KYW is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the United States, originating in Chicago before moving to Philadelphia in 1934. KYW's unusual history includes its call sign of only three letters, beginning with a K, rare for a station in the Eastern United States. It broadcasts an all-news radio format and is branded as "KYW Newsradio". KYW serves as the flagship station of Audacy, Inc. KYW's studios are co-located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in Center City Philadelphia and its transmitter and two-tower directional antenna array are located in Lafayette Hill.
"Miss Forster singing [a lullaby] for her audience of a hundred thousand" from Chicago (1922)
KYW's former transmitter building in Bloomingdale Township
Station advertisement announcing its move to Philadelphia (1934)
KYW 1060 AM matchbook ad
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a station's identity.
Russian nuclear icebreaker Arktika with call sign UKTY
All U.S. states issue call sign license plates upon request for motor vehicles owned by amateur radio operators. This road vehicle is from California.
Department of Commerce callbook, 1919