KSJS

KSJS

San Jose, California
Broadcast area	Santa Clara Valley
Frequency	90.5 MHz
Programming
Format	College
Ownership
Owner	San Jose State University
History
Call sign meaning	San Jose State University
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	58845
Class	A
ERP	1,500 watts
HAAT	144 meters (472 ft)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	ksjs.org

KSJS (90.5 MHz) is a college radio station that broadcasts 24 hours a day from the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California, United States. The brainchild of Professor Clarence Flick, it went on the air on February 11, 1963, with only 85 watts of power.^[2] The studio is located in Hugh Gillis Hall, easily accessible to RTVF majors. Originally, its transmitting antenna was installed atop the Walquist Library Building on campus, but broadcasting range was adversely affected due to the nearby Bank of America Building's superior height. Today, however, its transmitter atop Coyote Peak broadcasts 1,500 watts, allowing the station to be heard by the entire Santa Clara Valley and much of the San Francisco Peninsula. Currently, the station features five musical formats: urban, electronic, alternative rock, rock en Español, and jazz. In addition, KSJS has student-produced broadcasts of San Jose State Spartans sports teams, including football, basketball, and baseball.

History

KSJS carried regular news programs produced by San Jose State's Radio-Television News Center, which had been started by Professor Gordon Greb in 1957. The programs in the 1960s included a world and national news program, broadcast shortly after the daily sign-on, and "Spectrum," a college news program with emphasis on San Jose State news.

In 1958, San Jose State created closed-circuit radio station KOED.^[3]

From the 1970s through the early 1980s, KSJS was heavily formatted, with students learning to "talk up" records, play public service announcements at appropriate times and even "backtime" songs to a top-of-the-hour newscast. In recent years, the station has taken on more of a free-form approach. KSJS has been named "Station of the Year" twice by the National Association of College Broadcasters.^[4][5]

Notable staff

• Pat Hughes, sports announcer and reporter for KSJS in the mid-1970s and 1978 San Jose State graduate, later became play-by-play radio announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers (1984–1995) and Chicago Cubs (1996–present).^[6][7]
• Tony Kovaleski, sports director for KSJS around 1981–82, later became a TV news investigative reporter with KMGH in Denver (2001–2011, 2015–present) and KNTV in San Jose (2012–2015).^[8][9][10]
• Dennis Terry, host of Friday Flashbacks since 1976, is a 2021 inductee into Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.^[11][12]
• Henry Wofford was news director and sports announcer at KSJS and later worked for KLIV and NBC Sports Bay Area.^[13]

See also

• Campus radio
• List of college radio stations in the United States

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for KSJS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. "KSJS Turns 50 | College Radio | San Jose State University". February 7, 2013.
3. "SJS KOED-Radio Opens For Service". The Spartan Daily. Vol. 46, no. 25. San Jose State College. October 28, 1958. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
4. "[JPL] San Jose State University's KSJS-FM Wins "Station of the Year", M edium Markets at the 2005 JazzWeek Summit, June 22–25, Syracuse, NY". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
5. "WNCU 90.7 FM Jazz Radio » Jazz Week Summit Presents the Best in Jazz Radio Awards—WNCU's BH Hudson Among the NomineesWNCU 90.7 FM Jazz Radio".
6. Minkoff, Randy (February 23, 1997). "He finally made it to the big leagues". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
7. "JMC Faculty Meet with SJSU Alumni Pat Hughes". San Jose State University College of Health and Human Sciences. August 23, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
8. Ostrow, Joanne (November 11, 2015). "Tony Kovaleski returns to Channel 7 as investigative reporter". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
9. Strahl, Eric (March 17, 1981). "Offer to broadcast ball games causes falling out at KSJS". The Spartan Daily. Vol. 76, no. 35. p. 1. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
10. Cocco, Toni. "Campus smooth talkers garner awards". The Spartan Daily. Vol. 79, no. 16. pp. 1, 6.
11. Bench, Kara (November 10, 2021). "Bay Area Radio Hall Of Fame, Dennis "Terry" Teresi". KSJS. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
12. Kava, Brad (December 1, 2006). "Why it sounds a lot like Christmas on the air earlier and earlier". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
13. Braff, Carolyn (January 12, 2010). "Henry Wofford Joins Comcast SportsNet Bay Area". Sports Video Group. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

External links

• KSJS Website
• Facility details for Facility ID 58845 (KSJS) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KSJS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• CMJ station profile of KSJS (May 19, 2003)

37.209°N 121.776°W / 37.209; -121.776