KVET (AM)

KVET (1300 AM), branded as "AM 1300 The Zone", is an Austin, Texas, radio station operating a Sports format. It is licensed to Austin, Texas, and is owned by Clear Channel Communications Radio. KVET is directional with 5000 watts to the northwest over the Texas Hill Country during the daytime and 1000 watts to the south over central Austin at night from a transmitter site just a few miles north of downtown.

History

Shortly after the end of World War II, a group of young men pooled their resources to start a radio station in Austin, Texas. All of them were veterans of the conflict, hence K-VET AM-1300 signed on October 1, 1946. These men included future Texas Governor John Connally, future United States Representative Jake Pickle, future United States Ambassador to Australia Edward Clark, Jesse Kellam, and Willard Deason.^[1]

As was common in the 1940s and 1950s, KVET offered "full service" radio, block programming of music, news, talk, cooking shows, even soap operas. KVET also included programming for Austin's minority community, which was uncommon at the time. Spanish language news and music on "Noche De Fiesta"; music and news for the African-American community on The Elmer Akins Gospel Train.

In the 1950s, even more diversity was added to the lineup when Lavada Durst introduced Austin to R&B and "Jive Talk" on KVET's nighttime Dr. Hepcat Show.

Noche de Fiesta and Dr. Hepcat were phased out in the 1960s, but The Elmer Akins Gospel Train is on the air on KVET^[2] to this day.

During most of the 1960s, KVET featured the popular music of the day, plus a strong emphasis on news and sports block programming. The music of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dinah Shore, plus Paul Harvey commentary, the Joe Pyne show, and Houston Astros baseball were all part of the mix.

KVET switched formats on April 14, 1969 to country music, and the Country Giant was born. Popular celebrity DJs including Arleigh Duff, Penny Reeves, Jim WW Travis, The Snipe Warden, Jerry Gee and Sammy Allred quickly took KVET to the top of the local ratings during the 1970s.

Despite increased competition, KVET continued to prosper in the 1980s by featuring a traditional mix of country music, news and sports, including Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys football.

In 1990, KVET began to also broadcast on 98.1 FM. With the new signal came the creation of the Sammy Allred and Bob Cole Morning Call-In Show. Through the 1990s, KVET has evolved to a sports and talk station, the flagship station of the Longhorn Radio Network. KVET-FM continues to attract audiences with a blend of country music and personality.

Current on-air staff

• Mike Taylor Show

• Dan Patrick (Syndicated)

• Jay Mohr (Syndicated)

• The Sports Buffet

• Craig Way (The Voice of Longhorn Sports)
• Rod Babers (former UT and NFL Football Player)
• Jon Madani

Weekends

• Ken Milam (Central Texas Fishing guide and Outdoor expert), Matt Butler The Great Outdoors
• Ken Milam (Central Texas Fishing guide and Outdoor expert), Matt Butler The Sunday Sportsman
• Jim Apfelbaum (Author and Golf Etiquette Expert) That's Golf (longest running golf show in Austin)

Current producers

• Matt Butler
• Ellie Price

Former on-air staff

• Lydia Alba Anderson
• Sammy Allred
• Major Applewhite
• Glenn Brown
• Fred Cantu ("Concerned Citizen")
• Mike Carta (Program Director)
• John Connally
• Bob Cole
• Kevin Dunn
• Arleigh Duff
• Ronald "Trey/Boner/Viper" Elling
• Tom Ellis ('Daddy Tom' on 'High Time' afternoon teen show 1956-58) He went on to a super News career in San Antonio, Boston, and New York.
• Rusty Gabbard (Wrote Ray Price 'Hit' "I'll Be There"
• Mike Gamble
• DeRoy Glass
• John Gary (Henry Williams)
• Steve Gary
• Jerry Gee (Jerry Garvin KVET-AM Program Director 1969-1973)
• Pete Grady (R.J. Mott)
• T.J. Greaney
• Jerry K Green (Twice. 1956-58 while attending U. T. - again 1975-78 as DJ/Program Director)
• De Hansen (now a sportstalk host at Sports Radio 610 AM in Houston)
• Chad Hastings (Fired by Clear Channel on Monday, October 26, 2007)
• Gregg Henson (Fired by Clear Channel on Wednesday, January 9, 2008)
• Dr. Hepcat (Lavada Durst, DJ of the Rosewood Ramble late evening show in the 1950s) "In the cool of the evening, wishing you a very warm Good night"
• Erin Hogan
• Marc Hoenig
• Olin Murrell
• Dave Marcum
• Phil Miller
• Brian "BJ" Jones
• Davy Jones (DJ in the old studio, pre C&W), aka David B. Jones (newsman ca. 1968-1972)
• Mark Jones
• Chuck Licata (Owner of K-MAC Sports Broadcasting, www.kmacsports.com; Owner of LibertyHillSports.com)
• Hugh Lewis
• Chuck Meyer (Program Director)
• Jake Pickle
• Trey Poston (Program Director)
• Penny Reeves
• Bill Schoening
• Tweed Scott (Assistant Prog. Dir 1984-1989)(Retired from KVET-FM & the business July 31, 2001)
• Barbara Jo Skorude
• Dave Smith
• Jim W.W. Travis (The Snipe Warden)
• Jeff Ward (Now an afternoon host on KLBJ-AM)
• A.J. Hoffman (now a sportstalk host at 97.5 ESPN Radio in Houston)
• Cedric Golden (Sports columnist with the Austin American Statesman)

Network affiliations

• Fox Sports Radio
• Flagship station for University of Texas Longhorn Athletics (Longhorn Sports Network)
• Houston Astros
• Dallas Cowboys^[3]
• Westwood One
• SportsUSA Radio
• Austin Aztex Soccer

Station management

• Program Director - Jon Madani

Studio location

3601 S. Congress Ave. Austin, TX 78704

The Clear Channel Radio Austin studios are in an industrial business complex in "SoCo" south central Austin within walking distance of St. Edwards University. The complex, Penn Field, was Austin's first military air base. The Clear Channel Radio studios are located in the former hangar building.

KVET shares a building with sister stations KASE-FM, KFMK-FM, KHFI-FM, KPEZ-FM, and KVET-FM.

References

External links

• Wake Up Call
• University of Texas Athletics
• Bucky G
• Golf Digress
• Query the FCC's AM station database for KVET
• Radio-Locator Information on KVET
• Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for KVET

Coordinates: 30°22′30″N 97°42′58″W / 30.37500°N 97.71611°W / 30.37500; -97.71611