KAZU (90.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

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radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city had a population of 15,090 at the 2020 census. Pacific Grove is a popular tourist destination on ...

, and serving the

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

area of the

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. It is a listener-supported

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station with a news, talk and information

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and is owned and operated by the

California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university located in Monterey County, California, United States. The main campus is situated on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, spanning the ...

(CSUMB). It is a

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(NPR) with

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s and offices in Gavilan Hall on the campus of CSUMB. KAZU has an

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(ERP) of 3,100

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s. The

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is on Saddle Road in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

.Radio-Locator.com/KAZU
/ref> Programming is also heard on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

s K208GJ 89.5 MHz in Santa Cruz and K217EK 91.3 MHz in Palo Colorado Canyon.

History

Established

KAZU began broadcasting in August 1977 from an upstairs office in downtown Pacific Grove. The station was started as a local

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station, with a focus on the south Monterey Bay cities. The station operated with 10 watts, and had about 90 volunteers who ran the on-air operation; a small board of directors oversaw the fiscal and legal operations of the corporation that owned KAZU was called The Great Silence Broadcasting Foundation.

Wider broadcast

Because of the low power, the reach was limited, so the station signal was added to the Monterey cable system in 1978. The transmitter was relocated to Hidden Hills, east of

in 1980, and coverage was expanded to reach the entire

area. Programming and volunteer participation expanded as well, and the station migrated to larger studios in the same building in the mid-1980s.

Fire and relocation

A fire at the studio in the late 1990s briefly put KAZU off the air. Temporary studios were quickly built and the station moved out of downtown Pacific Grove to Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove. After a series of managers and program directors, the station struggled to survive high rents for the new studios and the old transmitter site. The locally produced music and talk programming remained popular with the community, but financial support did not grow sufficiently to cover the new expenses.

Financial collapse

In the late 1990s, the fiscal situation worsened, and cuts to staff were made. A new manager was hired in 1998, and plans were made to change the station to an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

/ PRI affiliate and reduce volunteer programming. The station was still unable to continue financially, so the board planned to give the station to an outside third-party non-profit. Both

KUSP KLVM (88.9 MHz) is an FM radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian music format. Licensed to Santa Cruz, California, United States, the station is an affiliate of the K-LOVE Christian music radio network and is owned by Educational ...

in Santa Cruz, and Cal State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) offered to take over KAZU operations. The board chose CSUMB. Further programming changes were made and by 2002, all volunteers were removed from programming. In 2008, KAZU relocated from offices on Central Avenue in Pacific Grove to Gavilan Hall on the campus of CSUMB. On April 5, 2017, CSUMB filed applications with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

to purchase the licenses of three FM translators: K207CN (Santa Cruz), K217EK (Palo Colorado Canyon) and K237EV (Big Sur Valley) owned by

. The purchase price was $5,000. The applications were consummated on June 30, 2017 and July 7, 2017.

References

External links

History of KAZU
* ( Guide to reading History Cards) {{NPR California

AZU Azu (born December 8, 1981) is a Japanese R&B singer. She is well known for her collaborations with rapper Seamo, such as her first major release, the leading track from Seamo's second album ''Live Goes On'', "Kokoro no Koe". Biography Azu first ...

California State University, Monterey Bay NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1977