KCBS is an AM radio station in San Francisco, California that is currently the West Coast flagship radio station of CBS and the Westwood One Radio Network, broadcasting at 740 kHz. Its transmitter is located in Novato, California. The station has its roots in the experiments of San Jose tinkerer Charles Herrold as far back as 1909, making the broadcaster a leading contender for the title of oldest station in the United States and possibly the world. Herrold used a variety of different radio call signs in the early days, including FN, SJN, 6XF, 6XE, and KQW. In the very beginning, he just used a simple greeting like "San Jose calling." That greeting and the initial FN sign (which was an inverted abbreviation of "National Fone") reflected the fact that Herrold had been partially working on the idea of a radiotelephone.
In 1949, the station was sold to CBS, and thus became KCBS-AM. Beginning in the 1960s, KCBS took on the format of all-news-and-information (a format that continues to this day). It is currently affiliated with CBS/Westwood One.
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