KOIL
| City of license | Omaha, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area |
| Branding | The Mighty 1290 |
| Slogan | The Mighty 1290 KOIL |
| Frequency | 1290 kHz |
| First air date | July 10, 1925 |
| Format | Talk |
| Power | 5,000 watts fulltime |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 542 |
| Callsign meaning | K-OIL (original owner was the Mona Oil Company of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Chosen to reflect K-OIL) |
| Former callsigns |
KOIL (1925-1993) KKAR (1993-2012) |
| Affiliations |
ABC News Fox News Radio |
| Owner |
NRG Media (NRG Media LLC) |
| Sister stations | KOZN, KZOT, KMMQ, KQKQ, KOOO, KOPW |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | mighty1290koil.com |
KOIL 1290 AM is an Omaha, Nebraska area Talk Station that airs national talk shows such as Don Imus, Laura Ingraham, Dave Ramsey, Jerry Doyle, and local radio personality Tom Becka. It is owned by NRG Media headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
This frequency was originally occupied by KOIL, one of Omaha's leading top 40 stations, until September 2, 1976, when station owner Don Burden had his station licenses revoked due to misconduct.[1]
The station used the call letters KKAR from August 1993 until June 2012. The station returned to the original KOIL call letters at midnight local time, Monday June 4, 2012.
History
KOIL was originally owned by the Mona Motor Oil Company (hence the "OIL" in the call letters) and located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, KOIL signed on July 10, 1925.
KOIL was one of the stations that participated in the first CBS network radio broadcast on September 18, 1927.[2]
It originally broadcast at 1080 AM before moving to 1290 AM. The station moved to Omaha in 1937.
The station was purchased by salesman and promoter Don Burden in 1953.
KOIL later adopted a Top 40 format.
As a result of a Federal Communications Commission investigation into improprieties,[citation needed] Burden was forced to surrender his radio licenses, and KOIL went off the air in September 1976. The last song played by Gene Shaw as it went off the air on September 2, 1976 was Simon & Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence." The engineer on duty to turn off the transmitter after 51 years was Don Eliason.
Three months later, on December 16, 1976 KOIL resumed transmission under new ownership by Omaha businessman Nathan Novak.
In 1993, it moved to 1180 AM in an exchange with station KKAR. In April 2003 it moved to 1020 AM, replacing KKSC (now KMMQ).[3] The callsign returned to 1180 kHz in January 2009; on June 4, 2012, KOIL was finally returned to its spiritual home, 1290 AM.
Announcers who once worked for KOIL include Roger W. Morgan, Gene Okerlund, Gary Michael Ross, Dr. Don Rose,[4] Dick Sainte, and former Shindig! host Jimmy O'Neill; The Real Don Steele, Gary Owens, Kris Eric Stevens, Lyle Dean, Frank "Coffeehead" Allen, Joe Light, Dave Wingert and Sandy Jackson.
References
- ↑ from nebradio.tripod.com
- ↑ "CBS Radio News Celebrates 75th Anniversary". Radio Online. September 17, 2002.
- ↑ "Radio News Search". Radio Online. April 29, 2003.
- ↑ "Legendary Morning Air Personality Dr. Don Rose Dies". Radio Online. March 30, 2005.
External links
- The Mighty 1290 - Official Website
- Query the FCC's AM station database for KOIL
- Radio-Locator Information on KOIL
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for KOIL
- "The Mighty 1290" KOIL tribute page
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Coordinates: 41°11′21″N 96°00′18″W / 41.18917°N 96.00500°W