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KGMI (790 AM broadcasting) is a Commercial radio radio station licensed to Bellingham, Washington. The station is owned and operated by Saga Broadcasting, dba Cascade Radio Group. It airs a talk radio radio format. KGMI posts news stories and radio recordings on their website, MyBellinghamNow.com or My Bellingham Now.
KGMI serves Northwest Washington with a signal that reaches into much of Southwestern British Columbia, including Greater Vancouver and Victoria. The signal also reaches into Seattle's northern suburbs, as well as the Olympic Peninsula. Its transmitter is off Yew Street Road in Bellingham. Radio-Locator.com/KGMI
By day, the station transmits with 5,000 . To protect other stations on AM 790, it reduces power at night to 1,000 watts and uses a directional antenna after sunset. Programming is also heard on a 250-watt FM radio translator station, K243BX, on 96.5 Hertz. Radio-Locator.com/K243BX
Weekends feature shows on money, health, gardening, farming, car repair, home repair, real estate and technology, some of which are paid brokered programming. Weekend syndicated programs include The Kim Komando Show, Rich DeMuro on Tech, Larry Kudlow, CBS News Weekend Roundup and Rudy Maxa. Most hours begin with an update from CBS News Radio.
In 1933, Jones began airing news bulletins from the Associated Press under the moniker "Newspaper of the Air". The AP obtained a restraining order, but federal judge John Clyde Bowen refused to grant a permanent injunction, saying that news reports belong to the public. The Press: Property & Pirates. Time, December 31, 1934. Bowen's decision was reversed on appeal, prompting Jones to appeal to the Supreme Court. In 1936, the Supreme Court threw out the restraining order on the grounds that since the AP was a nonprofit organization, it could not incur damages. The Press: A. P. v. Coffee-Pot. Time, December 28, 1936. The case established that radio (and later, television) stations had the same right to news reports as newspapers.
The station broadcast on several different frequencies during its early years. In 1935, it was located on 1200 kilocycles, transmitting with 100 watts, the only radio station between Everett and Vancouver. Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 60 In 1941, the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) established new frequencies for many of the early radio stations. KVOS moved to its current frequency of 790 kHz, with 250 watts. Broadcasting Yearbook 1944 page 168
Jones remained the owner until his death in 1972. In 1998, Saga Communications purchased KGMI and KISM for $9.8 million. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-477
TV and FM stations
In 1953, Jones signed on the area's first television station, KVOS-TV. He sold it in 1962, but kept the radio station. Due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules at the time regarding separately owned stations not sharing the same call letters, the TV station remained KVOS-TV, while the radio station changed its call sign to the current KGMI. In March 1960, Jones added an FM station on 92.9 MHz, KGMI-FM, which is now KISM.
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