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KLYT (88.3 Hertz) is a commercial radio FM broadcasting radio station broadcasting a Christian talk and teaching radio format, branded as "The Light." The principal station is in Albuquerque, with two and two repeaters around New Mexico. The station is owned by Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque, Inc.
KLYT has an effective radiated power of 4,100 . The main transmitter is atop Sandia Mountains.
The station went on the air with a 24 hour/7 day a week format, even though there were originally only 6- or 7-disc jockeys to man the studio. Mike Haverland, Donna Neff, Jeff Simon, Ron Parks, and John Duffy played records, made Christian message spots on 8-track cartridges and gleaned news from the Albuquerque newspapers for broadcast. In the beginning, KLYT was commercial free, and the staff was largely unpaid. During these first few months of existence, the station's broadcast range constituted only a few miles over Albuquerque's Northeast area. Early brochures showed CBA students working with television cameras and in the radio station. KLYT-FM was licensed by the FCC as a non-profit, educational outlet for CBA, and volunteers operating the station were drawn directly from its classes.
Within a year, the station had a new board of directors. It also had a new transmitter located high above the city on Sandia Peak, thanks to a daring one-day adventure carried out by Dave Briggs and Jeff Simon. The new transmitter expanded KLYT's listening range from 10 to 100 miles. The studios moved to new facilities on Eubank Avenue.
Over the next few years, Christian rock began to play a larger role in KLYT's playlist, culminating with the launch of the "Christian Oriented Rock" (C.O.R.) format in 1982. Under the leadership of Emert, program director, Rudy Grande and Production Director, Michael Scott (morning show host and later program director) the station emerged as an influential force on Albuquerque's local radio scenes and on the national Christian broadcasting scene. KLYT was named "Contemporary Christian Radio Station of the Year" in 1983 by the Gospel Music Association. KLYT was also viewed as a hub station between Christian artists that resided on the west coast (especially in the Orange County area in Southern California) and other Christian artists northeast of Albuquerque.
Through a partnership with Mountaintop Promotions, KLYT brought in monthly concerts by emerging Christian rock artists such as Keith Green, Randy Matthews, Daniel Amos, Petra, DeGarmo and Key, Resurrection Band and other key players in the burgeoning Christian music industry. Students at area public schools would often hear KLYT during lunchtime in the school cafeteria as it was played in rotation with popular non-religious music stations.
The station's playlist during this period reflected a growing trend among artists that had already achieved fame in the secular music arena. Bob Dylan's albums were a mainstay (a very large poster for Dylan's Infidels LP filled the wall of Emert's office). KLYT listeners during the early 1980s also heard a broad range of Christian groups and solo artists that had hits on secular stations across the dial, including artists such as Bob Dylan, Donna Summer, Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad), Philip Bailey (Earth Wind & Fire), Al Green, Dan Peek (America), along with New Wave bands U2, After the Fire and Kajagoogoo. Each of these artists crossing over from the secular realm had their Christian music channeled and tracked through the religious music industry. However, there was some brief debate among the station's leadership on whether the station should play music from groups at the edge of the Christian music scene, including U2 and Vinyl Confessions-era Kansas. KLYT also released positive reviews of their albums and discussions of the topic in the station's monthly newspaper, the Sonlyght Special.
In addition to KLYT's music programming, listeners were also offered teaching programs. This included the "Rock and Religion" program produced in Sacramento, California and hosted by Mary Neely (Mike Roe of 77's fame was a young producer on the show). Other shows included "The Glory of Man," hosted by Joyce Emert, the general manager's wife and a highly regarded professor of English and religious studies at the University of New Mexico. Emert, Grande, Duffy, Scott and others also taught classes in broadcasting at the parent Christian Broadcasting Academy (CBA).
During this period, the bulk of the station's disk jockeys came from CBA's basic broadcasting class. Many aspiring broadcasters were able to obtain their Third Class Radio Operator's Permit through the CBA class, and gained valuable on-air experience hosting programs and producing shows for the station. The station also grew in stature within the Christian music industry, becoming a leader in youth-oriented music formatting and the development of relationships between the station's management and prominent artists.
With the departure of Emert, Grande and other core members of the staff, the station's board was left to make critical decision regarding the future of KLYT and CBA. An interim program director was appointed, and the station struggled to meet the paychecks of the diminishing staff. The board made the decision to attempt a revival of the station, focusing on what it was best known for, youth-oriented Christian music programming.
To help facilitate KLYT's recovery, Rich brought on Tucson talk show and sports host Mark Gilman (KNST) to head up programming and host the morning show, as well as develop a new high school sports broadcasting ministry.
The High on Sports program became Albuquerque's best-known high school sports show, and included coverage of the state playoffs at least three nights a week as well as broadcasts of state championship baseball games. The concept was that the sports programming was a sure-fire way to be on campus every week, giving KLYT better access for ministry to youth and helping it to promote Fellowship of Christian Athletes events. It was also designed to encourage students and parents to check out KLYT's non-sports programming in other dayparts. High on Sports also became a significant source of grant revenue for the station.
KLYT-sponsored concerts rebounded in the late-80's. The station's management regarded them as a particularly effective outreach for young people. Though popular and successful, there were some infamous highlights including outdoor concerts with Degarmo and Key during an 80 mile-per-hour windstorm, and a Daniel Amos concert overlooking a malfunctioning, "pea-green soup" waterpark pool (D.A. lead-singer Terry Scott Taylor refers the show as one of the worst concert experiences of his life). More successful concerts (Bryan Duncan, Kenny Marks, Kim Boyce, Resurrection Band) renewed the events as a hallmark of the KLYT legacy.
However, as KLYT regained ministry ground externally, Gilman decided to leave due to an inability to meet the schedule demands. Other stable and popular programs remained such as The Calvary Connection and All-Request Fridays with Dave Warner. Eventually, another Tucson import named Tom Terry (KVOI) was brought in to take over operations and programming.
Later, Rich brought aboard popular KOBQ personality Peter Benson as program director and Heidi Chavez as sales director, along with and other key staff members as the station continued to strengthen its ministry. As vinyl records gave way to Compact Disc, KLYT regained its stature in Albuquerque's Evangelicalism community, and CBA expanded into areas such as concert promotion and magazine publishing.
In 1988, KLYT's stable of volunteer disc jockeys were clamoring for changes in the playlist. These concerns mirrored the cries for movement toward edgier Christian music that were discussed more than a decade earlier, and were a running theme throughout the history of the station. The station's management responded to these concerns by introducing a number of specialty shows catering to specific audiences. This included a Rap and Hip Hop show, a Christian rock "oldies" program and others.
Perhaps the most popular show in this lineup, Light as a Rock, was launched by Pete McConnell in the summer of 1988 as an outlet for Christian heavy metal, thrash and alternative music. This show became the bane of the station's management over McConnell's lack of desire to follow a playlist. The show soared in popularity among Christian heavy metal fans in Albuquerque. Later renamed G-Rock, the show gave a radio outlet to many Christian bands pushing the religious music envelope. The show played early underground and independent recordings by up and coming artists and groups that would go on to wider success, including Moby, Sixpence None the Richer and Over the Rhine.
CBA also purchased a unique travelling concert stage dubbed "Swing Shift." This full-size mobile stage unfolded from a semi-tractor trailer bed, and allowed Christian music concerts and other events to be held by CBA throughout the state. Swing Shift bolstered KLYT's presence in towns throughout New Mexico as the station began transmitting to much of the state. Eventually, KLYT's signal was re-transmitted to nearly all of New Mexico's population centers. KLYT had grown from an Albuquerque radio station to a statewide media phenomenon.
Even with the show of continued community support, Paul Saber, chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Academy's board (as well as a member of Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque's board), spearheaded an effort to have KLYT and its assets "gifted" to the Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque. In 2000, Saber also sold off his Albuquerque McDonald's restaurant franchises, and eventually moved to San Diego, California.
Non-Calvary members of the board were in the minority during the station's transfer process. A number of local Christian leaders lamented the single-church takeover of a station that had operated for 25 years by a network of Evangelical churches from a variety of denominations. The Christian Broadcasting Academy was dissolved, and Calvary-Albuquerque took over KLYT and its network of translators on January 1, 2001.
KLYT's facilities were combined with those of the church's existing commercial radio station, KYFV (107.1 FM). The staff was reduced, and automation increasingly replaced live announcers in most dayparts. KLYT's Peter Benson stayed on as a talk show host on KNKT and in programming the new KLYT, dubbed M88. By 2005, KLYT alumni Steve Reimann had rejoined the station's staff, and The Echoing Green's Joey Belville joined as music and special events director. Belville also went on to co-host a highly popular morning show on the station, dubbed "The 3 Amigos Morning Show," with veteran broadcasters Matt Gentry and Steve Jeter.
Later, KLYT's ownership by Calvary-Albuquerque became a key component of a pastoral shakeup at the church. In 2004, Calvary pastor Skip Heitzig left the church he founded to return to California. His hand-picked successor, Pete Nelson, later claimed that Heitzig asked to have KLYT's ownership transferred to a corporation he controlled. This transfer was voted down by local members of Calvary-Albuquerque's board.
Since its transfer, KLYT's funding has come from the church's tithing and donations, as well as from the sale of merchandise related to Heitzig and the network of Calvary Chapel churches around the country. The station also runs a limited number of grant announcements from companies around Albuquerque that donate to the station.
Despite the occasional turmoil throughout KLYT's three decades of youth-oriented radio programming, the station has maintained a strong standing in New Mexico's Evangelical community. It is often cited as one of the longest lasting stations of its kind, and has been periodically recognized by the Gospel Music Association and the National Religious Broadcasters association.
On June 27, 2011, KLYT shifted its format to Christian rock, rebranded as "Static Radio." The station's format targeted listeners ranging from middle school through college with a mix of Christian rock, pop and hip hop and also featured some select secular alternative rock songs labelled as "culture shock".
On April 5, 2015, KLYT rebranded as "Star 88" and promoted itself as "Vertical Worship * Christian Hits * Fresh Indie" and featured contemporary Christian music and teaching programs shared with then sister station KYFV.
On March 25, 2021, Calvary sold 107.1 KNKT to Bible Broadcasting Network. KLYT switched to a talk and bible teaching format as "The Light" on May 31, 2021, beginning at 5am. Star 88 will continue as an online stream. The KNKT call letters were moved to satellite station 90.7 at Cannon AFB near Clovis (formerly KKCJ).
| KNKT | 90.7 MHz | Cannon AFB | 25,000 watts | C3 | 122203 |
Calvary has sold off most of its other translators that previously repeated KLYT. In 2012, after acquiring KKCJ, it sold K201CY, its translator in Clovis. K201CY was sold to Grace Community Church of Amarillo. The network donated nine translators, in locations including Alamogordo, Silver City, Roswell, and Alamosa, Colorado, to VCY America in 2019.
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