View source for KGOU

{{short description|Public radio station at the University of Oklahoma in Norman–Oklahoma City, Oklahoma}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KGOU
| logo             = KGOU_logo.png
| city             = [[Norman, Oklahoma]]
| area             = [[Oklahoma City Metroplex]]
| branding         = KGOU
| airdate          = {{Start date and age|1970|9|25}}
| affiliations     = [[National Public Radio]]<BR>[[American Public Media]]<BR>[[Public Radio International]]<BR>[[WFMT]] Jazz Network<BR>[[BBC World Service]]
| frequency        = 106.3 [[MHz]]
| format           = [[Public Radio]] - [[talk radio|News - Talk]] - [[Jazz]] 
| erp              = 6,000 [[watt]]s
| haat             = {{convert|88.7|m|ft|sp=us}}
| class            = A
| facility_id      = 69369
| callsign_meaning = '''OU''' is the abbreviation for the University of Oklahoma
| owner            = [[University of Oklahoma]]
| webcast          = {{listenlive|https://www.kgou.org}}
| website          = [https://www.kgou.org kgou.org]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}

'''KGOU''' (106.3 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is a [[Non-commercial educational station|non-commercial]], listener-supported, [[public radio|public]] [[radio station]].  It is [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Norman, Oklahoma]], and serves the [[Oklahoma City Metroplex]].<ref name = "PRX-KGOU">[https://www.prx.org/station_accounts/318-kgou?page=2 "KGOU."] Accessed December 23, 2017.</ref>  It is owned by the [[University of Oklahoma]], with the license held by the Board of Regents.  It is operated by OU's College of Continuing Education (OU Outreach).  Studios are in Copeland Hall on Van Vleet Oval, part of the OU campus.  The staff consists of ten full-time and four part-time employees.

KGOU is a [[list of broadcast station classes|Class A]] FM station.  It has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 6,000 [[watt]]s.  The [[transmitter]] is on East Indian Hills Road at 60th Avenue NE in Norman.<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=KGOU&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/KGOU]</ref>  Programming is also heard on four full-power satellites: '''KROU''' (105.7 FM) in [[Spencer, Oklahoma|Spencer]], '''KWOU''' (88.1 FM) in [[Woodward, Oklahoma|Woodward]], '''KOUA''' (91.9 FM) in [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]], and '''KQOU''' (89.1 FM) in [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]].  It also operates [[FM translator]]s in [[Seminole, Oklahoma|Seminole]] (103.1 FM), in [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]] (97.9 FM), in [[Chickasha, Oklahoma|Chickasha]] (106.9 FM) and in [[Shawnee, Oklahoma|Shawnee]] (105.1 FM).

==Programming==
KGOU is a [[National Public Radio]] (NPR) [[network affiliate|member station]].  On weekdays, KGOU has a news and information [[radio format|format]] with programming from NPR and other public radio networks.   They include ''[[Morning Edition]], [[All Things Considered]], [[Fresh Air]], [[1A (radio program)|1A]], [[Here and Now (Boston)|Here and Now]]'' and ''[[Marketplace (radio program)|Marketplace]]''.  Evenings feature [[jazz music]] from The [[WFMT]] [[Chicago]] Jazz Network.  The [[BBC World Service]] runs overnight.

On weekdays at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. and most of the day on weekends, KGOU airs one-hour specialty shows from NPR and other public radio networks.  They include ''[[Reveal (podcast)|Reveal]], [[Radiolab]], [[Freakonomics Radio]], [[This American Life]], [[Zorba Paster|Zorba Paster on Your Health]], [[Snap Judgment (radio show)|Snap Judgment]], [[TED Radio Hour|The TED Radio Hour]], [[The Splendid Table]], [[To the Best of Our Knowledge]], [[Rick Steves|Travel with Rick Steves]], [[Left, Right and Center]]'' and ''[[Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me]]''.  Weekend evenings have shows devoted to [[world music]], [[blues]], [[bossa nova]], [[new age music|new age]], [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] [[show tune]]s.

==History==
KGOU [[sign-on|signed on]] the air on {{Start date and age|1970|9|25}}.<ref>[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C%20Section%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977%20P-6.pdf ''Broadcasting Yearbook 1977'' page C-169.  Retrieved June 28, 2024.]</ref>  It was originally licensed as a [[commercial radio]] station.  KGOU had a [[progressive rock]] format and sold advertisements, even though it was owned by the University of Oklahoma, a [[non-profit organization]].  The [[radio masts and towers|tower]] was atop Walker Dormitory.  The station was an [[network affiliate|affiliate]] of the [[ABC News Radio|ABC FM Radio Network]].

In the early 1980s, OU decided to use KGOU as a public radio station and discontinue the rock music and commercial ads.  The university applied to the [[FCC]] for a non-commercial license.  The station's new public radio format, featuring news and talk, took effect on New Year's Day, 1983. The studios were originally located in Kaufman Hall on the OU campus.

KGOU's main signal operates at 6,000 watts, which is fairly modest for a full NPR member station on the FM band.  By contrast, [[Oklahoma State University]]'s public radio station, 91.7 [[KOSU]] [[Stillwater, Oklahoma|Stillwater]], is powered at 100,000 watts and can also be heard in Oklahoma City.  Soon after joining NPR, OU sought a license for a repeater station that would better cover Oklahoma City's northern suburbs.  This station, 105.7 KROU, officially signed on the air on {{Start date and age|June 28, 1993}}.  This means listeners in the suburbs south of Oklahoma City can tune in 106.3 KGOU while those north of Oklahoma City can listen to 105.7 KROU.  KROU was the first in a network of eight repeater stations and [[FM translator|translator]]s that cover much of central and western Oklahoma.

KGOU renovated space in Copeland Hall on the OU campus in 2006.  It moved its studios and offices to Copeland Hall that fall.

A rebroadcaster in Clinton was added in December 2017. [[Cameron University]] transferred the license for a station at 89.1 FM to KGOU ownership. The move expanded KGOU's listener base to 32 counties, nearly all in central, western and east-central Oklahoma. The new call sign for the Clinton transmitter is KQOU.<ref name="KQOU">[http://kgou.org/post/kgou-adds-clinton-transmitter Pryor, Dick. "KGOU adds Clinton transmitter." KGOU. December 6, 2017.] Accessed December 23, 2017.</ref>  It has an ERP of 40,000 watts, the most powerful station in KGOU's network.<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=KQoU&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/KQOU]</ref>

==Repeaters==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! [[Call signs in North America|Call sign]]
! data-sort-type="number" | [[Frequency]]
! [[City of license]]
! State
! [[Facility ID]]
! [[List of North American broadcast station classes|Class]]
! data-sort-type="number" | [[Effective radiated power|ERP]]<br />([[watt|W]])
! data-sort-type="number" | [[Height above average terrain|Height]]<br />([[Metre|m]] ([[Foot (unit)|ft]]))
! class="unsortable" | FCC info
|-
| {{rh}} | KOUA || 91.9 FM || [[Ada, Oklahoma|Ada]] || [[Oklahoma]] || 173673 || A || 1,500 || 81.9 || {{FCC-LMS-Facility|173673|KOUA|FCC}}
|-
| {{rh}} | KQOU || 89.1 FM || [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]] || [[Oklahoma]] || 122436 || C1 || 40,000 || 193 || {{FCC-LMS-Facility|122436|KQOU|FCC}}
|-
| {{rh}} | KROU || 105.7 FM || [[Spencer, Oklahoma|Spencer]] || [[Oklahoma]] || 69175 || A || 1,600 || 194.6 || {{FCC-LMS-Facility|69175|KROU|FCC}}
|-
| {{rh}} | KWOU || 88.1 FM || [[Woodward, Oklahoma|Woodward]] || [[Oklahoma]] || 172867 || C1 || 23,500 || 224.1 || {{FCC-LMS-Facility|172867|KWOU|FCC}}
|}

===Translators===
{{RadioTranslators
| callsign = KGOU
| call1    = K250AU
| freq1    = 97.9
| city1    = Ada, Oklahoma
| fid1     = 141599
| class1   = D
| watts1   = 250 
| haat1    = 29.9

| call2    = K295BL
| freq2    = 106.9
| city2    = Chickasha, Oklahoma
| fid2     = 141689
| class2   = D
| watts2   = 250 
| haat2    = 28.5

| call3    = K276ET
| freq3    = 103.1
| city3    = Seminole, Oklahoma
| fid3     = 141580
| class3   = D
| watts3   = 250 
| haat3    = 59.9

| call4    = K286BZ
| freq4    = 105.1
| city4    = Shawnee, Oklahoma
| fid4     = 141589
| class4   = D
| watts4   = 140 
| haat4    = 117
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.kgou.org KGOU station website]
{{FM station data|69369|KGOU}}
{{---}}
{{Div col}}
{{FM station data|173673|KOUA}}
{{FM station data|122436|KQOU}}
{{FM station data|69175|KROU}}
{{FM station data|172867|KWOU}}
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|141599|K250AU}}
*{{FXL|K250AU}}
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|141580|K276ET}}
*{{FXL|K276ET}}
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|141589|K286BZ}}
*{{FXL|K286BZ}}
*{{FCC-LMS-Facility|141689|K295BL}}
*{{FXL|K295BL}}
{{Div col end}}

{{Oklahoma City Radio}}
{{NPR Oklahoma}}

{{coord|35.2895|N|97.3586|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}

[[Category:Radio stations in Oklahoma City|GOU]]
[[Category:NPR member stations]]
[[Category:Jazz radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:College radio stations in Oklahoma|GOU]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1970]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in Oklahoma]]