KOKC (1520 AM) is a talk radio station located in Oklahoma City. KOKC is an affiliate of the CBS Radio Network. The station's studios are located in Northeast Oklahoma City and a transmitter site is located in Moore. It is locally owned by Tyler Media. KOKC is a Class A station broadcasting on the clear-channel frequency of 1520 kHz; it can be heard across much of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains at night.

History

The early years

Founded by Dudley Shaw, KFJF, as it was first known, started transmitting its 15 watt signal on Christmas Eve, 1922. Originally, the principal function of KFJF was to rebroadcast the programming of larger eastern stations.

By late 1924, KFJF increased its power to 125 watts—reaching as far away as New Jersey, and claimed to have over 100,000 listeners. Three years later, KFJF boosted its signal to 5,000 watts and moved to 1480 on the AM dial.

Birth of KOMA

In 1932, the KFJF call letters were retired and the station became known as KOMA. During this time, KOMA took on its familiar frequency when the Federal Communications Commission moved all AM radio stations 10 to 40 kilohertz up the dial. KOMA 1480 became KOMA 1520, and was operating at 50,000 watts by late 1946. It was around 1932 that the station moved studio facilities to the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City. AM facilities were constructed around the NE corner of Kelly and Britton where the present-day Oklahoma Centennial High School sits. KOMA-FM was granted a license on 100.1 FM and went on the air from the Biltmore downtown in the late 1940s.