Save KUSF Testimonials

DJs, listeners and community members speak out about the importance of KUSF and why the community should be allowed to raise the funds to buy 90.3fm slot in the Bay Area from USF.

KUSF & WFMU Live from Amoeba on Friday, Feb 18: 12-3pm

WFMU hosts a live remote broadcast featuring KUSF dj's!

In an act of solidarity with the Save KUSF movement and the legions of KUSF 90.3FM supporters still in shock over the sudden silencing last month of San Francisco's beloved freeform radio station, Amoeba Music San Francisco will join forces with New Jersey's WFMU radio this Friday, February 18th, to host an all KUSF DJ live remote broadcast that will be on WFMU airwaves back... east as well as streaming online on WFMU.org. KUSF DJs spinning music sets during the 3 hour instore that begins at noon sharp will include Irwin (Sleeves on Hearts), Carolyn, Stereo Steve, Jantine B, Harry D (In The Soul Kitchen), and DJ Schmeejay, who was in the middle of his popular Tuesday morning show, Radiodrome, on the morning of January 18th when the plug (literally) was pulled on the 90.3FM transmitter. KZSU Stanford will simulcast the WFMU feed on both their website and on their airwaves at 90.1FM so folks in the Bay Area can tune in on their radios to hear the Amoeba in-store broadcast.

Tracy Rosenberg

Executive Director, Media Alliance

College Radio: You Will Be Assimilated

Like the B-52's? Metallica? The White Stripes?

You might have never heard of them if not for KUSF, the venerable San Francisco college radio station that first played their music.

College radio is part of the diverse package of community media voices around the country that with spit-and-glue budgets, volunteer energy and a handful of overworked staff, keep bits of the television and radio waves open to the public, while training millions of young people in technology and how to use it.

These do-it-yourself outlets, which have survived for decades with an open door policy, often feature unique and eclectic formats inspired by the passions and talents of the surrounding community. At the University of San Francisco for the past thirty years, that has often meant the city's flourishing and influential music scene, one of the most vital in the country.

KUSF hasn't gone unnoticed. Besides a lofty alumni list of musical talent that later became household names, KUSF also broadcast public affairs programming in 9 different languages, weekly broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera and other random niches rarely served by larger broadcasters, and received commendations from a hit parade of local and national institutions including the United States Senate, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, American Women in Radio and Television, The National Association of College Broadcasters, The United Way, the San Francisco Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and SF mayors Willie Brown, Jr. and Dianne Feinstein,

Sounds like a community media success story.

But KUSF broadcast for the last time on January 18, 2011. Howard Ryan, a former DJ, describes the events of that day:

"With virtually all FM channels in well-populated areas already assigned, the only option is to obtain outlets from those who already have them, including commercial, religious, and educational broadcasters outside the public radio system."

Educational broadcasters outside the public radio system include a large variety of college-based and community-based stations that criss-cross the country, including the 5-station and 150-affiliate Pacifica Radio Network.

Every year, the public and community media family sing kumbaya at annual conferences like the National Federation for Community Broadcasters or the bi-annual National Conference on Media Reform, where independent, alternative, community-based and public interest media are saluted for their roles as antidotes to the lack of credibility of the commercial and corporately-owned networks, the cable giants and the radio empires of Clear Channel, Infinity and Entercom.

Seemingly united around shared values of localism and diversity, one hates to think that behind the solidarity is a plan for the long-term absorption of all licenses outside the master ship.

At this time, when public media financing is facing serious challenges in Washington, and all hands on deck are needed to help preserve what little public interest media we have, perhaps we need to redefine the private financing needs as Community Radio Capital and the challenge as leveraging the financial resources to keep educational and community-based broadcasters, NPR-affiliated or not, right where they are, servicing their unique neighborhoods and developing formats and programming priorities that are as varied and diverse as the local places they inhabit.

After all, if there's a million channels and they're all playing the same thing all day, what have we gained?

Somebody's got to take a chance with the B-52's.

Tell USC local, independent media is too important: don't crush community stations from afar

The University of Southern California has announced that it will ‘preserve classical music in San Francisco’ via the purchase of the rights to broadcast there at 90.3 FM and 89.9 FM. USC sees this as a chance to connect with alumni and with potential recruits. The deal, however, is a travesty.

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SF Board of Supervisors Resolution

The following Resolution was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with an 8 to 3 majority:

[Opposing the sale of KUSF’s FCC license to broadcast on 90.3 FM ]

Resolution recognizing the long and valuable public service of radio station KUSF; opposing the sale of KUSF’s FCC license to broadcast on 90.3 FM, requesting the USF Board of Regents to rescind the decision to transfer KUSF’s license and reinstate KUSF programming, and urging San Francisco’s Federal representatives to express their opposition to KUSF’s sale to the Federal Communications Commission.

WHEREAS, Radio station KUSF is a non-commercial community broadcaster located on the University of San Francisco (USF) campus and funded by USF, local and merchant underwriting, individual donations, and foundation grants; and

WHEREAS, In April of 2002, the Board of Supervisors passed Resolution 281-02, commending KUSF on the occasion of their twenty-fifth anniversary; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF began in 1963 as a campus-only AM station managed by the Associated Students of the University of San Francisco; and,

WHEREAS, On April 25, 1977, KUSF became an FM station broadcasting on the 90.3 frequency, broadcasting six hours a day; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF began broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1981, and continued to do so uninterrupted until 10 a.m. on January 18, 2011 when USF staff, without notice, terminated the broadcast and ejected KUSF staff and volunteers from the station; and,

WHEREAS, On January 18, 2011 USF announced plans to sell KUSF's license to broadcast on 90.3 FM to classical station KDFC, whose license for 102.1 FM would be sold to classic rock station, KUFX; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF has repeatedly been named the best radio station in the Bay Area by local media outlets, including the SF Weekly, Bay Guardian, and San Francisco Magazine; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF routinely provided a wide range of community based programming dedicating itself to giving a voice to the unique range of cultures & communities that help make San Francisco an internationally respected city; and,

WHEREAS, Such community service programming is highlighted by shows like Senior News, and Disability Report, which is a community service the station has served this city with for over 25 years; and

WHEREAS, KUSF has historically been committed to its obligation to serve all communities of San Francisco with programming in twelve languages, sometimes the only programming available to certain language and ethnic groups including :

• Chinese Star Radio (over 15 years),

• Armenian Hour (over 25 years),

• Turkish Cultural Program (over 10 years),

• Radio Goethe (in German, over 10 years),

• So Da Brasil (over 10 years); and,

WHEREAS, For more than thirty years, KUSF has been one of the main outlets for and promoters San Francisco musicians who are ignored by the Bay Areas commercial radio stations; and,

WHEREAS, Many now-famous musical acts first gained radio exposure on KUSF, including Depeche Mode, Metallica, The B-52's, U2, R.E.M., the White Stripes, and Kronos Quartet, in fact, KUSF has received one double platinum and seven gold record awards from the recording industry—one of the very few college stations in the country ever to be so recognized; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF has been a steadfast community partner with many Community Based Organizations promoting, health, the arts, education and social justice such as Shanti Project, Community Thrift, Exploratorium, Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, Frameline Film Festival, SF International Film Festival, Noise Pop, Mission Creek Music & Arts Festival, Project Open Hand, Film Noir Foundation, Media Alliance, Pets Unlimited, Cartoon Art Museum, Castro Theatre, Red Vic, SF Public Library, Coalition on Homelessness; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF has a direct effect on our local economy by supporting local musicians, artists, record labels, live music venues (and all the staff it takes to run them), promoting the work of our rich non-profit community through myriad museums, independent film houses, Internationally attended film, arts, and music festivals in San Francisco through the invaluable media coverage that helps them to reach their community about their efforts; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF provides incalculable value to the academic mission of USF by attracting students throughout the country to its Mass Media Studies program who enroll expressly because of the opportunity KUSF provides; and

WHEREAS, KUSF further supports the university’s educational goals by broadcasting student recruiting announcements for not only the College of Arts and Sciences but also other academic departments as well as airing Public Services Announcements promoting activities and events open to the public on campus; and

WHEREAS, KUSF provides live coverage of USF’s Davies Forum Scholars, a lecture series designed to interest students in public services and has featured such notables as McGeorge Bundy and Pierre Salinger; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF supports not only the university’s academic and intellectual programs, but also provides coverage of Dons sporting events including men’s and women’s basketball and broadcast the NCAA national soccer championships featuring the Dons; and,

WHEREAS, The loss of KUSF would thus have a devastating impact on San Francisco's eclectic and prolific local music, arts and social justice communities; and,

WHEREAS, KUSF’s programming enjoys a market share almost unheard of amongst college stations rating 7th in average quarter-hour audiences and 11th in cumulative audience listenership among adults 18-34 which is an understated market as Arbitron, the industry research and marketing firm producing the ratings, does not even measure KUSF’s ethnic and foreign language listenership; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission's publication, “The Public and Broadcasting,” states that licensed radio stations are "required by law to operate its station in the “public interest, convenience and necessity.” This means that it must air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of its local community of license;" and,

WHEREAS, “The Public and Broadcasting,” also states that radio stations must "affirmatively identify those needs and problems and then specifically treat those local matters that it deems to be significant in the news, public affairs, political and other programming that it airs;" and,

WHEREAS, KUSF met these requirements by broadcasting cultural programming every weekday from 6 p.m. to midnight and all day and night on Saturday and Sunday; and,

WHEREAS, The American Women in Radio and Television honored KUSF with its KUDO Award for the best cultural diversity programming on Bay Area radio; and,

WHEREAS, USF’s announced intention to stream former KUSF programming solely as online content is inherently discriminatory in that it clearly digitally divides its diverse audience, the digital divide being a symptom of a larger and more complex problem -- that of persistent poverty and inequality—an express reason that public, non-commercial broadcasting even exists; and

WHEREAS, Replacing KUSF's diverse, community-serving format with an all-music format would have a detrimental impact on San Francisco and would constitute a violation of the FCC requirement that licensees must serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity;” now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco hereby decries the loss of the cultural and community asset that is represented by KUSF and the loss generally of public access to media afforded by public radio and voices its extreme displeasure at the abrupt closure of KUSF; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors recognizes 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, and is immensely valuable to the people of San Francisco and integral to the fabric of our city; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors requests USF to respect the requirement of localism by offering the City and County of San Francisco or members of the public the opportunity to obtain the 90.3 FM license and the KUSF name to keep it a San Francisco run non-commercial educational and community station; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urges the President of USF and the USF Board of Trustees to withdraw any applications to transfer the license to broadcast on 90.3 FM and otherwise requests USF to reconsider its actions in closing KUSF and sale of its FCC license; and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urges Congresswoman Pelosi and Senators Boxer and Feinstein to contact the FCC and expression their opposition to any proposed transfer of KUSF's license to broadcast on 90.3 FM; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors directs the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to send copies of this resolution to USF President Stephen A. Privett, the USF Board of Trustees, Congresswoman Pelosi, Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and the Federal Communications Commission.

USF Faculty Opposes Sale of KUSF

Dear Colleagues,

The USFFA Policy Board has adopted the following resolution. Please respond to me directly at neamane@usfca.edu or to any PB rep if you have any further questions or wish to take any further action,

Sincerely,

Elliot Neaman

President, USFFA

***

WHEREAS, Radio station KUSF 90.3 FM is a non-commercial community broadcaster located on the University of San Francisco (USF) campus that, since April 25, 1977, broadcast around the clock on the 90.3 frequency, until 10 a.m. on January 18, 2011 when USF staff, without notice, terminated the broadcast and ejected KUSF staff and volunteers from the station and then revealed plans to sell KUSF's license to broadcast on 90.3 FM to a Los Angeles classical music station; and, Whereas 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

WHEREAS, KUSF routinely provides a wide range of invaluable community based programming giving a voice to a unique range of cultures and communities such as: Senior News; Disability Report, which has been broadcast for over 25 years; Chinese Star Radio, which has broadcast community news, health, and cultural information in Cantonese for over 15 years; Armenian Hour, which has broadcast for over 25 years; the Turkish Cultural Program, which has broadcast for over 10 years; Radio Goethe, which has broadcast in German for over 10 years; and So Da Brasil, which has broadcast for over 10 years; and KUSF has a significant direct effect on our local economy by supporting local musicians, artists, record labels, and live music venues and promoting the work of our rich non-profit community through its coverage of myriad museums, independent film houses, internationally attended film, arts, and music festivals in San Francisco; and,

WHEREAS, 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; and

WHEREAS, the sudden closing of KUSF fits into a historical pattern of the administration failing to consult with the USFFA and broader community prior to taking significant action that affects the entire University;

NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that 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.

SF Board of Supervisors Passes Resolution Opposing Sale

SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO FACULTY ASSOCIATION & THE SAN FRANCISCO DEMOCRATIC PARTY OPPOSE SALE OF KUSF 90.3FM BROADCAST LICENSE

San Francisco, CA (February 9, 2011) – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday opposing the proposed sale of KUSF 90.3 FM by an 8-3 majority. Sponsored by Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi (District 1) and Eric Mar (District 5), the resolution calls upon the University of San Francisco (USF) to “withdraw any applications to transfer the license to broadcast on 90.3 FM and otherwise requests USF to reconsider its actions in closing KUSF and sale of its FCC license.” and urges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not to allow the license transfer to new owners.

The resolution states 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, and is immensely valuable to the people of San Francisco and integral to the fabric of our city.”

The Board became the second organization in two days to pass a resolution opposing the sale. On Monday, the University of San Francisco Faculty Association (USFFA) also adopted a resolution calling upon USF to halt the sale, “KUSF has served as a location for teaching, mentoring, internships, and workshop experiences for thousands of USF students and alumnae over the years” and that KUSF “is immensely valuable to the people of San Francisco.” It concludes by saying, the USFFA “requests USF 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. It closes by further urging the FCC “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.”

The resolutions come on the heels of last week's action by the San Francisco Democratic Party stating "KUSF has a significant direct effect on our local economy"

The FCC has yet to rule on the application for transfer of license, the consideration of which begins after February 26th. At any time prior to FCC approval and upon mutual agreement -- the sale can be halted.

University of San Francisco (USF) announced the station’s sale to the University of Southern California's (USC) Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN) on January 18th while students were on winter break. At 10am the KUSF signal was cut without notice. The broadcast went static as volunteer staff were escorted out of the building.

USC Radio president Brenda Barnes has already acquired five other terrestrial radio stations/licenses on behalf of USC/CPRN. Upon announcing the sale, she told the Daily Trojan, “There are a lot of Trojans in the Bay Area, USC wanted to have a more tangible presence in an area that is so important for alumni and perspective students.”

In her 2009 doctoral project entitled Moving Classical Public Radio into the New Media Future, Barnes outlines a fundraising effort to raise "25% of revenue in the next four to five years ... from outside Southern California" (Ch. 6 p.128) by targeting the "over 700,000 classical music lovers in the Bay Area.” The 216-page paper goes on to describe a broader plan capitalize a revenue-driven “Online Music Delivery Service” which uses the terrestrial radio stations they amass to circumnavigate royalty and licensing fees.

Other players include classical music station KDFC FM which moved to 90.3 FM, as part of a complex three-way agreement with USF, USC/CPRN and Entercom Communications (one of the five largest radio broadcasting companies in the country.) According to the January Arbitron report, top-rated KDFC had its best ratings of the year a month before it was replaced at 102.1 FM with simulcast of San Jose’s KFOX casting further doubt on the move to KUSF’s 90.3 FM frequency which does not reach audiences in the South Bay and parts of both Marin County and the East Bay.

In the 20 days since the sale was announced, there has been a resounding outcry of opposition. Save KUSF continues to call upon the university’s president Father Stephen Privett’s to set the second public meeting he committed to. [“USF president Father Stephen Privett ... eventually responded that there would be another meeting to include those who could not be there last night.” (SF Weekly, January 20, 2011)

Save KUSF’s Facebook page has swelled to more than 7,200 members. College and community radio stations nationwide have reached out to offer resources and support, including WFMU and Save KTRU. Listeners and community leaders have voiced concern over the sudden loss of news and cultural programming broadcast in 13 languages. Organizers of local music festivals NoisePop and Mission Creek, along with a wide array of partners, have expressed concerns about how this will affect San Francisco’s renowned cultural landscape and their businesses. Bands from Yo La Tengo to The Kronos Quartet have stood up in support of the beloved station. Thousands of letters imploring USC, USF, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and the FCC to stop the sale continue to pour in.

The group’s fundraising efforts began a little over a week ago once the legal process to a Petition to Deny began. In that time, the Save KUSF has raised over $9,000 of the $25,000 needed to initiate the legal effort. “We want to approach fundraising responsibly,” Save KUSF spokesperson Irwin Swirnoff says. “One reason there is so much public support for KUSF is because we offer a trusted voice. With the strong endorsement expressed in all three resolutions, now is the time to donate or volunteer. Please help us show the FCC that given the lack of public notice or concern for public value and localism, the sale should be denied. ... That community and college radio provides a connective tissue between the students and faculty and the community at large – this cross-pollination of education, arts, and culture is not something to be dismissed lightly.”

A media Q&A with WFMU station manager Ken Freedman is being scheduled for Monday, February 14th. To attend, please email: kenyalewis@gmail.com.