KUSF was a Class A non-commercial educational station owned and operated by the University of San Francisco, a private institution. If you were to look at their program schedule, was very impressive. A line-up of new music and cultural programming from many parts of the world. The station was ran by students and was definitely a sounding board for the cultural diversity of the city and county of San Francisco.
The recent purchase of KUSF by a corporation controlled by the University of Southern California will result in a classical music station, which is currently commercial will flip to the non-commercial channel and a South Bay classic rock station owned by Entercom will add a second channel to significantly extend the station's listening area.
When a radio format, especially one that touched so many demographics is lost, it really hurts. While KUSF will be going to a webcast, not everyone can afford or access broadband. While mobile listening is possible with an appropriate smartphone or other device, the cost is way out of reach for some, especially if wireless carriers are adding more monthly caps to their data plans. This is an issue that concerns me where it comes to J1.
I know the importance of a volunteer college radio station (that actually emanates a radio signal, not just 1's and 0's into a wire). Very few people know that back in the mid 1980's, for a short period of time, I volunteered at KCSN, the college station of California State University Northridge. At the time, KCSN was a very diverse format along with NPR programming. During my time, I was involved with a latino show as well as a game show on the air (remember those?). A part of what we did went beyond doing the board and answering phones, it was also taking the meter readings, updating the log and making necessary power adjustments to the transmitter. Yes, back when the transmitter was at the studio on the campus and not on a hilltop.
Student and volunteer radio stations are definitely the perfect training grounds for the future broadcasters in America. The public benefits by these stations because they have more freedom to provide diverse niche programming without having to answer to major underwriters.
I am very unhappy with the direction that non-commercial radio has gone. Most of the stations are either an elitist (major public station with substantial underwriters.. what I sometimes call "radio for the rich") or large Christian radio networks placing the same programming in over 100+ markets on full power stations.
What has happened at KUSF and at college stations across the nation should be our battle cry that LPFM needs to be expanded to these communities and we need to have stations that are limited in power and therefore can not be influenced by the elitist organizations, such as USC.
In mega-metro areas like the San Francisco Bay Area, there are very few, if any LPFM opportunities, even with a Local Community Radio Act. Yet, if we were to open the spectrum of TV Channel 6 (82-88 MHz) to low power FM radio in a community without a full power Channel 5 or 6 station, we can add a dozen full time voices in the City as well as the East Bay and other areas that critically need non-commercial stations to reflect those who live there. The Bay Area already has a station on 87.9 (KSFH) and the spectrum is pretty much cleared (except for a Channel 6 LPTV operated by Venture Technologies, subject of controversy for using an LPTV station as a de-facto FM radio station).
Getting the radios? Simple.... Japan.
Opening up 6 MHz of spectrum to low power secular and faith based broadcasters would be the perfect demonstration of localism possible. The TV industry has already declared Channel 6 a lost cause, so let's put it to better use.
