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KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, which serves
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. It was the second of five stations in the non-commercial, listener-sponsored Pacifica Radio network. KPFK 90.7 FM began broadcasting in April 1959, twelve years after the Pacifica Foundation was created by
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
Lewis Hill, and ten years after the network's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
station, KPFA, was founded in Berkeley. KPFK also broadcasts on booster KPFK-FM1 along the Malibu coast, K258BS (99.5 MHz) in China Lake, K254AH (98.7 MHz) in Isla Vista and K229BO 93.7 MHz in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego. 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 Isla Vista ( ; , "Island View") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. For statistical purposes, ...
, a census-designated place outside Santa Barbara. The transmitter for that station is located atop Gibraltar Peak, allowing its broadcast to be heard over a large portion of southern Santa Barbara County.


Funding

The station is part of the ''Pacifica Network'' which has 5 radio stations besides KPFK, and provides programming to over 200 affiliates. Operating costs are covered primarily by donations from listener-sponsors and sponsored events. The
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
non-profit station runs no paid commercial advertisements or sponsored programming. Memberships at a minimum donation of $25 per year allow participation in the election of Local Station Board members. Pacifica lost Corporation For Public Broadcasting Funding after 2012 due to not submitting acceptable audited financial statements. This funding was previously spread between the five Pacifica stations.


Local station board

In two years during a three-year cycle, station members and staff elect the Local Station Board as required by the Pacifica Foundation bylaws. The KPFK local station board elects members from its body to the Pacifica Foundation board of directors and has support and advisory duties for the station. The full local station board meets monthly, and committees of the local station board meet on both regular and ad hoc bases.


Programming

Like all Pacifica stations, KPFK has, since its inception run an eclectic schedule of performing arts, public affairs, and news. Many programs are available through the Pacifica Network for rebroadcast to affiliate stations and are streamed for a limited period on the Online Archives. Maintaining its adherence to Pacifica founder Lew Hill's Mission, KPFK focuses on news, public affairs, and performance of local interest, while blending in nationally and internationally focused programming. Programming is primarily English language, but includes twenty-two hours broadcast in Spanish five evenings per week, Monday - Thursday, and Saturday. With the rest of the Pacifica Foundation stations and in accord with the Mission's commitment to dialogue, KPFK maintains community access to the airwaves, which was stated as:


History

KPFK was founded in 1959 as the second station of the Pacifica Foundation. Terry Drinkwater was its first general manager. In 1960, KPFK won Pacifica's second
George Foster Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in ...
for excellence in broadcasting. In 1962, the FCC withheld the license renewals of KPFA, KPFB, and KPFK, pending its investigation into "communist affiliations." Pacifica was never cited (see '' The Investigator''). In 1963, KPFK ran the first Renaissance fair as a fundraiser called the Renaissance Pleasure Faire and May Market (the event was managed by Theme Events Limited).. At the 1964 fair, Art Kunkin distributed ''The Faire Free Press'', a one-shot eight-page tabloidAnania, Billy
"The Los Angeles Paper That Documented Police Brutality in the 1960s and '70s: For years, only the Los Angeles Free Press chronicled the many incidents of police violence in Los Angeles, making crucial connections between racial disenfranchisement and mass unrest,"
'' Hyperallergic'' (June 11, 2020).
with the "'' Los Angeles Free Press'' logo appearing on an inside page. While the outside pages were a spoof of the Faire's Renaissance theme, featuring cute stories like one about a "ban the
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
" demonstration, the inside contained legitimate underground community news and reviews. Five thousand copies were printed, of which 1,200 sold at a price of 25 cents. After the Faire ended, Kunkin circulated a brochure to potential investors and found enough backing to start putting out the paper on a regular weekly basis in July 1964. The ''Los Angeles Free Press'' was initially produced mostly by unpaid volunteers, many of them were the same people who volunteered at KPFK, where Kunkin had his own political commentary radio show.Ulin, David L
"Netizens of the World, Unite,"
''Los Angeles Free Press'' (March 14, 1996).
Peter Bergman's ''Radio Free Oz'' was first broadcast on July 24, 1966. The Firesign Theatre first appeared on ''Radio Free Oz'' on November 17, 1966. The Fireside Theatre produced the live radio program '' Dear Friends'' on KPFK in 1970–1971. Twenty-one episodes aired between September 16, 1970, and February 17, 1971. ''Dear Friends'' was followed with the KPFK show ''Let's Eat!'' in 1971 and 1972. In 1974, Will Lewis, the general manager of the station at the time, famously refused to turn over tapes acquired from the Symbionese Liberation Army after the terrorist group's kidnapping of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. After repeated requests by the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and being subpoenaed, Lewis cited the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press to no avail at a
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
and was sent to federal prison for 15 days at Terminal Island. Lewis was finally released by Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas. Lewis shared a prison cell with controversial LSD guru Timothy Leary. Lewis was just the second media representative to ever be sent to jail on a freedom of the press issue. Lewis' progressive changes at KPFK during the 1970s turned the Pacifica station into one of the most popular in the nation, where many celebrity activists were able to express their views without censorship from mainstream media. Actors
Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...
,
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
,
Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
and her then-politician husband Tom Hayden, who stood trial in the Chicago Seven case, were among many high-profile visitors at the station during Lewis' leadership. Lewis was a manager ahead of his times. In 1974, he was the first to introduce a radio show produced and hosted exclusively by and for the gay community — "The Great Gay Radio Conspiracy" as Greg Gordon, Enrich Murrello, and Colin McQueen began the program at 11 pm the third Tuesday of every month. This controversial program eventually was referred to as "IMRU," as it created great consternation for a mostly conservative audience. Today, the program is still a fixture on KPFK as the longest-running LBGTQ program some 48 years later. KPFK was the only full-service public radio station in Los Angeles during the early 1970s. Lewis and the station won awards for its Watergate coverage, including the Golden Mike Award for reporter Mike Hodel. '' Jerker'', a Robert Chesley play dramatizing the reflections of a man dying of AIDS, aired on KPFK on August 31, 1986. Because it included graphic sexual language, the FCC ruled that it violated an
indecency Inappropriateness refers to standards or ethics that are typically viewed as being negative in a society. It differs from things that are illicit in that inappropriate behavior does not necessarily have any accompanying legal ramifications. Co ...
policy.Wolf, Michelle Andrea and Alfred P. Kielwasser (1991). ''Gay People, Sex, and the Media Haworth Press'', p. 7. . In 1987, Ladysmith Black Mambazo made their first on-air U.S. radio broadcast on KPFK. In 1992, CPB Board member Victor Gold targeted KPFK for strident African American programming and controversial speech aired during
Black History Month Black History Month is an annually observed commemorative month originating in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the Af ...
, by filing an FCC complaint. The first two decades of the 21st century were marked by conflict at the station over programming as well as money worries. After the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian government sponsored networks went off the air in the US. Some of their reporters made the way to KPFK and two other Pacifica stations. In 2024, it was announced on the air that the station building had been sold to be converted to a recording studio. Provision was made for KPFK to have free access to a portion of the new building for ten years once it was completed. The station broadcast from temperary quarters in Burbank in interim. By January of 2025 the new interim station manager, Maggie LePique revised the line up of political programming. The pro Russia shows, such as the KPFK Rebel Alliance News, were removed and the progressive shows like Background Briefing with Ian Masters returned.


Translators and booster

In addition to the main station, KPFK is relayed by an additional four
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
s and one booster to widen its broadcast area.


References


External links

* * ( Guide to reading History Cards) * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * {{authority control 1959 establishments in California 501(c)(3) organizations Counterculture of the 1960s Non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles Pacifica Foundation stations Radio stations established in 1959 PFK