The History of KCBS, the World's First Broadcasting Station
The Bay Area's only all news radio station, KCBS started out as the hobby of scientist and inventor Charles Herrold. Giving birth to the world's first radio station, Herrold and his engineering students began broadcasting regularly-scheduled programming in 1909 on a 14-watt transmitter in San Jose. Originally, the station simply identified itself as "This is San Jose Calling." When radio licenses were issued in 1921, "Doc" Herrold was assigned the call letters of KQW. The station kept those call letters until CBS purchased it in 1949, broadcasting as KCBS at 740 AM on the dial.
News radio was born in 1968, when KCBS became the first all news station in Northern California. It was then and continues to be one of the top-rated radio stations in the Bay Area, serving more than a million Bay Area listeners each week.
In October 2008, KCBS began simulcasting its all news programming on the FM dial at 106.9, reaching more listeners by combining the power of AM with the clarity of FM. KCBS was also one of the first Bay Area stations to broadcast in HD digital sound
KCBS is among the most honored radio stations in the United States, winning every major national award for excellence in broadcast journalism. These awards include the Peabody Award, the duPont-Columbia Award, five Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence from the national Radio-TV News Directors Association, the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Crystal Award for public service from the National Association of Broadcasters.
With a news style reflecting the Bay Area's hunger for up to the minute information and in depth reporting, KCBS proudly provides the latest national and international news from CBS, plus local and regional news, traffic, weather, money, and sports updates 24/7. Additional KCBS features include John Madden (live weekdays at 8:15am), In Depth, 60 Minutes and Face the Nation; plus hi-tech, entertainment, food, finance, health, and recreation reports.
As the world's first broadcasting station, KCBS is celebrating 100 years of news, information and innovation.
- For much more on the "Doc" Herrold story and the early days of KCBS, go to www.charlesherrold.org
- To listen to KCBS' audio archives, click here.
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The Bay Area's only all news radio station, KCBS started out as the hobby of scientist and inventor Charles Herrold. Giving birth to the world's first radio station, Herrold and his engineering students began broadcasting regularly-scheduled programming in 1909 on a 14-watt transmitter in San Jose. Originally, the station simply identified itself as "This is San Jose Calling." When radio licenses were issued in 1921, "Doc" Herrold was assigned the call letters of KQW. The station kept those call letters until CBS purchased it in 1949, broadcasting as KCBS at 740 AM on the dial.
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