KRSB-FM explained

KRSB-FM
City:Roseburg, Oregon
Area:Roseburg, Oregon
Branding:Best Country 103
Frequency:103.1 MHz
Airdate:October 1, 1970
Format:Country
Erp:2,750 watts
Haat:94m (308feet)
Class:A
Facility Id:7119
Coordinates:43.2067°N -123.3631°W
Callsign Meaning:RoSeBurg
Former Callsigns:KRSB (1970–1985)
Owner:Brooke Communications, Inc.
Webcast:Listen Live
Website:bestcountryfm.com
Licensing Authority:FCC

KRSB-FM (103.1 FM, "Best Country 103") is a radio station licensed to serve Roseburg, Oregon, United States. The station, established in 1970, is currently owned by Brooke Communications, Inc. The station gained worldwide attention in the 1970s for its "Goat Weather Forecasts" based on the movement of local wild goats.

Programming

The station's initial format was a mix of middle of the road and contemporary music. By the end of the 1970s, the format had transitioned to a more modern adult contemporary music mix with up to four hours of jazz music broadcast each week.[1]

KRSB-FM currently broadcasts a contemporary country music format.[2] [3]

History

This station began regular operations on October 1, 1970, broadcasting with 2,750 watts of effective radiated power on a frequency of 103.1 MHz.[4] The station was assigned the call sign KRSB by the Federal Communications Commission.[5] Under the ownership of W.R.R., Inc., KRSB was run by Tom Worden who served as general manager, program director, and company president while Bob Reese took on the job of chief engineer for the station.[4]

To accommodate the rebranding of a co-owned AM sister station as KRSB, the FM station was assigned the KRSB-FM call sign by the FCC on December 10, 1985.[5]

In May 1986, W.R.R., Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Michael R. Wyatt. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 2, 1987, and the transaction was consummated the same day.[6]

In February 1989, Michael R. Wyatt reached an agreement to sell this station to Broadcast Management Services, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 1, 1989, and the transaction was consummated on March 10, 1989.[7] This ownership change would prove short-lived as six days later, on March 16, 1989, Broadcast Management Services, Inc., filed an application with the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for KRSB-FM to Brooke Communications, Inc. The new deal was approved by the FCC on April 28, 1989, and the transaction was consummated on May 8, 1989.[8]

In 1991, KRSB-FM changed from Adult Contemporary to Top 40, under the “B103” branding. This format was moved from AM sister station; “Q124” 1240 KQEN, which became Soft Adult Contemporary. In 1992, KRSB-FM became “Country 103” with a Country format. Later in the 90’s, it was modified to the current “Best Country 103” branding.

Weather goats

KRSB gained national and international attention in the 1970s for their "Goat Weather Forecasts", based on the behavior of wild goats grazing on Mount Nebo, near Interstate 5.[9] [10] [11] Visible from the station's studio, if the goats were high on the hill it meant fair weather.[12] If the goats were grazing near the bottom of the hill, the forecast would call for rain.[13] Station manager Tom Worden told interviewers that the goats were right about 90 percent of the time while the National Weather Service forecasts from distant Portland, Oregon, were only about 65 percent accurate.[14]

While the station did still deliver the conventional scientific weather forecasts from the National Weather Service, the Goat Weather Reports included less scientific terms like "widely scattered goats" for mostly sunny skies and "low goat pressure" as a sign of rain and stormy weather ahead.[9] [15] By the end of the 1970s, as both traffic along Interstate 5 and accidents involving goats increased, the herd was relocated to a local ranch about 15 miles away from Mount Nebo.[15] [12] [16]

Station alumni

Tom Worden, then the general manager of KRSB and KYES, served as the president of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters for the 1983 calendar year.[17]

Translators

KRSB-FM programming is also carried on a broadcast translator station to extend or improve the coverage area of the station.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1979 . 1979 . Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC . C-181.
  2. Web site: Arbitron . Station Information Profile . May 27, 2009.
  3. Book: Oregon Radio Stations . The Oregon State Archives . May 27, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181024035249/https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/cultural/media-radio.aspx . October 24, 2018 . dead .
  4. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 . 1972 . Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S. . Broadcasting Publications, Inc . Washington, DC . B-174.
  5. Web site: Call Sign History . FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database . May 27, 2009.
  6. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BALH-19860513HB) . July 2, 1987.
  7. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BALH-19890213HN) . March 10, 1989.
  8. Web site: FCC Media Bureau . Application Search Details (BALH-19890316GY) . May 8, 1989.
  9. News: Pat . Timm . The Columbian . New-fangled tools can't replace mystique of old lore . https://web.archive.org/web/20121025165514/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-15512501.html . dead . October 25, 2012 . Jul 17, 1998 . I'm reminded of the goats off Interstate 5 near Roseburg back in the 1970s. It was an amazing story and made the national news. I still remember the look on NBC's David Brinkley's face as he reported the story. [...] Radio station KRSB began giving daily goat weather forecasts using such phrases as "widely scattered goats" or "low goat pressure.".
  10. News: Science Matters: Plants, the Sun, Weather and Magnets . Weekly Reader Corp. . Unit 3: Weather . January 1, 1993 . Twenty years ago, a pair of weather-forecasting goats near Roseburg, Oregon, were featured on TV news and in magazines and newspapers worldwide. [...] In 1971, capitalizing on this folklore, weatherman Tom Worden of the Roseburg radio station KRSB began giving Goat Weather Forecasts..
  11. News: Randy . Cerveny . Freaks of the Storm: from flying cows to stealing thunder, the world's strangest true weather stories . State Weather Oddities: Oregon, The Weather Goats of Mount Nebo . Thunder's Mouth Press . 333 . 2005 . 9781560258018 . Finally, the local radio station KRSB (still in existence) took official notice and began to issue the daily "Goat Weather Forecast.".
  12. News: Elizabeth . Aoki . The Seattle Times . Planet Northwest . November 19, 1995 . Disc jockeys at the Roseburg radio station, KRSB-FM, would peer out the window of the Umpqua Hotel before the weather report and figure out where the goats were grazing. [...] But the goats' glory days came to an end when they started hampering I-5 traffic and eating a hospital lawn for dinner..
  13. News: Paul . Duchene . The Portland Tribune . Encyclopedia Oregonia . November 28, 2003 . KRSB radio DJ Tom Worden noticed that the mountain goats on the terraced hill overlooking the city seemed to move around with the weather. Thus "widely scattered goats" predicted partly sunny weather..
  14. News: Mother Jones . Chewed cans mean snow . July 1977 . During one two-week period, the goats were right 90 per cent of the time; the Weather Service scored 65 per cent..
  15. News: Thurlow . Dave . Mary Reed . The Weather Notebook Radio Show . Mount Washington Observatory . Forecasting Goats . June 29, 1998 . [...] the station developed its own meteorological shorthand. "Scattered goats" meant sunny conditions were expected. If "Low goat pressure" was mentioned, stormy weather was due. . May 28, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101129163734/http://weathernotebook.org/transcripts/1998/06/29.html . November 29, 2010 . dead .
  16. News: Sanne . Specht . The Mail Tribune . Star grazers: Mount Nebo's weather goats . Inclement weather invariably drew the goats down off the mountain — and onto the freeway directly below, says Lilliard. The situation created a safety hazard for goats and I-5 drivers. .
  17. Web site: Oregon Association of Broadcasters . Past Board of Directors Presidents and Chairs: 1980s . May 27, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110621215544/http://www.theoab.org/HallofFame/PastPresidents/tabid/460/Default.aspx . June 21, 2011 . dead .