Web site is a blast from the past

You never know what you'll find on the Internet, and one of my latest radio discoveries is www.oldradio.com/archives/stations/slc-hist.htm, which offers a history of AM stations in the Salt Lake market.

By no means a complete history, but still a great resource, this site was compiled by Paul Wilson last May, who worked in this radio market for many years.

The site illustrates that change is indeed the keyword for radio. Of the 19 AM stations Wilson examines, there are only two — KANN and KSOP — that haven't changed over the years in either call letters, format or owners.

Discussed in brief are the massive shift of listeners to FM radio in the 1970s, some legendary Utah DJs ("Skinny" Johnny Mitchell, Lynn Lehmann, etc.), how Social Hall Avenue was once the central gathering place for Utah radio and TV, and more.

In another section of the Web site, Wilson lists the seven AM stations that existed in the Salt Lake area in 1946 — 58 years ago: KUTA, KALL, KSL, KOVO, KDYL, KNAK and KLO.

How many AM stations are there today in Salt Lake? Almost four times as many — 27. And FM doubles that number.

This is one of those stroll-down-memory-lane sites. It is maintained by Barry Mishkind, "The Eclectic Engineer," in Tucson, Ariz.

• KKAT CALLS RETURN — OK, so I may be biased in thinking that Citadel Broadcasting made a mistake dumping the "Dream Doctor" show (see last week's column). However, Citadel made a smart move recently by picking up the KKAT call letters for its AM-860 country station. These are historic call letters that once belonged to FM-101.9.

Having KKAT on AM-860 also means that sister station KBEE (FM-98.7) can simply be known as KBEE now, without any direct reference to AM or FM.

• LDS GENERAL CONFERENCE — If you're going to be on the move Saturday or Sunday but still want to hear the LDS Church's General Conference, the best way to listen is on KSL (AM-1160). You can hear all the sessions live (except General Priesthood), and KSL will re-broadcast Saturday's sessions starting at midnight Sunday, and Sunday's sessions at midnight Monday.

The four general sessions will also be live on KBYU radio (FM-89.1, or FM-89.5 in Utah County).