The FCC is also proposing to reduce redundancy by not requiring broadcasters to resubmit items to their online public files that already have been submitted to the Commission. For instance, stations are required to keep a copy of their biannual ownership reports in their public files, which is something also submitted to the FCC. Other documents, like quarterly Issues and Programming lists are only kept in the public file.

The Commission is also seeking comment on suggestions to require postings on sponsorship identification information, now disclosed only on-air, and shared services agreements.

The FCC also indicated that it is not yet ready to take up revisions to public file requirements for radio. Instead the Commission is going to wait to see how changes work for TV, while also acknowledging that radio is a different case, due at least in part to the fact that radio stations are typically smaller organizations. I do think that it’s highly unlikely that public file requirements for radio will go away.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the public interest organization the Media Access Project said of the proposal,

For twenty-five years, it has been FCC policy to place primary reliance on listeners to identify broadcasters who do not deserve license renewal. The absence of useful information about broadcasters’ performance has made the license renewal process a meaningless charade.

Today’s action makes useful information available, and makes it much more accessible to the public.

The Broadcast Law Blog has a very thorough rundown of the many aspects of the FCC’s proposal.

Community Radio Station KZYX in Philo, CA (Photo: J. Waits)

It’s really no surprise to Radio Survivor readers that terrestrial radio is vital during an emergency. We’ve seen some amazing stories about how stations have stepped up to provide needed information and help after disasters around the world, such as in the wake of recent tornados in Joplin and Tuscaloosa and after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Hurricane Irene was another reminder that having a transistor radio close by can be a vital survival tool.

WDEV in Vermont was one such station that assisted residents during the flooding following Hurricane Irene. In an article on Boston.com, David Goodman describes how the national media pronounced the hurricane danger over, while Vermont faced horrific flooding. He explains that independent, local radio told a different story:

“WDEV, an 80-year-old family-owned independent radio station that serves the northern half of the state with local news, music, and Red Sox games, opened its phone lines and hearts to worried residents who told each other in real time what was happening around them…

WDEV staffer Tom Beardsley ventured outside the studio at 10 p.m. to find an elderly woman on Main Street in Waterbury struggling through flood waters to escape her home. ‘If there are emergency personnel in the area, we could use your help here right now,’ he said urgently, finally signing off so that he could offer a hand himself.

All the while, WDEV was coping with its own disasters: flood waters were rising around its Waterbury studio, and the station had lost power and Internet communications. The radio station was kept alive by generators — and listeners. News director Eric Michaels gave out his personal cell phone number and urged listeners to call or text in information about where help was needed and how Vermonters were coping. Michaels, Beardsley, reporter Lee Kittell, station owner Ken Squier and meteorologist Roger Hill pre-empted regular broadcasting and stayed on the air for 24 crucial hours.”

Another independent, local radio station, WRIP in the Catskills also pre-empted programming to provide help to listeners in the flooded region near its New York studios. DJ Big Jay Fink staffed the booth at the local radio station, assisting callers in search of help:

“For days Mr. Fink, who was soon joined by his colleague Joe Loverro, played matchmaker, soothing stranded residents, taking down numbers to relay to rescue workers and passing on information about makeshift shelters and closed roads. The two personalities and other WRIP employees guided listeners through the arrival of the National Guard, carrying emergency supplies, to towns like Prattsville, and kept people apprised of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s trip on Wednesday to that community, which was devastated by the storm.

People listened, first from radios powered by batteries or generators, and later from their cars as they drove around to survey the damage, which may top $1 billion in New York alone, Mr. Cuomo has estimated.”

These stories out of New York and Vermont provide yet another reason to cherish local, independent radio. Do you know of other post-Irene radio heroes?

Signage at KEAR-AM in Oakland (Photo: J. Waits)

Time and time again we are reminded of the vital importance of terrestrial radio following a natural disaster. Just this week, six commercial radio stations in Joplin, Missouri have stepped up following the horrific tornado there.

As was the case after the recent tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and after the hurricane in Haiti; radio has become one of the primary methods of communicating news both before and after the storm. Zimmer Radio, Inc., which owns six commercial radio stations in Joplin, began non-stop coverage of the impending tornado beginning an hour and a half before it hit town on Sunday. As residents lost electricity and Internet access, listening to terrestrial radio became the main way to keep in touch with news about the storm. According to a CNN article:

“KZRG, part of Zimmer Operations’ six radio stations — two that are news and four, music — began its wall-to-wall coverage an hour and a half before the tornado twisted through town Sunday. It hasn’t stopped. For the first 24 hours, there was no electricity. Both cell phones and land lines were out, as was Internet service. All that people in Joplin had were battery-powered transistors.

The tornado missed the station building by a few blocks. So Zimmer Programming Manager Chad Elliot’s staff cranked up the generators and turned off the music. They even canceled the commercials. All they did was provide vital information to people who had lost everything.

Elliot said it was the first time the stations had stopped all else to provide 24/7 information, though he had learned the power of radio two years ago during a jumbo ice storm. ‘We’ve had this situation before, when radio becomes the only way of communication,’ he said. Immediately after Sunday’s killer tornado, Elliot said emergency crews drove to the station to provide information for broadcast. The station began telling people where to go for medical help. Or what number to dial for information about the missing. Or where they could buy gas or where there was still a Walmart standing.”

In addition to sending information out to listeners, the stations in Joplin also served as clearinghouses for callers offering aid or requesting assistance. According to a piece in the Los Angeles Times:

“The stations, based in a one-story building in Joplin, have transformed their staffs into impromptu public health experts and unofficial public information officers, consolidating multiple broadcasts into a single feed of nonstop disaster coverage under the call letters KZRG.

Classic-rock jocks and news talk-show hosts have become on-air first responders.

‘All of a sudden, it turned into people looking for loved ones,’ said [radio host Rob] Meyer, assistant operations manager. ‘ And we just let it grow.’

On late Tuesday night and early Wednesday, questions on the show focused on logistics. Where do I get a permit to enter damaged areas? How do I make a FEMA claim? Callers also passed along the latest survivor tips or staked righteous attempts at fighting misinformation, including one woman who called to say that she and her family were not dead — as had apparently been rumored on Facebook.

Spontaneous charity was rampant. A McDonald’s employee called host Randy Brooks, 40, to take an on-air order: three Quarter Pounders for the hosts and a Happy Meal for Brooks’ daughter. Another caller offered to bring clothes.”

Again, it’s important to realize the areas in which terrestrial radio excels and the key role that it can and should play in its local community. Every time there’s an earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or similar disaster and local radio heroically responds; we should all stop and pause and think about who will help save us in our own home towns. It’s yet another reason why we should vehemently protest when local stations are targets for takeover by out-of-town conglomerates, as I’m not sure that a voice-tracked DJ or a satellite-fed signal from across the country will be able to help when a tragedy hits in my back yard.

A handful of the stations owned by Family Stations (Photo: J. Waits)

The hype surrounding Family Radio’s prediction of Judgment Day and the Rapture on May 21 (and subsequent pronouncement that the Rapture will be delayed until October 21, 2011) not only attracted the attention of mainstream media, religious scholars, and atheists; but it also has led to much conversation amongst proponents of non-commercial educational radio.

Before May 21, 2011 had come and gone, fans of beleaguered college radio station KUSF were suggesting that with the impending Rapture, Family Radio should simply turn over their local station to Save KUSF so that the staff of the formerly terrestrial KUSF could get back on the air.

Additionally, non-commercial radio supporter Michael Stripling Duncan apparently sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on May 20, requesting that the stations owned by Family Stations be turned over to a college radio organization so that stations like KTRU could get back on the air. He writes:

“I am sure you are aware of the predicted events of tomorrow, May 21, 2011, and the certainty with which these predictions have been made by Family Stations Inc., of Sacramento, CA, aka Family Radio, holder of multiple FCC licenses for AM and FM radio and translator transmitters.

It has come to my attention that beginning on Sunday, May 22, Family Stations, Inc. will no longer have need for these licenses or transmitters, either due to lack of physical and metaphysical presence on earth of anyone previously owning, administering, or listening to the stations, or for ownership having been proved to be confidence men of the highest order.

I therefore petition the Federal Communications Commission to condemn these transmitters and reassign license and ownership of the stations to College Broadcasters, Inc. or other such organization dedicated to independent student media on college campuses for the purpose of providing student media outlets at Rice University and colleges or universities whose governing bodies have secretly liquidated student radio stations in the past. I further urge you and your colleagues to take such action in all due haste, lest the Commission finds itself unable to find a quorum after the Rapture.”

And, then today, on a more serious note, REC Networks Founder and LPFM supporter Michelle (Michi) Eyre posted a letter (PDF) that she had sent to Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain (co-sponsors of the Local Community Radio Act). In her blog post about the letter, Eyre “points out the need for ownership controls on non-commercial educational (NCE) FM broadcast stations and FM translators” stating that “mega-ministries” are “precluding local organizations and local ministries from having a voice in their community.”

In her letter, Eyre writes:

“This past weekend’s ‘false alarm’ over this alleged ‘rapture’ that was predicted by Harold Camping of Family Stations, Inc. rekindles an issue that has been on my mind for years. That issue is related to the ownership of multiple non-commercial educational (NCE) radio broadcast stations. In the early days, NCE broadcast stations were mainly owned and operated by colleges and high schools as a training ground for students…”

She then outlines the operations of several “‘mega-ministries’ that operate hundreds of full power FM broadcast stations and lower power broadcast translators.”

Eyre explains that, “The recent ‘rapture’ hoax…was propagated through 55 FM stations, 12 AM stations, 89 translators and a shortwave broadcast station that can be picked up in many parts of the world…The hoax was picked up by other media sources around the world and the result was worldwide panic.” She points out that although she supports free speech, she is concerned when broadcasters don’t have a connection to their local community and when, in the case of Family Radio, work to “facilitate mass-hysteria.”

She also mentions the recent sale of KTRU and the pending sale of KUSF and argues that, “I feel the Federal Communications Commission needs to take accountability especially given the way that it has allowed these mega-ministries to expand, purchase failing college stations and file excessive applications in filing windows, sometimes through questionable means.”

This is not a self-imposed initiative: it is a consideration the agency is mandated to make, courtesy of the Paperwork Reduction Act. It requires regulatory agencies to periodically review their rules and justify their existence to the Office of Management and Budget.

A communications law attorney filed a Petition for Rulemaking directly with the FCC to do away with the public file five years ago. The Petition attracted less than three dozen comments, most of which came from broadcasters who supported killing it off. The FCC circular-filed the idea.

According to the D.C. telecom law firm of Fletcher, Heald and Hildreth, the local station public file requirement is essentially pointless:

According to many broadcasters…such files are largely if not totally ineffective and unnecessary, since (in the reported experience of many of those broadcasters) the public seldom if ever inspects the files. From that perspective, the requirement to maintain the files is an empty make-work exercise that serves no purpose. . . other than to provide the FCC with a way to collect tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars in fines from folks who happen not to have dotted all their public file I’s and crossed all their public file T’s.

Indeed, the FCC takes the public file requirement very seriously – having recently fined several stations thousands of dollars apiece for failing to maintain them properly.

However, the argument to abolish is circular. Public files of broadcast stations are seldom inspected because the public is largely unaware that they exist, and even less aware that it has the right to inspect them. Stations certainly don’t go out of their way to inform the public of its rights in this regard, which further exacerbates the lack of utilization.

Couching advocacy for the banishment of the public file requirement as economically burdensome is also a cop-out. Given the consolidation the radio industry has experienced since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, it’s no surprise that stations are letting this important license requirement slip: there’s no longer enough people employed at radio stations to properly maintain many public files.

The slashing of station personnel arguably has made public file maintenance more burdensome – but that’s a consequence of prior bad broadcast policy, and no excuse for eliminating this rule.

In fact, one could argue that the public file requirement is the last meaningful remnant of the FCC’s “commitment” to localism in broadcasting. Sure, the agency’s Localism Task Force has studied the issue – even to the point of publishing a detailed Report and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2008, which would have promoted more use of the public file rules – but nothing has come of it.

On its face, I’d be willing to trade the public file requirement for localism regulations with more teeth, but that’s a pipe-dream.

Public comments on this issue will be accepted through June 17. There is no formal FCC proceeding on the subject, but you can send feedback via e-mail to PRA@fcc.gov and Cathy.Williams@FCC.gov. There’s a better-than-even chance that the FCC will recommend keeping the public file rule, but the OMB has final say. Giving the FCC fodder to strengthen its justification can’t hurt.

[This story was initially published on DIYmedia.net.]

Save KUSF Sign at City Hall Rally on Feb. 1, 2011 (Photo: J. Waits)

Right now supporters of KUSF are heading into City Hall in San Francisco, anticipating today’s 2pm Board of Supervisors’ meeting, in which a resolution opposing the sale of University of San Francisco’s college radio station KUSF is expected to be voted on.

For the past two weeks KUSF volunteers and fans have been calling, writing and meeting with members of the Board of Supervisors and have been making their voices heard during the public comment period of the Tuesday 2pm Board of Supervisors’ meetings.

Although the city government of San Francisco can’t halt the proposed sale of KUSF’s license to Classical Public Radio Network, supporters at Save KUSF are hoping that this resolution will help to encourage University of San Francisco to reconsider the deal.

Yesterday the University of San Francisco Faculty Association adopted a similar resolution and is asking for University of San Francisco to halt the station sale. In the resolution, the faculty association points out the educational role that the station held on campus, arguing that “…KUSF has served as a location for teaching, mentoring, internships, and workshop experiences for thousands of USF students and alumnae over the years, as well as a resource for faculty seeking a wider audience…” and that:

“…KUSF 90.3 FM is a public trust and community asset that serves as an extraordinary educational tool, provides access to vital information to those who otherwise won’t have it, promotes local and independent music, and is immensely valuable to the people of San Francisco and integral to the fabric of our city, and the loss of KUSF would have a very negative impact on San Francisco’s eclectic and prolific local music, arts, and social justice communities…

the University of San Francisco Faculty Association requests USF to cancel the sale of KUSF 90.3 FM and offer members of the San Francisco community the opportunity to obtain the 90.3 FM license and KUSF name to keep it a San Francisco run non-commercial educational and community station; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the USFFA urges the Federal Communications Commission to reject the transfer of the broadcast license of KUSF 90.3 FM to a Los Angeles company until the community is first given a chance to keep KUSF on the air in San Francisco.”

Today’s San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ meeting begins at 2pm and can be viewed live online. You can also watch the past couple of meetings (in which the KUSF resolution was discussed), see agendas, and meeting minutes on that same page.

***

Complete Radio Survivor coverage about the proposed sale of KUSF can be found here. I also wrote about my reaction to the KUSF shut down on Spinning Indie.  My article chronicling my KUSF field trip 2 years ago is housed there too.

Protesters Gather at USF Prior to Meeting with University President (Photo: J. Waits)

Last night KUSF DJs, staff members, alumni and listeners (including students, University of San Francisco faculty, and DJs from other local college radio stations) came out to University of San Francisco in an attempt to get some answers from USF about the sudden shut-down of the college radio station on Tuesday at 10am during DJ Schmeejay’s show. The 478 seat Presentation Theater was filled to capacity with supporters eager to pose questions to USF President Rev. Stephen A. Privett.

Prior to the scheduled 7pm meeting, people gathered in front of Phelan Hall (where KUSF is housed) with home made signs and caps and shirts emblazoned with “Save KUSF.”  The bell tower overlooking campus ominously chimed, while people swapped stories about the surprise announcement of the station sale to University of Southern California for its new Classical Public Radio Network.

In the background, campus security turned people away from Phelan Hall and also watched over the growing crowd from atop a neighboring building’s roof. As it got closer to 7pm, the large group walked over to Presentation Theater, while chanting against the station sale. At one point a motorcycle escort even helped to block off Turk Street, while the group crossed over from the main campus. Upon arriving in front of Presentation Theater, one of KUSF’s Music Directors, Irwin Swirnoff, led the crowd in a vocal protest before the assembled entered the theater. As people arrived, they were handed slips of paper, which could be filled out with a name and relationship to KUSF if one wanted to ask a question during the meeting.

Irwin Swirnoff Leads Group of KUSF Supporters into Presentation Theater (Photo: J. Waits)

Before the floor was opened to questions, USF President Privett invited those in the room to “pray with him,” as is the tradition at USF at meetings such as these. It turned out to be a telling way to begin the discussion, as many questions later would focus on how the handling of the KUSF sale was in keeping with Jesuit values.

After thanking the volunteers and staff of KUSF for their service, he said, “It’s very clear to me that there is justifiable anger and disappointment with the decision that I made…” He added, “I don’t expect or anticipate that you are going to agree with me…,” but asked that people listen to his perspective. Privett emphasized that his “primary responsibility” is to students and to ensure that “all of the university’s resources are directed…to a quality education…to our students….”

With that, Privett opened the floor to questions. Names were called from the slips of paper that were turned in, so it felt fairly random as far as who was given an opportunity to share a comment or ask a question. Although the range of questions and comments were impressive, emotional, and intelligent; for the most part the answers stuck to the party-line that was communicated in Privett’s opening statement and in USF’s official press release from Tuesday. Despite that, there were some surprising revelations and incisive questions that no doubt left Privett thinking in a different way about how he’s handled KUSF.

Packed Crowd at KUSF Meeting at Presentation Theater (Photo: J. Waits)

San Francisco listeners talked about how KUSF has been an important resource for the community and said that they will miss being able to hear the station over the FM airwaves.

Current KUSF DJs talked about their dismay over how the plans to sell the station were kept secret and argued that they were made to feel like “criminals” by the administration when they were simply trying to get answers after the station was abruptly shut down.

Chad Heimann, a KUSF DJ and a junior Media Studies major at USF, said that “yesterday when I was at KUSF and thrown out…I didn’t feel like a student, I felt like a criminal.” He explained to Privett that he was also a campus tour guide and that he refused to give a tour the day after the shut-down because he didn’t “want to have to say anything bad about the university.” He also expressed how important the non-student volunteers and the San Francisco community are to KUSF, arguing, “I know for a fact…we can’t do this without the community…I can’t run a radio station without the community…I love them and I learn from them.” He also told Privett that right now he feels “ashamed” to attend USF and said, “I feel so betrayed by the school that I love so much.”

Despite comments like these, Privett downplayed the current role of students at KUSF, at one point saying that only 10 students worked at the station. He quickly recanted that after people questioned him and then seemed to state that perhaps KUSF had a staff of 10 percent students (a point that someone later referred to as the “myth of the 10 per cent”).

Although Previtt stated that, “KUSF will continue with online programming,” he also said that “KUSF will go back to its roots” as a “student enterprise” and a “learning laboratory.” No mention was made as to whether or not the station would be open to community members as it is now. He was vague about the details on how the “new” KUSF would be programmed, stating that those questions will be decided later by the Dean and faculty members who will be charged with designing a curriculum for the station. On that note, USF Media Studies professor Dorothy Kidd chimed in, saying that she was upset that faculty members in her department were also left in the dark about the sale, saying that if the new direction of the station is as a “teaching facility,” then, “Why is the first time that I learned about this decision, last night? I am a teacher…” She added that, “a lot of faculty members are very upset with this decision.”

I was lucky to have my name called, so asked Privett a few questions about both the sale and the future of the station. I questioned him about how the offer arrived at USF and whether or not the station was officially for sale. He said that they had not put themselves up for sale and that an offer to buy the station came to them through a broker 3 to 4 months ago. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, he learned who the suitor was (University of Southern California). To me this was intriguing news, as earlier in the day Brenda Barnes from KUSC stated that her priority was to expand the reach of Classical Public Radio Network by seeking out available frequencies in the Bay Area. She emphasized that they were only approaching stations that are already for sale; so it left me wondering if that was the case with KUSF. Many have pointed out that KUSF has received purchase offers in the past, including one from USC that was rejected a few years ago. So, perhaps that indicates that KUSF has been on the market all this time, even though Previtt denied it tonight.

Sign at KUSF. June 2010. (Photo: J. Waits)

I also asked about the future of Cultural programming on KUSF (for more details on the program schedule at the old KUSF, see my “station field trip” article) and about the rumored plans that the station will be moving. Earlier in the day, a KUSF Music Director, Howard Ryan (aka “DJ Schmeejay“) was interviewed on Radio Valencia. He said that the school’s communication about KUSF moving to a streaming station seemed to be giving people the false impression that KUSF as it is today would simply be transitioned to an online-only station. He said that there was talk that the station would move to a new building and that there would be no space for the music library, arguing that, “The cultural programming is probably not going to stay” and “It’s really not at all going to be” like the old KUSF. He guessed that the new station would consist of students playing primarily digital music.

So, after hearing Howard’s words earlier, I asked Privett about the plans for the music library and if it would be retained. He said that it was the property of KUSF and indicated that there would be space for a library in the new location. Later on in the evening he said that the station is moving out of Phelan Hall because the building is being renovated and the campus “needed more beds.” Prior to KUSF’s occupancy, its space in Phelan Hall was used as dorm rooms and the plan is to revert the space back to that purpose. He didn’t indicate where KUSF would be moving.

Howard was also one of the many people to question Privett about morality and the community-oriented ideals of Jesuits, asking, “”How do you feel this business transaction reflects Jesuit ideals?”  Privett said that the station was not part of the university’s “core mission,” adding they the school “cannot afford this community service.” Howard then asked why the community wasn’t given the opportunity to make an offer to buy the station and asked Privett to reconsider his decision to sell the station to USC. Despite that plea, Privett remained resolute that his decision will stand.

KUSF Storage Space in an Old Dorm Bathroom. June 2010 (Photo: J. Waits)

Although many in the crowd probed Privett about business ethics, the secrecy with which the deal went down and how the sale of the station is in keeping with the stated vision, mission, and values of USF, he said, “This was not a crass business decision about dollars…This was about ensuring that our programs involve students…our primary mission is to our students.”

As the evening wore on he also mentioned that the school wanted to “recoup” both space and monetary resources that went into KUSF. Others countered his statements about the school’s funding of the station, pointing out that KUSF brought in underwriting dollars, donations, and also survived based on the volunteer hours put in by students and community members. People also questioned Privett on why KUSF wasn’t allowed to do fundraisers and why it wasn’t encouraged to become financially self-sufficient.

After about 2 hours of questions, Privett left the stage and Irwin Swirnoff addressed the crowd from the audience, saying, “We asked that a KUSF representative be on stage,” but were denied. So, the meeting ended with many lingering questions on the lips of DJs and listeners. Privett did state that if people had more questions, they were welcome to email him at privett@usfca.edu.

In the meantime, the Save KUSF Facebook page had around 3300 fans at last count, an online petition is circulating, and news and updates are being posted on the website Save KUSF. Behind the scenes DJs and staff are planning their next moves to work to formally protest the sale with the FCC. Stay tuned…

Save KUSF

Yesterday it was announced that college radio station KUSF’s frequency and transmitter was being sold to a new public radio group, Classical Public Radio Network, owned by University of Southern California (USC). As part of the deal the commercial classical radio station KDFC will now convert to a non-commercial station and broadcast of KUSF’s frequency of 90.3 FM.

One of the first official letters of protest was released today by the non-profit group Independent Arts and Media. As a financial supporter of KUSF, Independent Arts and Media is calling for a re-examination of the proposed station sale is offering up an alternate plan.  In a press release this morning they state:

“The $3.75 million sale of KUSF-FM by the University of San Francisco will have a chilling effect on the culture, community and civic life of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond…We respectfully request a moratorium on the sale and a grace period enabling the KUSF-FM volunteers, through the agency of Friends of KUSF, to develop and execute the following plans:

* A financing strategy to raise $4 million for the purchase of the station and to seed startup operations for the station in an off-campus setting
* An operations plan detailing station management, staffing, policies and oversight by the Friends of KUSF Executive Board.”

The letter goes on to state that the station sale would not be in the public interest of San Francisco residents because it will eliminate “a culturally diverse, community-run outlet for independent music, arts, ideas and news. Replacing KUSF’s broadcast signal with an online-only signal will also put KUSF out of reach of anyone without broadband Internet access due to financial, technological or educational barriers.”

In other news today,  KUSF Music Director Irwin Swirnoff and President of KUSC Radio Brenda Barnes appeared on the KQED talk show Forum to discuss the radio station “shake up” in the Bay Area yesterday. Irwin eloquently articulated KUSF’s role for the San Francisco community as a “cultural oasis..with shows in 9 different languages… and a range of eclectic music programming.” He also revealed that the shut down of KUSF happened while students and faculty at University of San Francisco were still on winter break, hampering their abilities to organize effectively. He said, “Yesterday was extremely shocking, sad, and disturbing” and added that the timing during a school break meant that, “It didn’t allow us to mobilize the community, mobilize the media…”

While Brenda Barnes of KUSC said that the current discussions about the purchase of KUSF begin last Spring, but that they had actually been having conversations about a potential purchase with University of San Francisco for “several years.” She said that she was sympathetic to the feelings of KUSF staffers, but spent more time in the interview discussing plans for the future non-commercial KDFC. She also indicated that the station will be expanding its playlist and also hopes to extend its reach into the South Bay, calling it a “top priority” since the current coverage area will not reach as far south as they would like. In a statement sure to frighten any of us involved with non-commercial radio in the South Bay, she said, “…we’ll be looking for stations that are for sale,” adding that, they are not courting stations who have not been put up for sale, saying,”we haven’t gone to anyone and said, ‘would you sell us your station.’”

Last night I wrapped up the day’s events on Spinning Indie, after following the news throughout the day on Radio Survivor. Tonight there will be a meeting at Phelan Hall at 6:00pm, followed by a protest at 7pm at Fromm Hall. Organizers have set up a Save KUSF website and Facebook page in order to help spread the word.

WLIU sold to Peconic Public Broadcasting

When universities put their radio stations up for sale, more often than not the people lining up with cash in hand are non-local radio groups. So, it’s a wonderful surprise when those who work at a  station that’s on the chopping block take the initiative to save the station from outside parties. As we reported last year, public radio station WLIU found itself for sale after the State University of New York at Stony Brook took over the Long Island University campus in Southampton, New York.

Campus radio dated back to as early as the 1970s at the formerly named Southampton College, with stations broadcasting over carrier current (WSCR, which eventually morphed into an Internet-only student station and is presumably now defunct) and FM (WPBX, which was renamed WLIU). Most recently WLIU has been broadcasting a public radio format. When the station was put up for sale, a group of community members and station staffers formed Peconic Public Broadcasting in order to make a bid for the station. For the past year they have been fundraising and working hard to make their purchase of the station a reality.

Peconic Public Broadcasting successfully completed its acquisition of WLIU on Wednesday, December 15 and the station announced that it will now be broadcasting under the new call letters WPPB at 88.3 FM. According to a press release, the new station will continue to air public radio programming, but with “added local emphasis.”

It’s great to see that community members in Southampton were able to keep their station both independent and locally owned and it’s nice to finally hear some good news about a college radio station sale.

As I wrote in my story about the work being done in Central Africa by Interactive Radio for Justice and as Jake Chapnick called for in his piece about community radio in Afghanistan, radio is a powerful tool in warn-torn regions. Groups often rally to build community radio stations in these areas and also work to bring in portable radios to areas in which people don’t have ready access to news and information.

Sudan has seen the development of community radio stations in recent years and now International Relief & Development is working to bring hand-crank and solar-powered radios to villages on the border of Northern and Southern Sudan. The hope is that radios will give people access to news and information about not only the peace process, but also about issues related to human rights. Supporters of this initiative to bring radios to Sudan are encouraged to sign an online petition on Care2′s website.

To learn more about some of the community radio stations that have been built in Sudan, take a look at this piece on Internews.