KSMO went on the air in 1947, licensed to the Amphlett Printing Company, which owned the San Mateo Times daily newspaper.
The 1,000 watt station broadcast local news and high school sports and a mostly-classical musical mix. The station’s studios on downtown San Mateo’s B Street were close to the nearby railroad tracks and were notably not well-soundproofed.
In 1952, Amphlett sold the marginally-profitable station to Stephen Cisler, who owned a number of stations in the South. He changed the call letters to KEAR.
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