KTIE airs programming similar to its sister stations in the Los Angeles area, 870 KRLA and 1170 KCBQ in San Diego. At one time KTIE's programming was nearly identical to KRLA except for local news and traffic reports. KTIE still simulcasts KRLA's wake up show, "The Morning Answer." But KTIE now runs Rush Limbaugh and some other syndicated shows during the day and evening. On weekends, KTIE also broadcasts programs devoted to restaurants, wine, money and health. Most weekend hours are paid brokered programming. Two local shows on weekends are the Let's Dine Out Show, hosted by local food critic Allan Borgen, and Firing Line Radio Show with host Phillip Naman, devoted to firearms and recreational shooting.
KTIE's history goes back to 1929 when the station signed on as 1210 KFXM, the oldest radio station in the Inland Empire. The original site of its radio antenna was on the summit of Mount San Bernardino, about 25 miles east of the city, and the station was powered at 100 watts. KFXM was received across most of Southern California, including Los Angeles and San Diego. On January 10, 1948, KFXM moved to the 590 frequency, as an affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System and the Don Lee Network. An ad in the San Bernardino Sun newspaper proclaimed "eight times greater coverage for your Mutual-Don Lee Network programs."
From the 1950s through the 1980s, KFXM was a popular Top 40 station in the San Bernardino/Riverside radio market. KFXM was home to popular disc jockeys such as Larry Lujack, Lyle Kilgore, Chuck Doherty, and Bob Griffin in the early 1960s. In 1962, 1290 KMEN/129 was the new station in town and beat the former #1 KFXM in the ratings. But in 1965, KFXM reclaimed the top spot with a DJ lineup of Don Elliot, Al Anthony, Jockey Jon, Barry Boyd, and Gene Gleeson. An AFTRA strike in 1968 prompted Al Anthony to hire a new lineup of jockeys, collectively known as the "Jones Boys", which kept the station running. Once the dispute was resolved, the DJs chose new on-air names. Maintaining the leadership role in the Inland Empire into the 1970s were disc jockeys Jhani Kaye, Doug Collins, Don McCoy, Bruce Chandler, Chris Roberts, and Bob B. Blue. In the 80s, the station continued to succeed with Craig Powers, and then Rich Watson as PD and air personalities, Dave Murphy, Ed Mann, Jason McQueen, and Terry Shea, all of whom landed gigs at Los Angeles metro stations after their stints at KFXM. The heyday of KFXM in the 1970s is kept alive today on 98.3 FM KFXM-LP, a low-power FM station licensed to Lancaster, California.
Shift to Adult Standards and Talk
By the mid 1980s, most listening to Top 40 music shifted to FM radio. KFXM moved to an adult standards sound, similar to one heard on AM 710 KMPC. KFXM began airing syndicated talk shows from the NBC Talknet radio network at night. National news was supplied by the ABC Entertainment Network. In the early 1990s, the station's call sign switched to KRSO. In 1992, upon final sign-off of the beautiful music format on 97.5 FM KDUO in Riverside, the station referred listeners to KRSO as a similar format to what they had heard on KDUO. However, it was only a short time later that KRSO flipped to an all-talk format, using NBC Radio News and continuing to air NBC's Talknet programming at night. In 1996, the station was acquired by EXCL Communications, which switched to a Spanish-languageReligious format, using the call letters KSZZ.
Ownership by Salem Communications
In 2001, Salem Communications bought the station for $7 million, returning the format to talk and changing the call sign to KRLH. Nowadays, KTIE in the daytime is audible from Azusa and Westminster to the west, and all the way to Banning and Yucca Valley in the east. Its main focus is the Inland Empire. On April 23, 2012, KTIE was re-branded to AM 590The Answer. Most Salem Communications talk stations now call themselves "The Answer."
