KIKX (Arizona)

La Catalina Broadcasting Corporation comenzó a transmitir KCNA en 1340 kHz el 10 de abril de 1947. ^{[ 1 ]} Transmitía con 250 vatios desde un transmisor ubicado en Cherry Avenue y 16th Street, utilizando un transmisor RCA que se jactaba de ser el envío más grande en la historia de esa compañía, ^{[ 2 ]} y en ese momento, era la única estación de radio de propiedad local de Tucson. ^{[ 1 ]} KCNA inicialmente presentaba música popular y clásica, junto con informes de noticias cada hora. ^{[ 1 ]} El 8 de noviembre de 1951, ^{[ 3 ]} KCNA se trasladó a 580  kHz, donde pudo aumentar la potencia diurna a 5000 vatios y operar por la noche con 500 vatios; su transmisor se trasladó a un sitio de tres torres a lo largo de Swan Road, y ese mismo año, la estación se convirtió en la emisora ​​del equipo de fútbol americano Wildcats de la Universidad de Arizona . ^{[ 4 ] [ 5 ]} La KCNA, una filial de ABC, reubicada y de mayor potencia, anunciaba que su cobertura incluía áreas tan distantes como Phoenix, Lordsburg, Nuevo México y Caborca, Sonora . ^{[ 6 ]}

The new KCNA transmitter site was built with a television saddle on the middle tower to accommodate a future TV station.^[4] In 1952, KCNA applied for a television license and received a construction permit to build KCNA-TV, which would have broadcast on VHF channel 9^[7] and expected to start operations in the fall of 1953. As late as April 1953, KCNA reported it was buying television equipment with an aim to sign on in December.^[8] On August 31, 1953, the directors of the Catalina Broadcasting Corporation unanimously agreed to surrender their construction permit, believing market conditions made it "impossible at this time to operate a third television station in the Tucson area"; though they said they expected to reapply for a television station when Tucson could support it, this never came to be.^[9][10][11] That same year, control of the station was transferred to fiction writer Erskine Caldwell.^[12] (Channel 9 would eventually be occupied by KGUN-TV beginning in 1956.)

In 1956, the station was sold to Harry B. and George B. Chambers, who changed the call sign to KTAN in 1959. Ownership quipped of the new designation, "We've just changed our call letters to go with Tucson's climate".^[13]

John B. Walton, Jr. bought KTAN in April 1967, promptly donating his former daytimer KFIF at 1550 kHz to the University of Arizona (that station is now KUAZ).^[14] On May 1, 1967, KTAN signed off, being replaced on May 18 with a relocated KFIF under a new call sign, KIKX (meaning "Kicks Radio");^[15] the new station did not retain KTAN's NBC affiliation, which transferred to KCEE, but it did move into KTAN's studios at the Sands Hotel.^[10] During this time, Shadoe Stevens was one of the radio station's DJs and for a time was its program director.^[16] By 1971, KIKX maintained an affiliation with the Mutual Broadcasting System,^[17] but by 1974, it was affiliated with the ABC Contemporary network and carried a Top 40/rock format.^[18]

Una promoción fallida de 1974 sería, en última instancia, el catalizador de la desaparición de la emisora. La promoción anunciaba el secuestro de uno de los DJ de la emisora, Gary Craig (nombre real Arthur Gopen), ^{[ 19 ]} quien en ese momento se había hecho cargo del programa matutino de KIKX; la intención era que Craig "desapareciera", llamara a la emisora ​​desde Miami y luego llamara desde varias ciudades en su camino de regreso a Tucson, y los oyentes afortunados que pudieran identificar las ciudades ganarían premios. La promoción tuvo lugar en una tienda minorista de Distressed Freight en Speedway Blvd donde KIKX estaba transmitiendo en vivo. Craig, caracterizado como "El Loco", llevaba una máscara de monstruo y bailaba frente a la tienda cuando una camioneta blanca se detuvo y dos "enfermeros" lo colocaron en una camisa de fuerza y ​​se lo llevaron. ^{[ 20 ]} Los noticieros regulares a partir del sábado 19 de enero de 1974 informaron sobre su secuestro. ^{[ 21 ]} Oyentes preocupados contactaron al Departamento de Policía de Tucson, al que el personal de la estación le informó inicialmente que el DJ había sido secuestrado; sus líneas telefónicas estaban saturadas con llamadas sobre el presunto delito. ^{[ 22 ]} El personal de la estación se preocupó, pero el director de programación permitió que la promoción continuara; el gerente general no supo de las quejas hasta que regresó al trabajo después del fin de semana. Después de que la Comisión Federal de Comunicaciones anunciara una investigación el 22 de enero, la estación canceló la promoción, transmitiendo disculpas del gerente general y del propietario de la estación, Walton; la estación también despidió a todo el personal responsable del incidente. ^{[ 21 ]} Un libro de 2011 describió la trama como "una de las ideas más tontas en la historia de la radio". ^{[ 22 ]}

That year, the station had filed for its license renewal; in December, the FCC designated the renewal for hearing. Various allegations came up against the station, with technical violations, failure to mention sponsorships, and poor logging of commercials arising as concerns. The FCC additionally charged that Gopen had signed program logs using a false name and that the station had broadcast a telephone call without informing the other party that the call would be broadcast.^[23] That summer, the scope of the license hearing widened when the Black Media Coalition of Tucson filed a petition to deny, saying KIKX did not have an affirmative action program.^[24] The kidnapping hoax, however, dominated the hearing. In October 1976, administrative law judge Thomas B. Kirkpatrick ruled that the renewal of KIKX's license would not serve the public interest,^[21] stating that KIKX's "arrogant disregard for the public cannot be too strongly condemned".^[25] The station remained on air as Walton appealed to the FCC; it also transitioned to a country format on September 17, 1977^[26] and switched its ABC network from Contemporary to Entertainment.^[27]

In 1980, the FCC by a majority vote denied Walton's appeal, stating that Walton had demonstrated a lack of control over his station; two commissioners, Anne P. Jones and James H. Quello, dissented.^[21] KIKX was now one of a handful of stations whose licenses had been revoked for a hoax.^[21] The case continued in the courts, where a divided federal appeals court upheld the revocation of the station's license.^[29] Despite initially stating his intentions to take the case to the Supreme Court,^[30] Walton had enough. He telephoned general manager Jim Scopac, expressing that he had decided to "just take it off" the air. On Friday, the station's employees were informed of the station's closure and opted to keep it a secret. Walton's fight to retain the station had cost more than $250,000 ($976,878 in 2025 dollars^[31]).^[32] Another contributing factor to the station's closure was its low ratings; in the station's last appearance in a ratings book—the Spring 1982 Arbitron survey—KIKX, with a 0.7 rating, ranked dead last among Tucson's radio stations. In the same survey, its country competitor KCUB 1290 garnered a 9.0 rating.^[33]

At midnight on Sunday, July 18, 1982,^[32] KIKX went off the air. "The Last Cowboy Song" by Ed Bruce was the final song played over KIKX.^[34][32]

KIKX's shutdown left a gap in Emergency Broadcast System coverage for Pima and Santa Cruz counties, as KIKX was the originating station for EBS alerts to those two counties. When emergency officials surveyed 10 local media outlets on Monday, July 19, they found five were still monitoring the silent frequency for EBS alerts, while the other five were monitoring KTKT 990 AM, the designated backup station; the station's studios also had equipment and bombproofing supplied as part of its EBS role.^[35]