KNOM
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| City | Nome, Alaska |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Western Alaska |
| Branding | KNOM |
| Slogan | "Yours for western Alaska" |
| Frequency | AM 780 (kHz) FM 96.1 (MHz) |
| First air date | AM: July 14, 1971 FM: 1993 |
| Format | News, Regional, Country, Pop, Inspirational |
| Power | AM: 25,000 watts day 14,000 watts night |
| ERP | FM: 1,000 watts |
| HAAT | -42 meters |
| Class | A (Both AM and FM) |
| Callsign meaning | K-NOM(e) |
| Affiliations | Westwood One (current) |
| Owner | 501 (c) 3 nonprofit |
| Website | KNOM.org |
KNOM is a non-commercial Catholic radio station in Nome, Alaska, broadcasting at 780 AM and 96.1 FM. The station owner and licensee is KNOM Radio Mission, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity with seven board members. The FM signal is 1000 watts and covers the city of Nome and immediate surrounding environs. The AM signal is 25 kilowatts during the daytime and can be heard as far north as Barter Island and as far south as the Alaska Peninsula, with regular coverage of approximately 100,000 square miles (260,000 km2). Its signal penetrates deep into the Russian Far East.
In addition to its local news, weather, public affairs and religious programming, KNOM broadcasts a wide range of music in various formats. It also broadcasts national news from CNN via Westwood One, as well as some syndicated programming, such as the Christian 20 The Countdown Magazine and the secular American Top 40: The 70s.
The station's newsroom is staffed by one full-time news director and as many as two full-time volunteer reporters. An Associated Press member station since 1971, the station dropped its AP affiliation in 2014.
In April 2015, the station was awarded "Best Daily News Program, Radio" in Alaska by the Alaska Press Club.
KNOM is the oldest Catholic radio station in the United States, and has been broadcasting in western Alaska for over four decades.
The station was founded by James Poole, S.J. While serving at the Jesuit mission in the village of St. Mary's in 1959, Poole created a makeshift "radio station" by wiring 30 homes with speakers linked to the public address system. He was reassigned to Nome in 1966, with fundraising for the station beginning in December of that year. A young broadcast engineer named Tom Busch moved to Nome in 1970, becoming the chief engineer and eventually the station's general manager (a position he would hold for more than 30 years). After several years of work by volunteers and fundraisers who gathered the money for the equipment, filled out the paperwork with Federal Communications Commission, built the station, and assembled its original broadcasting equipment, KNOM first went on the air on July 14, 1971.
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