KTSA (550 AM) is a News-Talk formatted radio station in San Antonio, Texas. The weekday schedule offers 10 hours of local talk, hosted by Trey Ware (5am Central Time - 9am), Jack Riccardi (9am - 1pm), and Sean Rima (4pm - 7pm). KTSA also carries all three hours of "The Dave Ramsey Show" live (1pm - 4pm). Evening and overnight hours include programming from Mark Levin, and Jim Bohannon. KTSA was acquired by BMP Radio in August, 2006. On July 27, 2009, Border Media Partners was taken over by its lenders in an "amicable manner," according to an FCC filing (radioink.com). Border Media had not made a debt payment in two years (San Antonio Express-News).

History[link]

This radio station began as WCAR, founded by John C. Rodriguez of the Alamo Radio & Electric Company in September, 1922. WCAR was the second radio station in San Antonio, taking the airwaves shortly after WJAE which only lasted a few months.

For a time the Express News Corporation owned the station. In the 1950s rock and roll radio Pioneer Gordon McLendon bought KTSA and made it one of the first Top 40 stations in America. KTSA became an overnight sensation because of the music and outrageous for the time promotions including a "Flagpole" sitter in the O. R. Mitchell Dodge Used Car lot on Broadway, and the KTSA Easter Egg Hunt which swamped San Pedro Park with thousands of listeners searching for a $1000 KTSA Golden Egg. IN 1957 KTSA got competition from KONO radio which changed to the top 40 format and hired several of KTSA's disk jockeys. By this time McLendon had successful stations in El Paso (KELP) Dallas (KLIF) and Houston (KILT) and used the El Paso and San Antonio stations as farm teams for the larger markets. Under McLendon ownership, KTSA once obtained Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permission to change its call letters from KTSA to KAKI, reportedly to honor San Antonio's military personnel (with "KAKI" meaning "khaki", a type of fabric used in military uniforms). After KAKI letterhead and promotional materials were printed, management learned that their new call letters were slang in Spanish for baby feces. The call letter change was reconsidered and the station reverted to KTSA.^[1]

McLendon sold KTSA in the 1960s but the station remained one of San Antonio's most listened-to stations until the advent of FM stereo radio. During the '60s KTSA also aired on 101.5 FM in San Antonio. This lasted until Waterman Broadcasting bought the stations from McLendon in 1965 and signed off 101.5 and started KTFM on 102.7

KTSA was a Top 40 format "55-KTSA" until Fall 1986 when it changed to News/Talk format that it is today.

Former on-air staff[link]

KTSA staff inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame include Ricci Ware and Brad Messer.

Early 1950s and 1960s rock and roll star disk jockeys include Don Keyes, Ricci Ware, Bruce Hathaway, Pat Tallman, and Charlie Vann.

References[link]

http://www.sanantonioradiomemories.com/ktsaamfm.htm KTSA AM/FM. KTSA was also on FM for a brief period of time.

External links[link]

• KTSA official website
• Query the FCC's AM station database for KTSA
• Radio-Locator Information on KTSA
• Query Arbitron's AM station database for KTSA

Debra Medina
Debra Medina in September 2011
Born	(1962-06-01) June 1, 1962 (age 50)
Residence	Texas
Occupation	Libertarian Political activist
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Noe Medina (two children)

Debra Medina (born June 1, 1962) was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election.^[1] She participated in the January 14 televised debate with incumbent Governor Rick Perry and challenger U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.^[2] After subsequently tripling her support in public opinion polls, she was invited to participate alongside her two opponents in a second debate held on January 29.

Early life and business[link]

Medina was born in Beeville in Bee County in south Texas. She graduated as a registered nurse from Baptist Memorial Hospital System School of Nursing (now Baptist Health System) in San Antonio in 1984. She earned her business degree in 1995 from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. In 2002 she founded and managed Prudentia Inc., a medical billing company based in Wharton, Texas.^[3] She grew up Catholic, but now attends a Baptist church.^[4]

Political involvement[link]

Medina got involved in politics in the 1990s and became Wharton County GOP chairwoman in 2004. She was a high-level volunteer for Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign, and served as Interim State Coordinator for the Campaign for Liberty. At the 2008 Republican Party of Texas state convention in Houston, she lost her bid for state GOP vice chairwoman. In 2008, she decided to run for governor.^[5]

Prior to the 2008 Republican Party of Texas state convention, Medina sued the party to ensure that the convention would be held in accordance with the Texas Election Code.^[6] The case was originally dismissed on an issue of jurisdiction, but the party demanded $14,000 for attorney fees. Medina appealed the case to the 1st Court of Appeals. In January 2010, she won her appeal when the appeals court ruled that the award was improper and dismissed the case.^[7]

In December 2009, Medina filed on the Republican ballot for the 2010 Texas gubernatorial race.^[8] In the Republican primary on March 2, 2010, Medina finished with 18.6% of the vote, behind Perry (51.1%) and Hutchison (30.3%).^[9]

Personal life[link]

Medina has three siblings. Her father worked at the telephone company, and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. Debra met Noe Medina the year that she graduated from high school. They married two years later in 1982. She and her husband have two grown children, whom they home-schooled — Jacob Medina, 20, a student at Texas A&M, and Janise Cookston, 25, an interior designer in Houston.^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Debra Medina for Texas Governor website
• Official Debra Medina for Texas Governor Facebook page

Kevin Wall, born March 15, 1952 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a producer, digital entrepreneur and environmentalist who creates and produces global events often viewed by a billion or more people. Recent events include the opening concert for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa^[1], Live Earth: the Concerts for a Climate in Crisis^[2] and Live 8^[3].

In his career, Wall has produced and/or distributed over 300 live concerts, many of them tied to activist causes (benefit concerts), including the concerts to free Nelson Mandela,^[4] Roger Waters at the Berlin Wall, The Prince's Trust Concerts, Live AID, Live Earth, and Live 8, for which he was worldwide executive producer and won the first Emmy ever awarded for an 'interactive event.'^[5]

Wall's music career also includes Bob Dylan's "The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration" featuring Eric Clapton and George Harrison at Madison Square Garden, Michael Jackson’s "Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour,"^[6] Amnesty International's Human Rights Now!",^[7] "The Three Tenors in Paris",^[8] and specials for Prince, Eric Clapton and Elton John.^[9]

Early career[link]

Wall grew up in a family of fourteen (the twelve Wall children all had names beginning with the letter "K") who worked and lived in a roller-skating rink called the Roller Dome.^[10] He gained his earliest experiences programming music as the Roller Dome disk jockey. Wall says it was this experience that gave him insight into "the power of music to move people." He and his father and brothers laid all the wood flooring in the Roller Dome's 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m²) rink. Wall's expertise with wood flooring introduced him to a job with an Ann Arbor, Michigan company that built portable music stages. Wall then began promoting and staging concerts at colleges throughout the Midwest United States.

Wall established the first portable staging company to accommodate the staging, lighting and outdoor production needs of large stadium and arena concert tours by The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and The Who, among other artists.^[11]

Newly-formed ties to the music business led him to Los Angeles, where, in 1984, he founded Radiovision, a production and distribution company of live music. In 1994, Wall established BoxTop, a web-design company, which three years later, he merged with iXL, an Atlanta-based media and internet consulting company.^[4]

As vice chairman of iXL, Wall led the strategic acquisition and organization of 42 Internet design and consulting companies to build a venture with 3,000 employees, 38 offices and annual revenues of over $400 million.^[12]

Live 8[link]

Wall's experience spans more than three decades in developing and producing live, multi-artist music shows, including Live 8, staged on July 2, 2005. Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa.^[13]

They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from July 6–8, 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid.^[14] More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.^[15]

This concert endeavor earned Wall an Emmy Award and was viewed online and on television by an estimated two billion viewers worldwide to pressure Western governments to take action on African aid and debt relief.^[16]

Live 8 was the inaugural production of Wall's newly-formed multimedia production company Network LIVE, which, in 2006, became Control Room, a multi-platform producer and distributor of live entertainment events, and the production company behind Live Earth.^[17]

Live Earth[link]

In 2007, Wall founded Live Earth, inspired by the former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, and his Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth.^[18]

Live Earth 07.07.07[link]

The July 7, 2007 Live Earth concerts were held on seven continents, over the course of 24 hours, featuring over 150 headlining artists including Madonna, Metallica, Smashing Pumpkins, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, The Black Eyed Peas, and The Police participated in the event.^[19] Through this massive media architecture, reached nearly two billion people on the planet with a message for change.^[20]

Live Earth has developed from one-time event into an advocacy organization dedicated to the creation of entertainment events and media content aimed at raising awareness for the challenges and solutions associated with climate change. Live Earth works with corporate, non-governmental, entertainment and political influencers and organizations around the world.

Green Inaugural Ball[link]

In 2009, Kevin Wall was selected by former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, to serve as executive producer keynote speaker of the Inaugural Green Ball and was Co-hosted by Van Jones. The Green Ball brought together more than 75 NGO organizations and sponsors to celebrate the Inaugural of Barack Obama and the new green economy. These organizations/ sponsors included The Amereican Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Google, Organic Soul by vegan chef Elijah Joy (EJOY), and Virgin Green Fund celebrating the new green economy. There were performances from John Legend, Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, will.i.am., and Michael Franti.^[21]

Control Room[link]

Wall is founder and CEO of Control Room, a company known for conception and creation of large-scale global music events, including Live Earth 2007,^[22] Live Earth India, and Nokia New Year’s Event.^[23][24]

Control Room served as executive producer on Live Earth 2007, Live Earth India, and Nokia New Year’s Eve, responsible for talent procurement, event production, and global media architecture across television, broadband and wireless.^[25]

Control Room has also produced and distributed single-artist events across Internet, radio, television, and mobile phones, platforms.^[26] including more than 100 shows since 2005, featuring international artists such as Madonna,^[27] Jay-Z,^[28] and Rihanna^[29] across a variety of networks and platforms around the world.^[30]

FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert[link]

Kevin Wall and his company Control Room were selected as executive producer of the Official Kick-Off Celebration Concert of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. The three-hour show took place on the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 10 June 2010 at 8:00 p.m. (GMT +2), at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg and featured collaborations between international stars and top African artists and appearances by football legends. The concert raised money for the world cup's official charity 20 Centres for 2010.^[31]

Artists who performed at the event include: Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, The Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, Freshlyground, John Legend, Juanes, K'Naan Lira, Hugh Masekela, Shakira, The Parlotones, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré, and Vusi Mahlasela.^[32] The event also included a tribute to Nelson Mandela by the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.^[33]

The concert, broadcast live in South Africa on SABC 1 and SuperSport 3, was the most watched entertainment event in recent history, drawing 8.5 million viewers in South Africa.^[34] It was carried live in the U.S. on ESPN2,^[35] ESPN Mobile TV,^[36] and streaming online at VEVO.^[37] ABC broadcast a 2-hour special the following night.^[38]

Investing[link]

Craton Equity Partners[link]

Wall is a general partner of Craton Equity Partners, a $200 million green-tech private equity fund.^[39]

Sustainable Holdings[link]

Kevin Wall is a founder of Sustainable Holdings a company which has Joined forces with Dimensional Fund Advisors to launch a new fund which weights its holdings based on companies' sustainability scores. Sustainable Holdings has developed a proprietary algorithm to quantify environmental sustainability practices of public companies.^[40]

Shelter Capital Partners[link]

A co-founder of Shelter Capital Partners, a $175 million venture capital fund, Wall invested in a dozen companies in the semiconductor, software and convergence sectors.^[41]

List of investments[link]

Among Wall's dozens of existing investments are:

Awards and Boards[link]

Wall is the proud recipient of a variety of entertainment and philanthropy awards, including: MIDEM Green Award^[42] Billboard Touring Conference Humanitarian Award^[43] Ad Age Marketer of the Year^[44] GQ Environmental Pillar Award^[45] Environmental Media Association Outstanding Achievement Award^[46] and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.^[47]

Kevin Wall is a member of the board of directors for the Alliance for Climate Protection,^[48] Global Water Challenge,^[49] and Craton, where he is also a managing partner.^[50] He was an early advisor to Facebook and currently on the advisory boards of txteagle, KeVita, Recyclebank and m-via. He sits on the board of Greenwave Reality, and the UCLA Hammer Museum.^[51] Wall is also a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Personal[link]

Wall is married to Susan Smalley, PhD., a professor at UCLA in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, who has done pioneering work in the genetics of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).^[52] She founded the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience.^[53] They have three children.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Control Room corporate website
• Bio on Live Earth website
• Tadasana Festival website
• Craton Equity Partners website
• Sustainable Holdings corporate site
• YBUY, Inc.'s corporate site
• Saving the planet, one chord at a time Los Angeles Times
• Live Earth hopes action follows global concerts Msnbc.com
• Three questions for Kevin Wall Salon.com
• Here Comes The Sun, Fortune Magazine