By day, KTTH broadcasts with 50,000 watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations.[2] Because AM 770 is a clear-channel frequency, KTTH must reduce power to 5,000 watts at night to avoid interfering with other stations. Programming is also heard on FMtranslatorK233BU at 94.5 MHz.[3]
The station was first licensed, as KTCL, to the American Radio Telephone Company of Seattle.[4] The call letters stood for the slogan "Know The Charmed Land". Much of its facilities were obtained through the purchase of equipment previously used by Roy Olmsted's station, KFQX.[5] KTCL made its debut broadcast on April 5, 1925.[6]
In mid-1926 the call letters were changed from KTCL to KOMO, with the owner now listed as American Radio Telephone Co. (Birt F. Fisher).[7] Late that year the KOMO call letters were transferred to another Seattle station, with the now former KOMO changing to KGFA.[8] This was quickly changed back to the original call sign of KTCL.[9] In the fall of 1927 the call letters became KXA.[10]
In 1932, KXA was authorized to move to 760 kHz. In 1941, as part of the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, KXA was shifted to 770 kHz. Because of the requirement to protect the nighttime signal of WJZ (later WABC) in New York City, the primary station on these frequencies, during its early history KXA was a daytimer station, and generally required to go off the air at sunset.
Classical music
During the 1960s and 1970s, KXA had a classical music format. It competed with KING-FM 98.1 and KUOW-FM 94.9, which both aired classical music on the FM dial.
Oldies and country
As FM became more popular for listening to classical music, on October 1, 1980, the station changed to an oldies format and was known as "Old Gold 77 KXA".[11][12]
Following a bankruptcy filing, the station switched from oldies to brokeredChristian radio programming in 1983.[13] The station's license was transferred to new owners that same year, and on October 8, 1984, a format called "love songs" began, which was essentially a return to oldies.[14][15]
In 1986, following a sale to Highsmith Broadcasting, the station flipped to a simulcast of country music station KRPM-FM (now KBKS-FM) and changed its call letters to KRPM.[16][17] In 1991, the station changed call letters to KULL, returning to oldies.[18] Country music returned in January 1995, as did the simulcast with KRPM.
Talk programming
In November 1995, a format swap was made with AM 1090, with 770 receiving the call letters KNWX and an all-news radio format, using programming from CNN Headline News. That was followed by a switch to business talk programming in 1998.
The station's call letters were changed to KTTH in 2003, along with a flip to conservative talk. KNWX moved to 1210 AM that same year and continued until 2004, when it was renamed KWMG (now KMIA).[19]
