Imagine tuning your radio in Los Angeles. You might stumble upon a station with a unique history: KFSG-FM. This wasn’t just any radio station. KFSG-FM was a pioneer in religious broadcasting.
KFSG-FM’s story began in 1924. The Echo Park Evangelistic Association founded it. Its studios were at 1100 Glendale Blvd. The call letters stood for “Four Square Gospel.” Aimee Semple McPherson was the driving force behind its creation.
McPherson’s vision cost $25,000 to realize. The station featured a state-of-the-art Western Electric transmitter. Twin towers on Angelus Temple’s roof supported the transmitting antenna. The operating room and Gray Room studio sat beneath the towers. KFSG made its debut on February 6, quickly becoming a voice for faith.
Initially, KFSG broadcast at 1080 kHz with 500 watts. Frequencies changed over the years. It moved to 1090 kHz, then 1190 kHz. In 1928, it settled at 1120 kHz sharing time with KMIC. By 1941, KFSG landed at 1150 kHz with its timesharing partner, KRKD.
KFSG adopted the slogan “Glory Station of the Pacific Coast”. It broadcasted for 41 hours each week. After McPherson’s death in 1944, Dr. Harld Wesley Jeffries took charge.
A peculiar story surrounds KFSG. Herbert Hoover, Commerce Secretary in the 1920s, recalled a telegram. Supposedly, McPherson sent it to him. The telegram demanded Hoover’s “minions of Satan” leave her station alone. It criticized wavelength regulations and insisted on divine wave reception.
The telegram’s authenticity is debated. No copy exists in Hoover’s records. Research found no evidence of KFSG operating outside its assigned frequency.
In 1961, the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel acquired KRKD. KFSG ceased broadcasting in July 1961. This allowed KRKD to operate full-time.
Interestingly, KFSG wasn’t the first religious station. WDM in Washington D.C. and KJS in Los Angeles predated it. However, KFSG became a significant Christian voice with a large following.
KFSG was also not the third radio station in Los Angeles. Several stations were already on the air before KFSG started broadcasting. KFSG was the 21st radio station license issued within the Los Angeles city limits, and the 12th to actually go on the air with a regular broadcasting schedule.
Moreover, Aimee Semple McPherson was not the first woman to hold a radio license. Marie Zimmerman owned and operated radio station WIAE in Vinton, Iowa. However, McPherson was most certainly the first woman to own and operate a Christian radio station.
One of McPherson’s biographers wrote that Aimee Semple McPherson broadcasted a program called “The Sunshine Hour” at 7 a.m. This is false. The show went on from 10:30 to 11 a.m., according to the KFSG program schedules.
KFSG’s legacy lives on. It was a pioneering Christian station. It broadcasted the message of faith. KFSG-FM helped shape religious broadcasting in Los Angeles. It reflected the evolving landscape of radio. Today, its story reminds us of the power of faith.