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{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KATM
| logo             = KATM.png
| logo_size        = 200px
| city             = [[Modesto, California]]
| area             = [[Modesto, California|Modesto]]-[[Stockton, California]]
| branding         = ''Kat Country 103''
| frequency        = 103.3 [[Megahertz|MHz]] {{HD Radio}}
| airdate          = April 3, 1948 (as KBEE-FM)
| format           = [[Country radio|Country]]
| erp              = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| haat             = 152 meters (499 ft)
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 11239
| callsign_meaning = '''KAT''' (branding) '''M'''odesto
| former_callsigns = KBEE-FM (1948–1992)
| affiliations     = [[Westwood One]]
| owner            = [[Cumulus Media]]
| licensee         = Radio License Holding CBC, LLC
| sister_stations  = [[KHKK|KDJK/KHKK]], [[KESP]], [[KHOP]], [[KJOY]], [[KWIN|KWIN/KWNN]]
| webcast          = {{listen live|https://player.listenlive.co/24821}}
| website          = [https://www.katm.com/ katm.com]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
'''KATM''' (103.3 [[FM broadcasting|FM]], ''Kat Country 103'') is a commercial [[radio station]] in [[Modesto, California]] and also heard in the nearby cities of [[Stockton, California|Stockton]] and [[Merced, California|Merced]].  The station is owned by [[Cumulus Media]] and airs a [[country music]] [[radio format|format]].  Its studios are in Stockton, and its [[transmitter]] is located off South Bird Road in [[Vernalis, California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=KATM-FM|title=KATM-FM Radio Station Coverage Map|website=radio-locator.com}}</ref>
KATM often works with local charities and community organizations providing air time and fundraising opportunities, most notably the [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]], [[St. Jude Children's Research Hospital]], [[Toys for Tots]], the [[Second Harvest Food Bank]], the [[American Cancer Society]] and others.
The station hosts a yearly Listener Appreciation Concert. As the concert crowds have grown, the venues have been changed to accommodate the growing number of attendees. The June 2nd show at the [[Stanislaus County]] Fairgrounds hosted around 20,000 fans in [[Turlock, California]].  In 2011, the Listener Appreciation Concert was held at [[Weber Point Event Center]] on the waterfront in [[Stockton, California]].
==History==
On April 3, 1948, the station first [[sign-on|signed on]] as '''KBEE-FM'''.<ref>[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-23]]</ref>  It was one of the first FM stations in [[Central California]], and was owned by [[The McClatchy Company]], which publishes the ''[[Modesto Bee]]'' newspaper, giving the station its [[call sign]], K'''BEE'''.  A few years later, in 1951, McClatchy added an [[AM radio|AM]] station, KBEE (970 AM).  At first, both stations were [[simulcast]], but through the late 1960s, 70s and 80s, while the AM station carried a [[Full service (radio format)|full service]] [[middle of the road (music)|middle of the road]] music format, KBEE-FM had a largely [[automation|automated]] [[beautiful music]] format.
In 1992, the station was purchased by [[Citadel Broadcasting]] and moved from [[easy listening]] to a hit country format, switching call letters to '''KATM''' (soon after the calls were made available after being used by [[KGFT|a station in Colorado]] for about seven years)  under the helm of then [[Brand Manager]], Scott Mahalick.  Citadel merged with Cumulus Media in 2011.  Through the years, KATM has continued as a country music station, and is among the top rated stations in both Modesto and Stockton, with significant listenership in the Merced [[media market|radio market]].
==Past Listener Appreciation performers==
*[[Blake Shelton]]
*[[Taylor Swift]]
*[[Craig Morgan]]
*[[Eric Church]]
*[[The Band Perry]]
*[[Lee Brice]]
*[[Joe Nichols]]
*[[Tracy Lawrence]]
*[[Clay Walker]]
*[[Jerrod Niemann]]
*[[Eli Young Band]]
*[[Lauren Alaina]]
*[[Mark Chesnutt]]
*[[Lee Ann Womack]]
*[[Steve Holy]]
*[[Montgomery Gentry]]
*[[Toby Keith]]
*[[Gretchen Wilson]]
*[[Rascal Flatts]]
*[[Thompson Square]]
*[[Parmalee]]
*[[Gloriana]]
*[[Keith Anderson]]
*[[Travis Tritt]]
*[[Josh Turner]]
*[[Carly Pearce]]
*[[Chris Janson]]
*[[Locash]]
*[[Jordan Davis (singer)|Jordan Davis]]
*[[Jimmie Allen]]
*[[Mitchell Tenpenny]]
*[[Cassadee Pope]]
*[[Everette (musical duo)|Everette]]
*[[Dillon Carmichael]]
==Program directors==
*Scott Mahalick was the GM and spearheaded the branding of the "KAT". Mahalick went on to program in [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]] and now is at [[Portland, Oregon]] country station KUPL.
*Ed Hill left the station to serve as OM at KUBL in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1998. Hill left Citadel in 2011 to take on the job as program director of KMPS in Seattle, Washington.
*Randy "Bubba" Black, a native of [[Manteca, California]] was a KATM employee, from 1994 to 2011. Black was elevated to mgmt in 1997 and was sent to Reno, NV and then returned to the station after the departure of his mentor Ed Hill. Black had programmed the Bull in Reno and served as program director for the KAT from 1998 until 2011. Black continued the KATM tradition of market dominance during his tenure. Bubba's work was entered and won the Radio Station Of the Year by the CMA, a nationally recognized award, Bubba Black and KATM were also the winners of the prestigious award the ST. Jude Children's Research Hospital Promotion
Of The Year for the now many times duplicated promotion The Quest For One Million Pennies netting the charity 36 Million Pennies.
*Nikki Thomas, formerly of [[WKSF]] in [[Asheville, North Carolina]] and [[Infinity Broadcasting]] stations KWYE and KDJK in [[Fresno, California]], came to work for the station as Music Director in 2006 and served as program director after Black left in February 2011 until moving to WIVK Knoxville. Thomas programmed both KATM and WIVK from August 2016 until December 2016 when Andy Winford was brought in as the new program director.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allaccess.com/here-all-week/archive/25822/a-brief-history-of-cats-and-frogs|title=A Brief History Of Cats And Frogs by R.J. Curtis|website=allaccess.com}}</ref> KATM was noted in the Congressional Record by Rep. [[Dennis Cardoza]] for Community Service, May 15, 2012 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2012-05-15/html/CREC-2012-05-15-pt1-PgE789-3.htm|title=Congressional Record, Volume 158 Issue 69 (Tuesday, May 15, 2012)|website=www.gpo.gov}}</ref>
*Andy Winford arrived in December 2016 and is the current program director. Winford was formerly the program director of KATS-FM and KIT-AM in Yakima, Washington, the operations manager of KCTR, KMHK, KKBR and KBUL-AM in Billings, Montana, the program director of CHBN/Edmonton, Canada, program director of KKBZ-FM and KHIT-FM in Fresno, California, and the operations manager of KURQ, KSLY & KSTT in San Luis Obispo, California.
==Air staff==
*'''Morning Show (5am-10am):''' DJ Walker in the Morning with Jaimee Lee & Joe On The Go
*'''Mid-Days (10am-2pm):''' Jaimee Lee
*'''Afternoon Drive (2pm-7pm):''' Toni Marie
*'''Evenings (7pm-12mid):'''Nights with Elaina
*'''Overnight (12mid-5am):'''"Later with Lia"
*'''Weekend's/Fill-ins:'''Tim Cruz
*'''Weekend's/Fill-ins:'''Melissa McConnell
*'''Assistant Program Director:'''Jaimee Lee
*'''Program Director:'''Andy Winford
==Awards==
*KATM won the [[Country Music Association]] Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2011. The station received the news via a phone call from CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee [[Taylor Swift]], October 17, 2011.
*KATM won the [[Academy of Country Music]] Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2012.
*KATM received their second [[Country Music Association]] "Medium Market Station of the Year" nomination September 3, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Scott|first1=Jason|title=CMA Awards 2014—Full Nominations Revealed!|url=http://popdust.com/2014/09/03/cma-awards-2014-full-nominations-list/ |website=Popdust|access-date=3 September 2014|year=2014}}</ref>
*KATM Morning Show Personalities DJ Walker In The Morning were nominees for Medium Market Broadcast Personalities of the Year September 9, 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cmaworld.com/cma-awards/2015/09/09/cma-announces-2015-broadcast-awards-finalists/ |title=CMA Announces 2015 Broadcast Awards Finalists |website=CMAworld |date=9 September 2015}}</ref>
*KATM received their third [[Country Music Association]] "Medium Market Station of the Year" nomination August 31, 2016 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/157167/cma-broadcast-award-nominees-revealed|title=CMA Broadcast Award Nominees Revealed|website=allaccess.com}}</ref>
*KATM was nominated in 2018 for the ACM Medium Market Station of the Year Award.
*In 2020 KATM was nominated for both the ACM and CMA Medium Market Radio Station of the Year Awards.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.katm.com Kat Country 103's Official Website]
{{FM station data|11239|KATM}}
*{{FCC letter|letterid=71093|hcards=yes|callsign=KATM}}
{{Modesto Radio}}
{{Country Radio Stations in California}}
{{Cumulus Media}}
{{coord|37.575|N|121.355|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
[[Category:Radio stations in California|ATM]]
[[Category:Country radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass media in San Joaquin County, California]]
[[Category:Mass media in Stanislaus County, California]]
[[Category:Cumulus Media radio stations]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1948]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in California]]