W6XAI On December 19, 1933, the
Federal Radio Commission (FRC) authorized three new frequencies, between 1500 and 1600 kHz, for high-fidelity operation. (At the time, the AM broadcast band ended at 1500 kHz.) These new 20 kHz-wide channels were twice as wide as the standard AM broadcasting channels. Six applications were submitted to the FRC, including one for 1550 kHz in Bakersfield from the Pioneer Mercantile Company. The Pioneer application was one of the four approved in April, and the station went on the air under the experimental call sign W6XAI. Although licensed as an experimental station, it was authorized to conduct commercial operations. The initial authoruzation was for a power of 1,000 watts, and this was the second station on the air in Bakersfield, after
KERN.
KPMC In 1934, the Federal Radio Commission was replaced by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In November 1936, the FCC allowed the high-fidelity stations to adopt conventional call letters, and the call sign was changed to KPMC, named after the Pioneer Mercantile Company. When the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement came into effect on March 29, 1941, the high-fidelity stations were converted to standard AM stations and relocated, with KPMC reassigned to 1560 kHz. KPMC was an
ABC Radio Network affiliate in the 1940s and early 1950s, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports. In the 1950s, KPMC was given
Class I-B status by the FCC, allowing it to increase its power to 10,000 watts. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, KPMC switched to a
full service middle of the road format of popular music, news, talk and sports.
KNZR In the 1980s, KPMC eliminated its music programming and went full-time as a
talk radio station. It was an affiliate of both
CBS Radio and the
Mutual Broadcasting System, used for their newsgathering of U.S. and world stories. In January 1990,
Buckley Broadcasting bought KPMC for $1 million. Buckley switched the
call sign to KNZR on September 21,
1990.
Changes in ownership Buckley Broadcasting acquired
smooth jazz station 97.7 KSMJ in 2001. In November 2011, Buckley decided to pair 97.7 FM with AM 1560, to give Bakersfield listeners the choice to hear the talk programming on KNZR on either AM or FM. KSMJ changed to its current
KNZR-FM call sign on September 11, 2013. Alpha Media chairman Larry Wilson said, "The Buckley clusters in California will be a great addition to the West Coast footprint. Bakersfield is a rich and vibrant city full of live and local opportunities."
Racial controversy On January 18, 2018, Midday host Jaz McKay was told that due to budgetary concerns he would be replaced the next week with
Sean Hannity in the noon to 3p.m. slot which he had occupied for 14 years. McKay then took to social media and used derogatory language to describe Hispanic radio broadcasts in the area. McKay claimed the large number of Spanish language radio stations in Bakersfield made it increasingly difficult for English speaking announcers to find employment. At 45.5%, Hispanics comprise the largest demographic group in Bakersfield. On January 24, McKay's time slot was indeed taken over by the syndicated radio show from
Sean Hannity. On the same day, it was also reported that McKay's fellow conservative talk show host Inga Barks was, for unspecified reasons, no longer associated with the station. McKay was later hired for the midday time slot on
KERN in December 2018.
Spanish-language era KNZR (AM) switched to a Spanish-language conservative talk format on June 29, 2023. Much of its programming came from
Americano Media in Miami, Florida, which airs the format on
WAXY. The Spanish-language format was short-lived. It returned to English on September 12, 2023. Alpha Media merged with
Connoisseur Media on September 4, 2025. On October 14, 2025,
Connoisseur Media Announced the Bakersfield cluster had been sold to Danny and Kait Hill’s Frequency Media. ==References==