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KFBK News Radio is celebrating 100 years on Sacramento’s airwaves. See pictures, new and old

By Lezlie Sterling and Nathaniel Levine

Sacramento’s oldest radio station turned 100 over the weekend.

KFBK News Radio’s first on-air broadcast debuted on Sept. 17, 1922, from the Kimball-Upson department store at 607 K St. (the location of the Kimpton Sawyer Hotel today) in an effort to promote the store’s sales of radios.

The AM-FM station is marking the centennial with a series of events that began with a special broadcast on its history on Friday and will include a celebration event on Oct. 21 at the Scottish Rite Center. It has also created a historical timeline with images at kfbk100years.com.

The second-oldest continuous news provider in Sacramento, KFBK (1530 AM and 93.1 FM) was part of the McClatchy family’s portfolio of news organizations for much of its history. The family, then the publishers of The Sacramento Bee, acquired full ownership of the station in 1929.

KFBK News Radio anchor Pat Walsh interviewed Annette Kassis, author of “Sacramento on the Air,” about KFBK’s origins during Friday’s show. She credited Carlos McClatchy, the son of longtime Bee editor and publisher C.K. McClatchy, with the foresight to become involved in radio.

“He was on a trip back east in 1921, visiting a friend and this was of course after the Great War,” she said. “During the war, a lot of technology for wireless was advanced and some of the tubes that were developed during the war were now being sold to the public. These tubes allowed for speech and music and things to be broadcast over the air.”

For many years, the newspaper and radio station operated out of adjoining buildings on the corner of 7th and I streets in downtown Sacramento.

During that time, KFBK was frequently known as “The Bee’s radio station” and publisher Eleanor McClatchy convinced Walt Disney to create complementary Bee mascots Scoopy and Gaby in 1943.

Walt Disney himself narrated the flight of the bees from Los Angeles to McClatchy’s news organizations in the Central Valley for a KFBK radio broadcast.

The McClatchy Company sold KFBK and TV station KOVR in the 1980s to comply with federal rules designed to prevent media companies from monopolizing local markets.

Newsradio KFBK anchors Pat Walsh, left, and Kitty O’Neal talk on air Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100-year anniversary of the news radio station that launched on Sept. 17, 1922. KFBK is Sacramento’s longest running radio broadcasting station.
Newsradio KFBK anchors Pat Walsh, left, and Kitty O’Neal talk on air Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100-year anniversary of the news radio station that launched on Sept. 17, 1922. KFBK is Sacramento’s longest running radio broadcasting station. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
Dressed to resemble a 1920s flapper girl in honor of KFBK’s 100-year anniversay, technical producer Kendall Tobe reacts to the anchors from the control room during the Pat Walsh Show’s special radio broadcast Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento.
Dressed to resemble a 1920s flapper girl in honor of KFBK’s 100-year anniversay, technical producer Kendall Tobe reacts to the anchors from the control room during the Pat Walsh Show’s special radio broadcast Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
Former Newsradio KFBK anchor Steve Telliano holds a photo of “Gaby,” a mascot drawn for KFBK by Walt Disney to complement The Sacramento Bee’s Scoopy, that is now housed at the Center for Sacramento History, during a special 100-year anniversary broadcast on KFBK’s The Pat Walsh Show on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.
Former Newsradio KFBK anchor Steve Telliano holds a photo of “Gaby,” a mascot drawn for KFBK by Walt Disney to complement The Sacramento Bee’s Scoopy, that is now housed at the Center for Sacramento History, during a special 100-year anniversary broadcast on KFBK’s The Pat Walsh Show on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
KFBK Newsradio anchors Pat Walsh and Kitty O’Neal talk to technical producer Kendall Tobe on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100-year anniversary of the news radio station that launched on September 17, 1922. Tobe dressed up as a 1920s flapper girl for the occasion.
KFBK Newsradio anchors Pat Walsh and Kitty O’Neal talk to technical producer Kendall Tobe on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100-year anniversary of the news radio station that launched on September 17, 1922. Tobe dressed up as a 1920s flapper girl for the occasion. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
News radio anchor Pat Walsh holds up the book “Sacramento on the Air” by Annette Kassis about the McClatchy family’s impact on West Coast broadcasting during a special broadcast on The Pat Walsh Show on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100th anniversary of the station’s launch in 1922.
News radio anchor Pat Walsh holds up the book “Sacramento on the Air” by Annette Kassis about the McClatchy family’s impact on West Coast broadcasting during a special broadcast on The Pat Walsh Show on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, about the 100th anniversary of the station’s launch in 1922. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
Annette Kassis, author of “Sacramento on the Air,” shows her book while being interviewed for the 100th anniversary of KFBK on The Pat Walsh show Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.
Annette Kassis, author of “Sacramento on the Air,” shows her book while being interviewed for the 100th anniversary of KFBK on The Pat Walsh show Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
Dressed to resemble a 1920s flapper girl in honor of KFBK’s 100-year anniversay, technical producer Kendall Tobe talks with executive producer Joe Michaels on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento.
Dressed to resemble a 1920s flapper girl in honor of KFBK’s 100-year anniversay, technical producer Kendall Tobe talks with executive producer Joe Michaels on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com
KFBK Newsradio anchor Pat Walsh interviews Annette Kassis, author of “Sacramento on the Air,” about KFBK’s 100th anniversary on The Pat Walsh show Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento.
KFBK Newsradio anchor Pat Walsh interviews Annette Kassis, author of “Sacramento on the Air,” about KFBK’s 100th anniversary on The Pat Walsh show Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, at iHeart Radio in Sacramento. Lezlie Sterling lsterling@sacbee.com

Historic photos

A KFBK radio program is produced in an early studio.
A KFBK radio program is produced in an early studio. Sacramento Bee file
The KFBK annoucing booth early in the Sacramento radio station’s history consisted of a microphone and a piano. Words written on the back of the negative at top right say “Bee radio station.”
The KFBK annoucing booth early in the Sacramento radio station’s history consisted of a microphone and a piano. Words written on the back of the negative at top right say “Bee radio station.” Sacramento Bee file
KFBK studio in Sacramento in the 1930s, while it was owned by the McClatchy family. Text on the back of the negative at right reads “Old KFBK studio.”
KFBK studio in Sacramento in the 1930s, while it was owned by the McClatchy family. Text on the back of the negative at right reads “Old KFBK studio.” Sacramento Bee file
The KFBK building stands on I Street in downtown Sacramento next to the 7th Street Sacramento Bee building in this undated photo.
The KFBK building stands on I Street in downtown Sacramento next to the 7th Street Sacramento Bee building in this undated photo. Sacramento Bee file
The KFBK building stands on I Street in downtown Sacramento next to the 7th Street Sacramento Bee building in this undated photo.
The KFBK building stands on I Street in downtown Sacramento next to the 7th Street Sacramento Bee building in this undated photo. Sacramento Bee file
Scoopy and Gaby, created by Walt Disney in September 1943.
Scoopy and Gaby, created by Walt Disney in September 1943. Sacramento Bee file
Tony Koester with KFBK does a re-creation of a Sacramento Solons baseball game at the California State Fair in 1948.
Tony Koester with KFBK does a re-creation of a Sacramento Solons baseball game at the California State Fair in 1948. Bee file via the Center for Sacramento History
Rush Limbaugh, a KFBK AM morning radio personality before he became a national media presence, gestures in 1986, to a Sacramento billboard promoting his local talk radio show that was already reflecting the divisive conservatism he would later take nationwide.
Rush Limbaugh, a KFBK AM morning radio personality before he became a national media presence, gestures in 1986, to a Sacramento billboard promoting his local talk radio show that was already reflecting the divisive conservatism he would later take nationwide. Mitch Toll Sacramento Bee file
KFBK morning show host Rush Limbaugh, 35, talks with producer Kitty O’Neal, who screens calls for the show, in August 1986. “Sacramento is a feeder market,” he told The Bee. “It is not my final resting place. Everything I’m doing is designed to hold on. Someday, I’d love to be in Washington, D.C.”
KFBK morning show host Rush Limbaugh, 35, talks with producer Kitty O’Neal, who screens calls for the show, in August 1986. “Sacramento is a feeder market,” he told The Bee. “It is not my final resting place. Everything I’m doing is designed to hold on. Someday, I’d love to be in Washington, D.C.” Sacramento Bee file Mitch Toll
Radio host Tom Sullivan broadcasts from the KFBK studio in Sacramento in 2007. Sullivan left KFBK for a nationally syndicated show on Fox Business Network.
Radio host Tom Sullivan broadcasts from the KFBK studio in Sacramento in 2007. Sullivan left KFBK for a nationally syndicated show on Fox Business Network. Randall Benton Sacramento Bee file

This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 1:27 PM.

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