KFUO (AM)

KFUO (850 kHz) is a non-commercial AM radio station licensed to Clayton, Missouri, U.S., and serving Greater St. Louis.

KFUO is a daytimer station, powered at 5,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna from a transmitter site on the grounds of the Concordia Seminary in Clayton.

KFUO is the oldest continuously operating Christian radio station in the United States,[citation needed] with its first broadcast on October 26, 1924.

[citation needed] Programming includes Bible studies (e.g., Thy Strong Word), theological and social commentary (e.g., Law and Gospel and Issues, Etc.

This proposal was presented to the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Laymen's League, which agreed to financially support the effort, with an initial pledge of $2,285.

Since the project was estimated to cost $14,000, the seminary board asked the Walther League (the young adult organization of the LCMS) for assistance.

[9] A "radio committee" that included John H. C. Fritz, dean of the seminary, and Walter A. Maier, executive secretary of the Walther League, was formed to oversee the project.

In 1927, the Federal Radio Commission moved KFUO to a time share with station KFVE (later KWK) at 1280 kHz, but reversed that decision a month later.

[9] In 1940, KFUO petitioned the FCC to move to daytime-only operation on 830 kHz, and increase its transmitter power to 5,000 watts.

Many stations were required to change frequencies in 1941, with the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).

[9][14] The increase in power and broadcast hours required the erection of a new tower and antenna system, installation of the new transmitter, and the renovation and enlargement of the studio.

In 1953, the LCMS received a construction permit for a non-commercial television station, KFUO-TV, that would operate starting in early 1954 on channel 30.

In 1989, the LCMS was given radio station KICX in McCook, Nebraska, and changed its call sign to KNGN on April 8, 1990.

In 1975, due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations requiring separate programming on FM stations, KFUO-FM switched to broadcasting classical music.

The LCMS had submitted the highest bid for the station, $1 million, in 1993,[20] but the application to transfer the license that it filed in February 1994 was put on hold for 18 months and then cancelled by the FCC while the litigation continued.

During Holy Week 2008 (March 18) the theological talk show, Issues, Etc., was abruptly discontinued from KFUO's program line-up after 15 years on the air.

(the most expensive program to produce at KFUO) was contributing significantly to those deficits, and that the LCMS no longer had the ability to subsidize or overcome these shortfalls.

[24] On April 14, 2008, a group of some 50 to 60 people suspecting ulterior motives for the cancellation held a demonstration at the LCMS International Center.

resumed operations as an independent listener-supported broadcast on June 30, 2008, on another St. Louis radio station, KSIV, and through on-line internet streaming at issuesetc.org.

The award is the highest honor bestowed by Excellence in Media, a Hollywood-based organization devoted to promoting morality in film, television, video, radio, and print.