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*KOIN Television’s signal hit the airwaves on October 15, 1953 as Portland's first VHF TV station. At that time, it was owned by Mount Hood Radio and Television, a group that included Advance Publications, owner and publisher of The Oregonian; local investors and Marshall Field's Department Stores. The Oregonian also owned KOIN Radio (AM 970 and 101.1 FM).
The radio stations had been owned previously by, The Oregon Journal, with KOIN-AM earlier owned by "The Portland News" another newspaper. The original Call letter slogan: Know Oregon's Independent Newspaper was derived from "The Portland News" slogan minus "Know". Eventually, Marshall Field sold its stake to Advance. KOIN-AM (now KCMD) and KOIN-FM (now KUFO) were sold off when Lee Enterprises purchased KOIN from Mt Hood broadcasting in October 1977. A year later Lee Enterprises founded a production company, named MIRA Mobile Television.
On February 28,1971, both transmitter towers used by KOIN-FM and KOIN-TV—the 1000-foot-tall main tower and the 700-foot-tall auxiliary tower—collapsed during an ice and wind storm. The two KOIN (AM) towers, located on the same property, were not damaged. Nine days later, on March 9, KOIN-FM and KOIN-TV returned to the air when a temporary tower was erected on the site of the collapsed auxiliary tower. During those nine days off the air, CBS programming was provided to the Portland market by KVDO-TV channel 3 in Salem, which would later move to Bend and become Oregon Public Broadcasting's KOAB-TV.
During the 1970s KOIN had a few locally produced programs on the air, including KOIN Kitchen (cooking show), and public affairs programs such as News Conference Six and Northwest Illustrated. KOIN-TV was the second TV station in the Portland Market to broadcast Portland Trail Blazers games from 1976-96, while KOIN-AM did the radio side from 1970 until the station was sold in 1977.
By the 1980s, one of KOIN past general managers Richard M. "Mick" Schafbuch, served one term in 1981 as President of the CBS Network Affiliates Group. During KOIN-TVs 30th Anniversary week in 1983, the station broadcasted some old CBS programs from the 1950s and 1960s to local viewers. By this time the station had moved into its new location at KOIN Center Tower, which is the third-tallest skyscraper in Portland. In 1984 the station aired the Japanese program. "From Oregon With Love".
In October, 2000 the Lee Enterprises television group, including KOIN, was purchased by Emmis Communications.
On January 27, 2006, Emmis sold KOIN (along with KHON/Honolulu, KSNT/Topeka, and KSNW/Wichita) to Montecito Broadcast Group for $259 million. On February 1, 2007, KOIN began to broadcast its daily newscasts in widescreen.
On July 24, 2007, Montecito announced the sale of all of its stations (KOIN, plus KHON-TV in Honolulu and its satellites, KSNW in Wichita and its satellites, and KSNT in Topeka) to New Vision Television. The sale closed on November 1, 2007.
*Information provided by Wikipedia.com
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