Talk:KFAC (radio station)

This article needs to be researched and rewritten. It has almost no dates; not even when the station started or when these supposedly calamitous changes took place. I would really like to know some of the history here.

Updated
I've added a lot of early years info based on interviews I've heard with the original DJs and my own memories. I would appreciate anyone who has them adding more exact dates (Though the only way to get these might be to search through microfilms of the L.A. Times and Herald-Examiner). KXL 15:09, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

comments moved from article page.
Moving comments from article page. Not sure who made them originally--Rtphokie (talk) 13:51, 10 February 2008 (UTC) This entry may contain some inaccuracies. Some details given here (through 1982) should not be strictly relied upon prior to some additional editing. Access to the documentary (broadcast on the station's 40th anniversary, produced by one of its longtime music directors, Clyde Allen) may assist with this editing, although most of the information provided in this wiki article is factual.

(In notation to the disclaimers at the top of the page, it should be noted that, as this was a private company, the ability to cite every single reference will never be 100%. Internal documents are rarely disclosed from private organizations, and we rely on the media and the many participants and contributors here. As with the entire Wikipedia system, much of it is a collaboration of an honor system, and the variety and number of people who experienced this station all have something of value to include here. Thus the essense of the entry can be given some measure of grace and assurance that this very community and its collective interest to preserve the truth in an encyclopedic state, will strive to maintain accuracy and good will, and in general this seems to be the case.)

Not defunct
The station is not defunct; only the format. This article should be merged with KWKW. 121a0012 (talk) 05:03, 20 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Strongly disagree. KFAC, one of the most notable classical stations in US history, should not be mentioned merely as an afterthought or footnote on some other station's wiki page due to its one-time place on the AM dial.  It was a unique station, one of "only 41 of nearly 9,000 commercial radio stations in the United States" to "play classical music" .  BTW, KFAC also had the 92.3 slot on the FM dial.  Its demise was most unfortunate, but it is defunct. 4.246.206.120 (talk) 16:51, 26 November 2008 (UTC)

Badly Needs Citations
The inflammatory aspects of this article demand verification. I'm not disputing that it may have happened but you cannot put in accusations about extortion aimed at an entire ethnic group without reliable sources. Also some of the other language should be more neutral (re: "hatchet-men").

On a personal note, I grew up listening to KFAC and no classical station I've listened to since can compare. While KFAC announcers were always soft-spoken to listen to other stations playing classical seem to have loud DJs that mangle composer's names and speak almost as if they were announcing for some more fast-paced modern music type. Even public radio. My favorite program was "Music out of the Night", and we would fall asleep listening to it. I say bring back KFAC and its old announcers. 4.246.206.120 (talk) 16:23, 26 November 2008 (UTC)


 * The extortion was not aimed at an ethnic group. Rather, a petitioner claimed that the station did not adequately serve an ethnic group. This was the opinion of the petitioner who (for all I know) was Antarctican. Perhaps he or she or it or they tried to extort money from the station's owners.
 * I also enjoyed listening to KFAC during my time at UCLA (late sixties). I cleaned up many little errors today, but nothing substantial. I shall try to locate some references in the near future as time permits. The article seems accurate in my recollection, from hundreds of hours spent listening whilst studying. Eugen Hamerle (talk) 23:30, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Airchecks?
Is there a KFAC old announcers'/programmers'/fans' page similar to, say, The WQAX Project? I would love to hear some airchecks of the stuff talked about in this article. I agree you have to cite sources though. A veteran of KFAC seems to have migrated over to I don't know what classical station in the Inland Empire area, as a couple of years ago we were listening to it at about 2 a.m. while driving and heard this little gem: "Here's a big, overblown thing by Richard Wagner." --Bluejay Young (talk) 17:31, 3 July 2009 (UTC) This might be Fred Crane who, upon hearing Walter/Wendy Carlos playing a Bach Two part Invention I had programed for him to play said "You have just heard two intoxicated linemen playing Bach on the high tension wires with ball peen hammers." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Propar (talk • contribs) 08:25, 9 November 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't have lengthy airchecks as such, but I do have many hours of reel-to-reel tapes recorded directly from broadcasts that include pre- and post-announcements (if they still play). These were mostly of Evening Concert selections, announced by Thomas Cassidy.  He did a series called Stars of the San Francisco Opera in October of 1966, and I have several of those.  I also have a recording of him playing Mozart's four horn concertos in which he announced one of them as ″K four-one-twelve″. Lbyler (talk) 03:20, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

Comics
IIRC, there was a Sunday morning program on KFAC, in which an on-air personality would read the Sunday (LA Times?) comic section for the benefit of pre-literate youngsters.LorenzoB (talk) 02:13, 17 February 2019 (UTC)


 * (my first talk page edit, please comment) I also grew up listening to KFAC, mostly in the '50s and '60s. I have lots of recollections, but here I'll recall that Sunday morning comics show.  It was at 8:00, I believe it was recorded (syndicated) (not anyone's voice I recognized), and I believe he was reading the Hearst Corp. funnies (Dagwood and Beetle Bailey were not carried in the LA Times). Lbyler (talk) 03:09, 30 December 2019 (UTC)