Radio call letters just don't mean what they did 20 years ago. Before the radio nickname era came along in the 1990s, most listeners knew stations by their official call letters. Today, many know stations only by their nickname, slogan or dial location.
For example, some call letters are easy to understand, like KBYU and KSL. However, FM-93.3 is officially KUBL, but most recognize the station only by "K-Bull."
Others only include a small piece of their slogan or format.
Call letters still have historic meaning, and here's a refresher course in what the station stands for behind a sampling of call letters in the Utah radio market:
AM stations:
KNRS, AM-570: Represents "News radio station." Previous call letters were KISN-AM and before that KLUB.
KVNU, AM-610: The last three letters were selected because they represent "voice (of) Northern Utah" for this Logan station.
KMTI, AM-650: Abbreviation of "Manti," the station's home.
KOAL, AM-750: Variation of coal, a big industry in the station's hometown of Price. The station is Utah's fourth-oldest, having started in 1936.
KVEL, AM-920: Abbreviation of Vernal, station home.
KOVO, AM-960: The "OVO" originally stood for part of Provo, where the station was located at first.
KSL, AM-1160: "SL — Salt Lake" radio station. It was Utah's first station in 1922. The original call letters were KZN. The KSL call letters came 13 months later.
KFNZ, AM-1320: Abbreviation of "FANZ" for "K-Fan," all-sports radio, that originated in 1996.
KLGN, AM-1390: Abbreviation of Logan, station's home.
FM stations:
KWCR, FM-88.1, "Weber College Radio" in Ogden, even though Weber now has university status.
KUER, FM-90.1: "Utah Educational Radio," from the U. of U.
KUBL, FM-93.3: A variation of "BUL" for K-Bull. A sister radio station in Reno already has the KBUL call letters, so KUBL is the next closest abbreviation available.
KOAY, FM-97.5: The "OAY" stands for "The Oasis" nickname of the station.
KBEE, FM-98.7: "Bee" is the station's mascot and nickname. (Refer to KCPX listing for more history.)
KJMY, FM-99.5: The "MY" is part of the "My 99.5" nickname.
KSFI, FM-100.3: "Simmons Family Incorporated," owner of the station. It was previously KSL-FM, before Bonneville International sold it. Today, Bonneville owns the station once again, but the call letters remain KSFI.
KYMV, FM-100.7: The "MV" represents "Movin," the stations format type.
KBER, FM-101.1: "The Bear," a variant spelling of the station's mascot. (Frequency used to be KDAB: "Droubay and Bush," who were the owners then.)
KXRV, FM-105.7: The "RV" is short for "The River" nickname of the station.
KKAT, FM-107.5: Variation of cat, station's mascot. Used to be at FM-101.9 and the No. 1 station in the market.
KOSY, FM-106.5: Variation of station's nickname, "KOZY, 106.5," soft and relaxing favorites.
KENZ, FM-101.9: "EN" is short for "The End" (station nickname) and "Z" is the last letter of the alphabet, another accent on the nickname. While it used to be at the end of the radio dial at FM-107.5, it recently switched to the middle.
— FRIDAY THE 13TH: In other radio news, what might local radio stations do to highlight this superstitious date? KSOP (FM-104.3) is having a "Dollars for the Departed" promotion. Between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., the station will pay 13 songs from country music's late artists and will then ask callers to name them for a chance at winning $1,300.
Deseret Morning News radio editor Lynn Arave can be reached by e-mail at lynn@desnews.com, or by phone at 237-2168.