Turlock’s dial tells several stories at once: students learning to broadcast, Assyrian music connecting a community, familiar songs for the drive home and regional news from Sacramento. Here are useful starting points for hearing the town and following the wider Valley.
Updated 2026.
Start with the voices closest to town
KCSS — 91.9 FM is Stanislaus State’s radio station. Its website traces that campus identity to 1974. The university describes KCSS as a noncommercial, student-run station and a lab for radio production courses. Students and community contributors make it a different listening experience from a tightly formatted commercial playlist. Its website supplies a live stream, music schedule and music-submission link.
For the place behind those broadcasts, visit our Stanislaus State guide, which covers the campus, galleries, performances and university history.
KBDG — 90.9 FM broadcasts from the Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock. The station describes a mix of Middle Eastern music centered on Assyrian music, with news announcements and interviews. It is a reminder that a local station can preserve language and community connections as well as entertain.
KCBP — 95.5 FM is a Modesto Peace/Life Center community-radio project. Its programming includes Arts of the San Joaquin Valley and Women of the Valley, alongside music and other discussions. The program schedule is more useful than expecting one music format all day.
Four other useful radio presets
- KUOP — 91.3 FM: CapRadio News’s Stockton/Modesto signal; a starting point for public-radio news and regional reporting.
- KHOP — 95.1 FM: pop music for the Central Valley. Its station website includes listening and local promotions.
- KATM / Kat Country 103: country music; tune to 103.3 FM, the frequency recorded in the FCC’s 2026 filing.
- KHKK / 104.1 The Hawk: classic rock. The name includes its 104.1 FM frequency.
Why the television news comes from Sacramento
Turlock sits within the larger Sacramento–Stockton–Modesto television market. The TVB market overview lists the major network stations serving that region. That is why a local newscast can move from Turlock to Stockton, the foothills and the state Capitol.
- KCRA 3 — NBC.
- ABC10 / KXTV — ABC.
- CBS13 / KOVR — CBS and CBS News Sacramento.
- FOX40 / KTXL — Fox.
- KQCA / My58 — the region’s CW affiliate.
- Univision 19 / KUVS and Telemundo 33 / KCSO — Spanish-language television and regional news.
PBS KVIE adds public television, national PBS programs and regional documentaries. Its ViewFinder series is especially useful when you want the stories behind Northern California places and communities. The station identifies its main digital channel as 6.1.
The ViewFinder archive includes Little Manila: Filipinos in California’s Heartland, about Stockton’s Filipino immigrant history, and Return to the Soil, about California farm families during World War II and their return to agriculture. For readers following Turlock’s farming and immigration stories, these films offer a broader Valley setting. You can look up the individual programs in the series archive.
Listen or watch without getting lost in the channel numbers
Radio frequencies are the numbers to tune on an FM receiver. Television numbers above identify station brands; your cable, satellite or streaming service may place them elsewhere in its lineup. For radio online, start with the station’s own Listen Live link rather than a directory that might use an old stream.
For television through an antenna, enter your location in the FCC reception map before choosing equipment. Its predictions assume an outdoor antenna 30 feet above ground; indoor results can differ. For a particular Turlock story, search the station’s website for “Turlock” or “Stanislaus County” instead of relying on the order of a regional homepage.
Try KCSS or KBDG for a closer connection to town, then save a regional news source you find useful. Continue exploring the places and communities behind the broadcasts in the Turlock Guide and Turlock history.
