KTRS (AM) - History

History

KSD, owned by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, began broadcasting experimentally in 1921 at 833 kHz with 27 watts of power. The official sign-on didn't take place until June 26, 1922. KSD moved to 550 kHz in 1923, with an increase in power to 5,000 watts daytime and 1,000 watts nighttime taking place in 1934. KSD was one of the first eight radio stations of the NBC Radio Network in 1926. That association lasted until the early 1980s. Sister station KSD-TV (now KSDK) went on the air February 8, 1947. KSD radio also played standards and classical music, before moving to a Top 40 format in early-1971.

After eventually settling on an all-news format in early 1980, KSD switched to country music the following year, and became KUSA three years later. The year 1993 saw the restoration of the KSD call letters and a switch to standards music, which was its format before 1971. The station was purchased by its current owners, CH Radio Holdings, in 1997. 1997 was also the year the station became KTRS and the current News/Talk format was put in place.

KUSA started AM stereo broadcasts in 1983 after rebuilding most of their transmitter to accommodate stereo transmissions. Stereo broadcasts continued throughout most of the 1990s, using the C-QUAM standard. In 1997, KTRS stopped sending stereo programming to the transmitter but continued broadcasting the stereo pilot signal. In 2001, the stereo pilot was silenced.

KTRS is the home of The Large Morning Show in the Afternoon, which features host Frank O Pinion (John Craddock), the highest rated, as well as the highest paid radio personality in St. Louis. Along with Frank are Dan Strauss (producer), Ian Geisz, and, at one time, Tina Dalpiaz. Tina Dalpiaz left the show in October, 2012.

Pinion is one of the few on-air personalities to survive a major change in personnel announced in December 2005. KTRS Morning Show hosts Bill Wilkerson and Wendy Wiese, sports director Jim Holder (at the time the public address announcer at the Edward Jones Dome for the NFL Rams' games), Randy Karraker, McGraw Milhaven, Kevin Horrigan, Scott St. James and Meme Wolff were all fired. Management, including program director Al Brady Law, announced plans to bring in a new lineup beginning in January 2006. Milhaven, however, was reinstated during the spring of 2006. Law was fired on December 11 of that year. KTRS broadcast the St. Louis Blues from 2000-2006. In 2006, the Blues moved to competitor KMOX.

After five years (2006–10), KTRS lost the rights of the St. Louis Cardinals to KMOX starting in 2011. (The station is still partially owned by the Cardinals, even though they are now back on KMOX.) Since then, the focus has been on personalities. With the elimination of the Cardinals, KTRS now airs the Missouri Tigers athletics as well as their weekly sports show.

KTRS announced on October 6, 2010, that it had hired the well-known radio personality J.C. Corcoran to fill its midday, weekday slot starting October 25, 2010. Trish Gazall, who had been John Brown's co-host, joined JC in January 2011 as his producer. Steve Cochran, formerly of WGN in Chicago, hosts a weekday evening talk show. Corcoran was fired on April 27, 2012. Trish Gazall left the station in October, 2012 for KEZK.

The studios are in Westport Plaza.