Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- KNX (Radio station : Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Abstract:
- The KNX Collection consists of 120 boxes or about 115 linear feet of material pertaining to broadcasting on KNX radio. A majority of the materials are loose and bound scripts from radio shows broadcasted between 1940-1960 consisting of shows like Escape, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, Suspense, Romance and Meet Millie. The remaining material relates to publicity material for KNX News Radio from the 1960s to the 1990s. KNX radio is a CBS affiliated broadcast that was located in the Los Angeles area and is described as one of the oldest radio stations in the country. Today, KNX is still broadcasting their news on KNX News 97.1 FM.
- Extent:
- 115 Linear Feet; (95 record boxes, 24 document boxes, 2 flat boxes)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], KNX Collection, PA Mss 167. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The KNX Collection consists of around 115 linear feet of record boxes and document boxes dating from 1940-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1940-1960. A majority of the collection consists of both loose and bound scripts that extend 95 record boxes or 103 linear feet pertaining to radio shows broadcasted through the CBS affiliated KNX radio station. The remaining material pertains to documents in association with both radio and television consisting of unused scripts, rejected scripts, payroll, memoranda, correspondence, fan mail, commercials and promotional material contained in 5 document boxes extending about 2 linear feet. There are also materials pertaining to News Radio Publicity consisting of about 18 document boxes and 1 flat box or around 9 linear feet of publicity releases and mailings, publicity stories, news radio awards, the man and women of the year award winners with photographs, portraits of KNX affiliates and news clippings, magazines and ephemera pertaining to the CBS Cornerstone Ceremony. There also includes 3 artifacts (hat, bumper sticker and flag) that are housed in 1 flat box.
- Biographical / historical:
-
KNX 1070 is an AM radio station that is considered one of the oldest radio stations in the United States having been founded on September 10, 1920 and receiving its first broadcasting license in December 1921 with the randomly assigned call letters KGC issued by the Electric Lighting Supply Company. It was not until May 4, 1922 that the Electric Lighting Supply Company assigned the KNX call letters which was technically considered the second radio station. On June 20, 1922 the KGC call letters were deleted because they were functionally the same radio station and was from then on only identified as KNX. It was not until 1936 that CBS purchased the KNX radio station where they became the flagship for the entire West Coast CBS radio network. In March 1941 the station transferred to 1070 AM as part of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement.
During the "Golden Age" of radio between the 1920s and 1950s, KNX radio presented some of the most legendary performers with Jerome Lawrence getting his start writing for KNX radio in the late 1930s to Bob Crane hosting the KNX morning show from 1957 to 1967. Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, George Burns, Edgar Bergen and Gene Autry were also featured on various shows. In 1951 KNX gained a television cousin when CBS acquired KTSL and rebranded it as KNXT, it was not until 1984 that KCBS-TV became its callsign. In 2005 KNX radio left Columbia Square after 67 years and moved the radio station and offices along the "Miracle Mile" that houses some of Los Angeles' most notorious radio stations.
- Custodial history:
-
This collection forms part of the American Radio Archives (ARA), which documents the early history of broadcasting, with an emphasis on California. The ARA was formerly housed at the Thousand Oaks Public Library and was owned and administered by the Thousand Oaks Library Foundation. It was transferred to the UCSB Library in 2021.
- Arrangement:
-
The materials in this collection are arranged into five series by type. Series 1: Radio Scripts – Loose Scripts, Series 2: Radio Scripts – Bound Volumes, Series 3: Radio and Television Documents and Correspondence, Series 4: Publicity Material, Series 5: Artifacts.
- Physical location:
- Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and are retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.
All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assigns for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of Item], KNX Collection, PA Mss 167. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Location of this collection:
-
UC Santa Barbara LibrarySanta Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
- Contact:
- (805) 893-3062