Another Anniversary - 60 Years on 1590 - KATL, KYOK, KMIC
KATL became Houston’s 7th radio station on Monday, May 12, 1947, operating on 1590 kilocycles with 1000 watts, and the station operating on that frequency now is the sixth oldest surviving radio station licensed to Houston. The launch had been postponed several times by engineering problems and the station took to the air at 6pm without much fanfare, operating on special authority since the official license had not been issued. The first night’s programming included a broadcast of the Houston Buffs game with Fort Worth, 
a shutout pitched by Al Papai. The Buffs had not been heard on Houston radio since 1938. The station became an affiliate of Gordon McLendon’s Liberty Broadcasting System.
The original studios of KATL were on the mezzanine level of the State National Bank building at 412 Main and the transmitter was on Post Oak Road near the Hempstead Highway. It operated 24 hours a day and was only the 2nd station in Houston to be on around the clock.
Two of the big concerns of post-war America were housing and jobs for veterans and Program Director William S. Newkirk, himself a veteran of 3 years in the Army, had hired a staff composed entirely of veterans, among them Houston native Larry Blieden (pronounced bleedin’) who had been in the Marines. Blieden had aspirations of being an actor an eventually built a career on Broadway and TV under the name Larry Blyden. Another original staff member was Johnny Edwards who had been a navigator on a B-17. He became host of the station’s popular morning show Chuck Wagon Call and was to have a long career in Houston radio including working at KTHT, KXYZ and KPRC.
The trio of original owners included two investors from New Orleans associated with WDSU. When KATL was sold in 1954 it was bought by two Louisiana businessmen, Jules Paglin and Stanley Ray, for their OK group of stations targeted at Black listeners and the call letters changed to KYOK. The station now on 1590 is KMIC.
There will be more on KATL and KYOK in the section of the AM Chronology on the 40s and 50s and in the station profiles section.
