KRSB-FM (103.1 FM, "Best Country 103") is a radio station licensed to serve Roseburg, Oregon, United States. The station, established in 1970, is currently owned by Brooke Communications, Inc. The station gained worldwide attention in the 1970s for its "Goat Weather Forecasts" based on the movement of local wild goats.

KRSB-FM
Broadcast areaRoseburg, Oregon
Frequency103.1 MHz
BrandingBest Country 103
Programming
FormatCountry
Ownership
OwnerBrooke Communications, Inc.
History
First air date
October 1, 1970
Former call signs
KRSB (1970-1985)[1]
Call sign meaning
RoSeBurg
Technical information
Facility ID7119
ClassA
ERP2,750 watts
HAAT94 meters (308 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
43°12′24″N 123°21′47″W / 43.20667°N 123.36306°W / 43.20667; -123.36306
Translator(s)103.9 K280BJ (Sutherlin)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitebestcountryfm.com

Programming edit

The station's initial format was a mix of middle of the road and contemporary music.[2] By the end of the 1970s, the format had transitioned to a more modern adult contemporary music mix with up to four hours of jazz music broadcast each week.[3]

KRSB-FM currently broadcasts a contemporary country music format.[4][5]

History edit

This station began regular operations on October 1, 1970, broadcasting with 2,750 watts of effective radiated power on a frequency of 103.1 MHz.[2] The station was assigned the call sign KRSB by the Federal Communications Commission.[1] Under the ownership of W.R.R., Inc., KRSB was run by Tom Worden who served as general manager, program director, and company president while Bob Reese took on the job of chief engineer for the station.[2]

To accommodate the rebranding of a co-owned AM sister station as KRSB, the FM station was assigned the KRSB-FM call sign by the FCC on December 10, 1985.[1]

In May 1986, W.R.R., Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Michael R. Wyatt. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 2, 1987, and the transaction was consummated the same day.[6]

In February 1989, Michael R. Wyatt reached an agreement to sell this station to Broadcast Management Services, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 1, 1989, and the transaction was consummated on March 10, 1989.[7] This ownership change would prove very short-lived as just six days later, on March 16, 1989, Broadcast Management Services, Inc., filed an application with the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for KRSB-FM to Brooke Communications, Inc. The new deal was approved by the FCC on April 28, 1989, and the transaction was consummated on May 8, 1989.[8]

In 1991, KRSB-FM changed from Adult Contemporary to Top 40, under the “B103” branding. This format was moved from AM sister station; “Q124” 1240 KQEN, which became Soft Adult Contemporary. In 1992, KRSB-FM became “Country 103” with a Country format. Later in the 90’s, it was modified to the current “Best Country 103” branding.

Weather goats edit

KRSB gained national and international attention in the 1970s for their "Goat Weather Forecasts", based on the behavior of wild goats grazing on Mount Nebo, near Interstate 5.[9][10][11] Visible from the station's studio, if the goats were high on the hill it meant fair weather.[12] If the goats were grazing near the bottom of the hill, the forecast would call for rain.[13] Station manager Tom Worden told interviewers that the goats were right about 90 percent of the time while the National Weather Service forecasts from distant Portland, Oregon, were only about 65 percent accurate.[14]

While the station did still deliver the conventional scientific weather forecasts from the National Weather Service, the Goat Weather Reports included less scientific terms like "widely scattered goats" for mostly sunny skies and "low goat pressure" as a sign of rain and stormy weather ahead.[9][15] By the end of the 1970s, as both traffic along Interstate 5 and accidents involving goats increased, the herd was relocated to a local ranch about 15 miles away from Mount Nebo.[15][12][16]

Station alumni edit

Tom Worden, then the general manager of KRSB and KYES, served as the president of the Oregon Association of Broadcasters for the 1983 calendar year.[17]

Translators edit

KRSB-FM programming is also carried on a broadcast translator station to extend or improve the coverage area of the station.

Broadcast translator for KRSB-FM
Call sign Frequency City of license ERP (W) Class FCC info
K280BJ 103.9 FM Sutherlin, Oregon 4 D FMQ

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S.". Broadcasting Yearbook 1972. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1972. p. B-174.
  3. ^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-181.
  4. ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  5. ^ Oregon Radio Stations. The Oregon State Archives. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  6. ^ "Application Search Details (BALH-19860513HB)". FCC Media Bureau. July 2, 1987.
  7. ^ "Application Search Details (BALH-19890213HN)". FCC Media Bureau. March 10, 1989.
  8. ^ "Application Search Details (BALH-19890316GY)". FCC Media Bureau. May 8, 1989.
  9. ^ a b Timm, Pat (Jul 17, 1998). "New-fangled tools can't replace mystique of old lore". The Columbian. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. I'm reminded of the goats off Interstate 5 near Roseburg back in the 1970s. It was an amazing story and made the national news. I still remember the look on NBC's David Brinkley's face as he reported the story. [...] Radio station KRSB began giving daily goat weather forecasts using such phrases as "widely scattered goats" or "low goat pressure."
  10. ^ "Unit 3: Weather". Science Matters: Plants, the Sun, Weather and Magnets. Weekly Reader Corp. January 1, 1993. Twenty years ago, a pair of weather-forecasting goats near Roseburg, Oregon, were featured on TV news and in magazines and newspapers worldwide. [...] In 1971, capitalizing on this folklore, weatherman Tom Worden of the Roseburg radio station KRSB began giving Goat Weather Forecasts.
  11. ^ Cerveny, Randy (2005). "State Weather Oddities: Oregon, The Weather Goats of Mount Nebo". Freaks of the Storm: from flying cows to stealing thunder, the world's strangest true weather stories. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 333. ISBN 9781560258018. Finally, the local radio station KRSB (still in existence) took official notice and began to issue the daily "Goat Weather Forecast."
  12. ^ a b Aoki, Elizabeth (November 19, 1995). "Planet Northwest". The Seattle Times. Disc jockeys at the Roseburg radio station, KRSB-FM, would peer out the window of the Umpqua Hotel before the weather report and figure out where the goats were grazing. [...] But the goats' glory days came to an end when they started hampering I-5 traffic and eating a hospital lawn for dinner.
  13. ^ Duchene, Paul (November 28, 2003). "Encyclopedia Oregonia". The Portland Tribune. KRSB radio DJ Tom Worden noticed that the mountain goats on the terraced hill overlooking the city seemed to move around with the weather. Thus "widely scattered goats" predicted partly sunny weather.
  14. ^ "Chewed cans mean snow". Mother Jones. July 1977. During one two-week period, the goats were right 90 per cent of the time; the Weather Service scored 65 per cent.
  15. ^ a b Dave, Thurlow; Mary Reed (June 29, 1998). "Forecasting Goats". The Weather Notebook Radio Show. Mount Washington Observatory. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2009. [...] the station developed its own meteorological shorthand. "Scattered goats" meant sunny conditions were expected. If "Low goat pressure" was mentioned, stormy weather was due.
  16. ^ Specht, Sanne. "Star grazers: Mount Nebo's weather goats". The Mail Tribune. Inclement weather invariably drew the goats down off the mountain — and onto the freeway directly below, says Lilliard. The situation created a safety hazard for goats and I-5 drivers.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Past Board of Directors Presidents and Chairs: 1980s". Oregon Association of Broadcasters. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2009.

External links edit