Facility ID | KNWZ: 12130 KNWQ: 72030 |
| Owner | Morris Communications |
| Website | knewsradio.com |
KNWZ-970, KNWQ-1140, KNWH-1250 and K232CX (94.3 Mhz in the Coachella Valley) is a simulcast news/talk station owned by MCC Radio, LLC and operated by the Desert Radio Group in Palm Springs, CA. The stations combine to serve the Coachella Valley area of Palm Springs, California,Yucca Valley area ofarea of Yucca Valley, California,[[ and surrounding desert cities.
KNWQ's transmitter is in Palm Springs (for the Western Coachella Valley and Banning area), while KNWZ is in Coachella 25 miles to the east (for the Eastern Coachella and Imperial Valleys).
"K-News" also owns and operates KNWH 1250 in the town of Yucca Valley serving the sparsely populated Morongo Basin area in a 30-mile radius. As of October 2009, K-News operates a FM radio repeater on 94.3 MHz from Cathedral City covering the entire Coachella Valley.
KNWZ/KNWQ carries such programs as Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.
KNWZ debuted at 1270AM in 1988 under the ownership of William Hart, a former Reagan cabinet member as the area's first attempt at an all-news format in the style of KNX and others, but soon converted to a talk radio format. The morning drive slot was occupied from 1994 - 2000 by Luigi Rossetti under the air name of "Lou Penrose." Rossetti left the station at the height of his popularity to accept a position as District Director for Congresswoman Mary Bono. The Lou Penrose Morning Talk Show was followed from 9am - 11am by former television newsman Ron Fortner. Poor ratings led to Fortner's dismissal by 1998 immediately after the purchase of the station by Morris Communications as part of the new Desert Radio Group.
The station had been simulcast on two FM repeaters and one other station (94.3, 103.9 and 106.9) from April 1995 to October 1998, when Morris purchased the stations; it then converted all three of the FM stations to music formats.
Morris then moved KNWZ to 970/1140AM on January 1, 2001. It then bought KCMJ, which had moved to 1270AM, in August 2004 and made it KNWT, "K-News 2." 1270AM is now KFUT "Recuerdo", featuring spanish oldies.
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