KVOM (AM)
Encyclopedia
KVOM is a radio station
licensed
to serve Morrilton, Arkansas
, USA. The station is owned by Max Media of Arkansas
and the broadcast license
is held by MMA License LLC. KVOM broadcasts a sports talk format as a full-time ESPN Radio
affiliate.
In 1950, after the sale of his bakeries in Russellville
, J.C. Willis was interested in getting into a totally different line of business. A friend, the late Russ Horne (who had a radio station in Russellville), suggested that Willis enter the broadcasting
business also. Consequently, Morrilton was chosen for the location of the station.
The application to build radio station KVOM was made to the Federal Communications Commission
on May 10, 1951. The studios and tower would be located on Highway 64, one-half mile east of Morrilton, on land leased from Mrs. Roy Chaney and the late Col. Roy R. Chaney. The construction permit was granted in July 1952; the permit to construct the tower and other installations was received in October, 1952, and permission was granted to KVOM to go on the air ion December 25, 1952, as a partnership consisting of Willis as principal partner and Horne and L.L. Bryan, also of Russellville. They would be doing business as Morrilton Broadcasting Company. Willis purchased Horne's interest in 1955 and Bryan's interest in 1959, making him the sole owner and licensee.
KVOM was a daytime station operating from sunrise to sunset on the clear channel
frequency of 800 kilocycle
s with 250 watt
s power. At that time, the tower for the station was the tallest between Little Rock
and Fort Smith
, being 263 feet tall.
Mr. Willis' family also worked at KVOM at various times during the years; his wife, Ella Mae, joined the staff in 1956 as secretary and bookkeeper. In 1975, a license application was made and approved for the ownership of KVOM to be changed to a partnership of J.C. Willis, Ella Mae Willis and Stanton (Stan) C. Willis. That partnership was later changed to Morrilton Broadcasting Company, Inc., with J.C. Willis as president; Stanton C. Willis as vice-president, and Ella Mae Willis, Secretary-Treasurer.
In 1977, Morrilton Broadcasting Company made formal application to the FCC for an FM
broadcast station to operate at 3000 watts, located at 101.7 megacycles. The construction permit was granted in 1979 but in the meantime it was decided that a move to a different location with larger facilities would be feasible. Morrilton Broadcasting Company acquired property on Highway 113 West and built new facilities for both AM and FM broadcasting with the tower also moved to the new site. In July 1980, KVOM AM-FM began broadcasting from the location (where the stations are still located today).
Over the next three years, Stan Willis took over a large part of the managerial duties of KVOM, and upon the death of his father in January 1984, became president of Morrilton Broadcasting Company and General Manager of KVOM. In 1988, he was elected president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association
.
In 1995, the Willis family sold the radio stations to a new partnership, KVOM, Inc., consisting of principals Linda Cate and Francis Harp and station employees Nichols, Bailey and Rich Moellers.
The following information was taken from corporate records of KVOM, Inc. and from the "History" link of River Valley Radio's website (also written by the author of this article):
Harp was manager of the station at that time (and also served as president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association during her tenure as manager). The principals had other broadcasting interests around Arkansas - including River Valley Radio Group, LLC, formed when they acquired three Russellville/Dardanelle stations, KWKK-FM, KCJC-FM and KCAB-AM. They put those together with an FM license in Atkins, Arkansas
, and successfully obtained the construction permit from the FCC in April 1998. That station eventually became KVLD-FM.
Moellers became station manager of KVOM AM-FM in 2000. The KVOM stations were purchased (along with the other River Valley Radio stations) in June 2003 by Max Media, LLC, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia
. Management of the two operations was eventually consolidated and Moellers became manager of the current cluster.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, northwest of Little Rock. The town was home to Harding College, now Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas, for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s. The population was 6,550 at the 2000 census...
, USA. The station is owned by Max Media of Arkansas
Max Media
Max Media is a company that owns radio and television stations throughout the United States. It is based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia.-History:Max Media was founded in 2001...
and the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
is held by MMA License LLC. KVOM broadcasts a sports talk format as a full-time ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
affiliate.
History
On Christmas Day, 1952, radio station KVOM-AM in Morrilton went on the air for the first time. It had been about two years since the inception of the idea for a radio station in the community.In 1950, after the sale of his bakeries in Russellville
Russellville, Arkansas
Russellville is the county seat and largest city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 27,920, according to the 2010 Census. It is home to Arkansas Tech University and Arkansas Nuclear One, Arkansas' only nuclear power plant...
, J.C. Willis was interested in getting into a totally different line of business. A friend, the late Russ Horne (who had a radio station in Russellville), suggested that Willis enter the broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
business also. Consequently, Morrilton was chosen for the location of the station.
The application to build radio station KVOM was made to the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
on May 10, 1951. The studios and tower would be located on Highway 64, one-half mile east of Morrilton, on land leased from Mrs. Roy Chaney and the late Col. Roy R. Chaney. The construction permit was granted in July 1952; the permit to construct the tower and other installations was received in October, 1952, and permission was granted to KVOM to go on the air ion December 25, 1952, as a partnership consisting of Willis as principal partner and Horne and L.L. Bryan, also of Russellville. They would be doing business as Morrilton Broadcasting Company. Willis purchased Horne's interest in 1955 and Bryan's interest in 1959, making him the sole owner and licensee.
KVOM was a daytime station operating from sunrise to sunset on the clear channel
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
frequency of 800 kilocycle
Kilocycle
A thousand cycles, of any periodic phenomenon.kilocycle or kilocycles may refer to:* A measurement of usage of reciprocating machines, especially presses...
s with 250 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s power. At that time, the tower for the station was the tallest between Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
and Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, being 263 feet tall.
Mr. Willis' family also worked at KVOM at various times during the years; his wife, Ella Mae, joined the staff in 1956 as secretary and bookkeeper. In 1975, a license application was made and approved for the ownership of KVOM to be changed to a partnership of J.C. Willis, Ella Mae Willis and Stanton (Stan) C. Willis. That partnership was later changed to Morrilton Broadcasting Company, Inc., with J.C. Willis as president; Stanton C. Willis as vice-president, and Ella Mae Willis, Secretary-Treasurer.
In 1977, Morrilton Broadcasting Company made formal application to the FCC for an FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
broadcast station to operate at 3000 watts, located at 101.7 megacycles. The construction permit was granted in 1979 but in the meantime it was decided that a move to a different location with larger facilities would be feasible. Morrilton Broadcasting Company acquired property on Highway 113 West and built new facilities for both AM and FM broadcasting with the tower also moved to the new site. In July 1980, KVOM AM-FM began broadcasting from the location (where the stations are still located today).
Over the next three years, Stan Willis took over a large part of the managerial duties of KVOM, and upon the death of his father in January 1984, became president of Morrilton Broadcasting Company and General Manager of KVOM. In 1988, he was elected president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association
Arkansas Broadcasters Association
The Arkansas Broadcasters Association represents 210 radio stations and 33 television stations licensed in Arkansas . The ABA represents the interests of these stations on both the state and federal level...
.
In 1995, the Willis family sold the radio stations to a new partnership, KVOM, Inc., consisting of principals Linda Cate and Francis Harp and station employees Nichols, Bailey and Rich Moellers.
The following information was taken from corporate records of KVOM, Inc. and from the "History" link of River Valley Radio's website (also written by the author of this article):
Harp was manager of the station at that time (and also served as president of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association during her tenure as manager). The principals had other broadcasting interests around Arkansas - including River Valley Radio Group, LLC, formed when they acquired three Russellville/Dardanelle stations, KWKK-FM, KCJC-FM and KCAB-AM. They put those together with an FM license in Atkins, Arkansas
Atkins, Arkansas
Atkins is a city in Pope County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,878 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Atkins is located at ....
, and successfully obtained the construction permit from the FCC in April 1998. That station eventually became KVLD-FM.
Moellers became station manager of KVOM AM-FM in 2000. The KVOM stations were purchased (along with the other River Valley Radio stations) in June 2003 by Max Media, LLC, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
. Management of the two operations was eventually consolidated and Moellers became manager of the current cluster.