KITA -FM 102.1 MHZ
KITA-FM, was the first all Spanish station in the Modesto market when the station signed on the air in October, 1975. KFIV-AM owner Robert Fenton, principal officer of Kilibro Broadcasting Corp., applied for the FM license in 1972 but before the Federal Communication Commission acted on the application, Lupe Hernandez, a Spanish-programming personality on KLOC radio and television, also sought the license with his daughter, Adelita Morales.
Rather than go, through lengthy FCC hearings to determine which applicant would get the license, Fenton agreed to consolidate with Hernandez and his daughter to obtain the license. After the license was issued Hernandez bowed out of the agreement in favor of his daughter having 20 per cent of the station control as a director. Fenton put up the financing and was the majority owner. They operated from a mobile studio next to Fenton's KFIV studios on Orangeburg Ave.
In 1977 a dispute erupted between Fenton, Morales and Hernandez culminating with Fenton removing the Spanish programming and simulcasting the station with KFIV on January 2, 1977. The call letters were changed to KFIV-FM. The disagreement centered over whether the original operating agreement called for Spanish language programming. Hernandez and Mrs. Morales said the original agreement, as they understood it, was to continue Spanish language programming for three years. But Fenton ordered the station off the air claiming the Spanish format was unprofitable.
Mrs. Morales and Hernandez claim Fenton used them to obtain the license and the station lost money because he took a personal salary of $36,000 out of the station operation and bought $11,000 worth of furniture declared as KITA assets, but used in the KFIV offices. Fenton admitted he was paid a salary by KITA but not in the amount claimed by Mrs. Morales.
Mrs. Morales said the station lost $47,000 during the 14 months of Spanish programming and she and her father plan to file a complaint with the FCC.
Today the station is known at Sunny 102 FM KJSN and is owned by Clear Channel with studios at Oakdale Rd. and Lancey Drive in Modesto.
