KPFK

KPFK

Broadcast area	Los Angeles, California
Branding	Pacifica Radio
Slogan	"Radio powered by the people"
Frequency	90.7 (MHz)
Repeaters	KPFK-FM1 Malibu, California
First air date	July 26, 1959
Format	Public Radio
ERP	110,000 watts
HAAT	863 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	51252
Transmitter coordinates	34°13′45″N 118°4′3″W
Callsign meaning	K PaciFiC (K)a
Owner	Pacifica Foundation
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	http://www.kpfk.org/

KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network.

KPFK began broadcasting in April 1959, twelve years after the Pacifica Foundation was created by pacifist Lewis Hill, and ten years after the network's flagship station, KPFA, was founded in Berkeley. KPFK also broadcasts on KPFK-FM1 along the Malibu coast, K258BS (99.5 MHz FM) in China Lake, California, K254AH (98.7 MHz FM) in Santa Barbara, California.

With its 110,000 watt main transmitter atop Mount Wilson, KPFK is one of the most powerful FM stations in the western United States. The station can be heard from the California/Mexico border to Santa Barbara to Ridgecrest/China Lake. A second 10-watt translator is licensed in Isla Vista, California, a census-designated place outside of Santa Barbara. The transmitter for that station is located atop Gibraltar Peak, allowing its broadcast to be heard over a large portion of coastal Santa Barbara County.

Funding

The station is part of the Pacifica Network which has additional stations in Berkeley, California, Houston, Texas, New York, New York, and Washington, D.C. As part of the Pacifica Network the station receives some funding from charitable organizations such as the Ford Foundation and government funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but operating costs are primarily covered by listener-sponsors, as the station runs no advertisements or other commercial programming. On-air fund drives tend to occur thrice yearly, although there are occasional drives held for special circumstances. For example, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, KPFK held a fund drive to raise money for survivors of the catastrophe. Contributors to KPFK generally donate a minimum of $25 for a year-long membership, and larger donations are rewarded with DVDs, CDs, and books. For people that contribute upwards of $100, there is the KPFK Film Club. The film club screens art films, documentaries, film classics, and even current first-run films on weekend mornings. Although the club only promises at least 12 films per years, there were over 100 screenings in 2004.

Programming

Like most Pacifica stations, KPFK runs an eclectic schedule, including world music, talk radio, and public affairs programming. While KPFK airs some national programming, including Democracy Now! and Free Speech Radio News. KPFK program producers are accorded the maximum amount of editorial freedom possible. The only requirement is that they adhere to KPFK's mission statement, which states that all programming must be educational and non-commercial, must "serve the cultural welfare of the community", and must "contribute to a lasting understanding between nations and between the individuals of all nations, races, creeds and colors". The station's political position is generally regarded as on the left-wing of the political spectrum. This includes issues regarding women, the many ethnic groups which make up a sizable population of Southern California, and the LGBT community. In fact, IMRU, KPFK's program on LGBT affairs, is the nation's longest-running broadcast produced by and for the LGBT community. KPFK's dedication to the environment and the human condition at large, has drawn award-winning radio personalities, like Cary Harrison, into the fold with an interactive call-in show, heard Mondays at 2PM, called "Reality Check with Harrison".

One distinguishing feature of the KPFK schedule is its Spanish language programming, which runs three hours on Monday-Thursday (9–12:00 am) and 4 hours on Saturday evenings (6–10:00 pm). During those programs, most announcements except for the call letters are made in Spanish. KPFK was the only public radio station in the United States to split its schedule in this way. KPFK also produces half-hour daily Spanish language news program for the Pacifica network, Informativo Pacifica which is being carried on KPFK at 9:00 pm Mon-Thu and is also carried by other Pacifica stations and affiliates. http://wbai.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10363&Itemid=141

History

• 1959: The Pacifica Foundation begins its second station — KPFK. Terry Drinkwater is its first General Manager.
• 1961: KPFK wins Pacifica's second George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.
• 1962: The FCC withholds the license renewals of KPFA, KPFB, and KPFK pending its investigation into "communist affiliations." Pacifica was never cited (see The Investigator).
• 1963: KPFK runs the very first Renaissance Faire as a fundraiser (the event is managed by Theme Events Limited Renaissance fair#History of the fairs in America).
• July 24, 1966: The first broadcast of Radio Free Oz by The Firesign Theatre.
• 1974: The Symbionese Liberation Army delivers the Patty Hearst tapes to KPFA and KPFK. The KPFK manager is jailed for refusing to turn the tapes over to the FBI.
• August 31, 1986: Jerker, a Robert Chesley play dramatizes the reflections of a man dying of AIDS, airs on Pacifica station KPFK. Because it included graphic sexual language, the FCC ruled that it violated an indecency policy.
• 1987: Ladysmith Black Mambazo makes their first live U.S. radio appearance on KPFK.
• 1992: CPB Board member Victor Gold targets KPFK for strident African American programming and controversial speech aired during Black History month, by filing an FCC complaint.

Shows

• Pocho Hour of Power - Fridays 4pm-5pm. Hosts: Lalo Alcaraz, Esteban Zul, Patrick Perez, Paul Vato
• Uprising Radio - Weekday mornings 8am-9am. Host: Sonali Kolhatkar.
• Something's Happening- with Roy of Hollywood.
• Truth Seekers Radio – Saturday 1 am – 3 am. Hosts: Santana aka Nexus102, Dj Daz, Shakespeare, Andre S. Belcher (Stan B.), Lady Christal
• Divine Forces-
• Forward Motion-
• The Music Never Stops- with host Barry Smolin. Grateful Dead and Jam Bands. Sundays 8-10pm.
• Reggae Central- with host Chuck Foster Rock steady, dub, and dancehall. Sundays 2-4pm.
• Page 2 Pantry- with host Niki Guluchi
• The Dark Room- with host DJ Delphinus
• Poets Cafe- rotating hosts Lois P. Jones, Jaimes Palacio, Myrenna Ogbu 2nd, 4th, 5th Wednesdays at 8:30pm
• Spaceways- with host Carlos Niño (and his son Azul Niño, when available) Sundays 10pm-12am.
• Melting Pot- with Michael Barnes - Sunday 4pm - 6pm
• Truthdig Radio- with hosts Kasia Anderson and Peter, Josh and Robert Scheer- Wednesday 2pm-3pm
• RISE- with Mark Maxwell. A creative jazz celebration of African roots. Sunday (evening), Monday (morning), 12:00 AM - 3AM
• The Lawyer's Guild- A public affairs program to discuss current political developments. Thursday 7-8pm.
• Jimmy Dore Show- Hosted by comedian Jimmy Dore, this is an irreverent and humorous take on todays headlines and hypocrites.
• Indymedia On Air- Voices from the global Indymedia.org Network. Monday, 2:30-3:00 PM
• IMRU- IMRU is the nation's longest-running broadcast produced by and for the LGBT community. Mondays, 7-8 PM
• Global Village- Local and international music. Monday-Friday 11am-1pm
• From the Vault- Pacifica Radio Archives' - America's largest public radio archive. Thursdays, 11:00 PM - Midnight
• Exploration- with Dr. Michio Kaku. Exploration covers the world of science. Saturday 10am
• Digital Village- Ric Allan and Doran Barons. Digital Village is KPFK's weekly show about computing and the Internet. Saturday 10AM-11AM.
• Democracy Now- News and current affairs. M-F, 6-7 AM, Rebroadcast M-F 9-10 AM
• Counterspin- CounterSpin provides a critical examination of the major stories every week, SU, 1:30-2:00 PM
• Connect the Dots- with Lila Garrett. News, current affairs. Monday 7:00 - 8:00 AM
• Background Briefing- with Ian Masters. Inside breaking international and national news. Sunday, 11am-12pm, Monday - Thursday, 5pm-6pm
• The Axis of Justice Radio Network- with Tom Morello and Serj Tankian. Protest music. Airs every second, third and fourth Friday @ 7:00PM.
• The Aware Show- with Lisa Garr. Self-help programming. Weds and Thursdays, 1-2 PM
• From the Vault - Pacifica Radio Archives weekly show highlighting Pacifica's broadcast legacy.

Translators

In addition to the main station, KPFK is relayed by an additional three translators to widen its broadcast area.

Call sign	MHz	City of license	Power (W)	Class	Additional Information
K258BS	99.5	China Lake, Kern County, California	9	D	FCC
K254AH	98.7	Isla Vista, California	10	D	FCC
K229BO	93.7	Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, California	10	D	FCC

External links

• KPFK 90.7 FM official website
• Pacifica Radio Foundation
• Pacifica Radio Archives
• Pacifica Radio Archives weekly radio series
• Mt. Wilson transmitter
• Historical transmitter photos
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KPFK
• Radio-Locator information on KPFK
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for KPFK
• Query the FCC's FM station database for K254AH