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.