Media News on KUSF

UNDER THE DOME
CITY HALL NEWS

By: Joshua Sabatini 01/25/11 4:12 PM
Reporter

http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/under-dome/2011/01/sale-kusf-903-fm-blasted-supervisor-ross-mirkarimi

Members of the Board of Supervisors blasted the University of San Francisco’s decision to sell its radio channel KUSF 90.3 FM to a Los Angeles-based broadcaster.

“What a grave error it was for the University of San Francisco to sell the license of KUSF 90.3 on the dial,” said Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi, who introduced a resolution Tuesday urging the university to rescind the sale. “It’s a travesty that the University of San Francisco did not reach out.”

The resolution could be voted on by the board as early as next week. While it is non-binding, resolutions are used to send a message that can have an impact.

The board “decries the loss of the cultural and community asset,” the resolution says. “[The radio channel] 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.”





Harrison Chastang, KPOO News Director, KPOO
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=8841

The sudden sale of KUSF last week in a complicated three way deal that will replace the award winning cutting edge music and community affairs programming of KUSF with classical music angered many longtime KUSF listeners and staffers. The reasons given by USF President Rev. Stephen Privett for the sale reminds one of the movie Major League, in which the mythical owner of the Cleveland Indians fails to invest in the team in hopes that few people come to see an awful team, providing justification for Major League Baseball to move the team to an more upscale zip code.

In Saturday's San Francisco Chronicle's Op-Ed piece, Rev. Privette said that USF had no choice but to sell the station, but it seems that Rev. Privett, as USF president could have implemented policies to keep the award winning KUSF on the air if Rev. Privett, and the University of San Francisco trustees were really committed to serving the community, much in the way other colleges and universities are proud to hold FCC broadcast licenses that they use to reach out beyond the campus walls.

Rev. Privett justifies shutting down the station by saying that few students listened to KUSF and that most KUSF DJs were non students. Privett has to ask himself why more students weren’t involved with KUSF. If Rev. Privett wanted to insure that students were involved with the station, he could have required that communication students take at least a semester course in radio station operation that included on-air production and mandate that a certain segment of KUSF's programming be reserved for students. USF has many professors who are considered experts in their fields who could be hosts or guests on student produced radio programs on business, law, public health or international relations where students could have received academic credit for producing those programs.

Privett's contention that colleges and universities derive no benefit from operating a radio station not only conflicts with what other institutions are doing with their radio stations, but even with the deal Rev. Privett made with USC. Here in the Bay Area KCSM, which is owned by the College of San Mateo and KALW, owned by the San Francisco Unified School District, are fighting proposed state education budget cuts to keep their respective Jazz and News formats on the air. Like KUSF, few if any students are involved with the operation of either KCSM or KALW, but administrators and board members at San Mateo College and the SFUSD are committed to owning and operating radio stations. Outside the Bay Area, some of nation's top non-commercial radio stations are owned by universities and colleges, including WAMU, which is owned by American University in Washington DC; KKJZ jazz radio owned by Cal State Long Beach; KCRW, the crown jewel of the NPR network, which is owned by Santa Monica College and KUSC, the new owners of the former 90.3 frequency of KUSF.

In addition to providing a critical public service by broadcasting news and information not heard on commercial stations, college owned radio stations also use their frequencies to keep their brand in the public eye. Every time KUSF’s name was mentioned in a station identification, listeners associated the station with the Fulton Street campus. At a time when colleges and universities are spending millions on marketing and promoting to the general public, could USF have better utilized KUSF to promote USF’s academic programs?

Rev. Privett also mentioned finances as a key factor to shut down the station. KUSF staffers at Wednesday’s town hall meeting said that Rev. Privett rejected requests by on-air staffers to hold on air pledge drives that most non-commercial radio station listeners have grown to know and love to raise revenue for KUSF.

KUSF DJ’s complained that USF had committed few resources toward maintaining or upgrading either the station’s broadcast signal or its internet streaming audio. DJs mentioned that the station had been off the air recently because of transmitter problems and that only a limited number of people could listen to KUSF’s internet stream. Rev. Privett promises that KUSF is not going away, but is just moving to an internet only format. Internet only is great for people who can afford a smartphone bill or can get access to broadband internet, but for the night watchman, the taxi driver or low income person who can’t listen on the internet, they won’t be able to hear the “new” KUSF.

Rev. Privett said that he had no alternative but to conduct negotiations to sell the station in secret. Is this providing a good example to USF students who are being taught the Catholic values of truth, transparency and good faith in business dealings? Does the sale of KUSF in the dead of night represent the selling off of valuable public resources to the highest bidder? What's next? Will USF auction off its NCAA Championship trophies won by the Bill Russell led Dons of 1955-56?

Charles Mingus has a song called “Don’t Let It Happen Here.” Should staffers at KCSM and other college owned stations at Stanford, financially troubled UC Berkley and Foothill College be looking over their shoulders for the radio version of the grim reaper to kill off what’s left of independent, non-commercial, college owned broadcasting in the Bay Area?




La productrice et animatrice Farinaz Agharabi avec DJ Zoe, qui intervient une fois par mois sur Francofun.

http://www.france-amerique.com/articles/2011/01/24/kusf.html

Johanna Safar
24 janvier 2011
KUSF, une radio communautaire de l’University of San Francisco (USF), n’émet plus depuis mardi dernier. Le rachat de sa fréquence a entraîné la suppression sans préavis de ses programmes, dont Francofun, une émission animée en français. La mobilisation s’organise pour sauver la station alors que Francofun a trouvé refuge sur internet.

C’est le cœur un peu lourd que Farinaz Agharabi, la productrice et animatrice de Francofun depuis 2008, a enregistré de chez elle, l’émission du samedi 22 janvier pour la diffuser en ligne sur le site d’archives. « On fait ce qu’on peut pour l’instant… Je voulais signaler qu’on était toujours là », explique-t-elle.

L’arrêt du jour au lendemain, le 18 janvier, de KUSF a été vécu comme un choc non seulement pour la jeune femme mais également pour tous les bénévoles qui animent les programmes de la station de l’University of San Francisco. « Nous n’avons été tenus au courant, s’insurge Farinaz Agharabi, qui outre Francofun, propose des émissions de musique classique sur KUSF depuis dix ans. La direction de USF nous avait parlé d’un déménagement mais pas de perdre notre fréquence. Mardi, le DJ qui était à l’antenne a été escorté hors de l’immeuble par des gardes de sécurité et la radio a cessé ses transmissions… »

KSUF, diffusé sur 90.3 depuis 1977, programmait des émissions en 13 langues différentes. Cette fréquence a été rachetée par University of Southern California pour la somme de 3,5 millions de dollars. Elle a réattribué à une station de musique classique, KDFC. Le président de l’USF Stephen Privett a annoncé que KUSF continuerait sous la forme d’une webradio. Dans une lettre, il explique notamment le manque de transparence autour de la transaction par une close de confidentialité signée avec les nouveaux propriétaires.
« Nous n’avons même pas pu organiser la transition », se lamente Farinaz Agharabi. Cette dernière précise que si elle peut continuer à enregistrer les émissions et les poster sur le site Internet de Francofun c’est parce qu’il est n’est pas hébergé par KUFS.org.

La mobilisation s’organise

Ce n’est pas le cas de Samedi Culture, une émission d’une demi-heure parrainée par la French American Culture Society et proposée en partenariat avec les services culturels du consulat général de France à San Francisco. « Nous n’avions pas été averti de l’interruption des programmes, confirme Denis Bisson, attaché culturel. Nous attendons de voir sous quelle forme nous pouvons continuer puisque pour l’instant la webradio n’existe pas encore. » L’émission proposait des interviews hebdomadaires de personnalités françaises installées dans la région ou de passage.

La mobilisation contre la disparition des ondes de KSUF s’organise avec la circulation d’une pétition et la tenue de réunions. La première s’est déroulé le 19 janvier, à guichet fermé. « L’université ne se rend pas compte que cette radio est devenue celle de la communauté toute entière, souligne Farinaz Agharabi qui enjoint les autres animateurs à trouver un moyen de ne pas interrompre leurs émissions pour ne pas casser le lien avec les auditeurs. « Où est-ce que vous trouvez, ailleurs aux Etats-Unis, deux émissions à suivre avec du contenu français et surtout animées en francais ? » interroge l’animatrice.





http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/01/kusf_advocates_plan_to_rally_a.php

​Since USF officials shuttered KUSF college radio last week, volunteers and students have come up with an organized campaign to wrestle back their beloved indie station, 90.3 FM.

They've garnered attention and support throughout the community with online petitions and a "Save KUSF" Facebook page with more than 6,000 members. They've even gone on local radio stations, blasting university officials for selling off the community radio station to a classical music network in a $3.75 million deal.

And the momentum is only increasing.

Tomorrow, students, alumni, and volunteers will hold a rally outside City Hall at 1 p.m., an hour before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors meets in session. Here, volunteers say they will have the chance to talk to people about how they are losing a local radio station, which started in 1977 and is known for its diverse programs in nine different languages.

Like everyone else, city supervisors have been getting emails and phone calls from KUSF advocates, asking for their help to block the sale. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who represents the district where University of San Francisco is located, last week attended the meeting where volunteers talked about ways to save the station. The supervisor was appalled at what was happening, and pledged his support to help KUSF.

Mirkarimi has crafted a resolution in support of the volunteers who are trying to keep 90.3 FM a community radio station. He will introduce the resolution at tomorrow's board hearing.

"I wish we could do more," Mirkarimi said. "This is another corporate slam against public access radio. It's a tragedy for USF to not consult the community and give it a chance to save the station before they sold it off."

Ultimately, what they want is to have a chance for the community to purchase the radio station, which has now been moved to an online format, said Irwin Swirnoff, a KUSF volunteer. Swirnoff pointed out that the Federal Communications Commission has not yet approved the sale, which gives volunteers more time to build their case to try and block the transaction.

"We are hoping to remind everyone that this is our station," Swirnoff said. "We deserve the right to have an open sale to the community so we can still own the transmitter."

USF abruptly closed the radio station last week and escorted student DJs out of the building. University officials then announced they would shift KUSF to an online format.

Student DJ Chad Heimann was initially ready to fight back, but now he's lost hope that KUSF will revert back to its FM dial.

So instead of attending Tuesday's rally, Heimann said he and many other student DJs will be preparing to for their shows at the new online station.

"It sucks, but we need to learn to accept it," Heimann said. "There is really nothing that can be done."






http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2090275&spid=24698
January 24, 2011:

All the elements for an epic battle are in place, and Tuesday at 2 p.m., it all comes together in the Golden Gate City. We have the citizens' right to assemble, a student uprising, big government and big university painted as the bad guys, and a massive and expert use of today's social media products to rally a cause.
Students, volunteers, and radio alumni at the University of San Francisco are trying to save the radio station that was turned off and sold to the University of Southern California for $3.75 million. College president Stephen Privett in the San Francisco Chronicle said, "The station was dominated by outside volunteers and of minimal benefit to students." KUSF, started in 1977. It will be turned back on as an online product only.
Thirty-three-year old Irwin Swirnoff started at KUSF back in 2002. He was one of the station's music directors and had a weekly show. He's now part of the effort to save the station, and he told Radio Ink he believes his group "has a fighting chance for sure." The group created a "Save KUSF" Facebook page with nearly 6,000 members and 1,300 Twitter followers, and an online petition with over 1,000 signatures.
And Swirnoff says President Privett is distorting the student numbers. "The president continues to misrepresent the actual involvement of students at KUSF," he says. "The numbers and percentages he's been using are not based on any actual data, and show how out of touch he is with his students and with what the reality of KUSF is all about.
Student involvement and excitement at the station is the strongest it has been in years. Countless former department heads in our music, promotions, community affairs, and publicity departments have been students. KUSF community volunteers were not only helping run this station, but also teaching and partnering with the students of USF. Giving them hands-on, real-life experience in running the day-to-day operations of an active broadcast radio station, how to interface with the public at large, how to work as part of a nonprofit, how to get along with people from a wide range of ages, cultures, and perspectives."
Swirnoff says his group is dedicated to fighting as hard and as long as they have to to get the station back. "The community has rallied with is in such amazing ways, and the press is all over this story, so we really feel like we have the momentum and support to save the station."
Swirnoff says the group has allies on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who want to make sure the community has a voice. That board is meeting tomorrow at 2, and the students and station supporters are rallying outside City Hall at 1 o'clock.
It's one thing to friend the group on Facebook, it's a little tougher to get people to a rally in the middle of their workday. How many does Swirnoff think will show? "We've had so many people say they will skip their lunch break so they can join us, and many who have changed around their busy schedules all together so they can be at City Hall to show their support," he says. "I'm excited for our community to finally have a chance to really have their voices heard, and let the Board of Supervisors know what an important asset KUSF is to the diverse community of San Francisco."





KUSF Music Director Irwin Swirnoff in Record Library in Jan. 2009 (Photo by J. Waits)

January 23rd, 2011 by Jennifer Waits in classical radio, college radio, public radio

http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2011/01/23/kusf-djs-and-fans-gear-up-to-fight-proposed-college-radio-station-sale-while-ownership-details-for-classical-public-radio-emerge/

KUSF fans are still reeling after the sudden shut-down of University of San Francisco (USF)’s college radio station on Tuesday, January 18th at 10am. USF announced that it plans to sell KUSF to Classical Public Radio Network. The non-profit Classical Public Radio Network has already begun airing programming from the formerly commercial classical station KDFC on KUSF’s frequency of 90.3 FM and on another soon-to-be-acquired station, KNDL 89.9.

Tomorrow at 12 noon KDFC permanently leaves its commercial home of 102.1 FM, yielding that frequency to a simulcast of commercial rock station KUFX (aka K-FOX 98.5 FM, which is in the process of being purchased by Entercom from Clear Channel spin-off Aloha Station Trust according to an FCC filing dated January 11, 2011). Are you still with me?

Although its website provides little information beyond the 2008 shut-down of its national broadcast network and optimism about its growth online, FCC filings last week indicate that Classical Public Radio Network is 90% owned by University of Southern California (USC) and 10% owned by Classical SF LLC. Public Radio Capital is the sole member of Classical SF LLC (PDF).

So, with this proposed deal, KUSF would become part of a larger public radio conglomerate connected with both KUSC and Public Radio Capital, as USC holds the license for non-commercial radio stations KUSC, KDSC, KPSC, KQSC, and KESC. Public Radio Capital is the parent company and majority owner of PRC TACOMA-I LLC, which holds the license for KXOT and is the parent company and sole owner of PRC TULSA-I LLC which holds the license for KOSN.

As we reported, over 500 people attended a protest and meeting regarding the sale last Wednesday. At the meeting, USF President Father Stephen Privett remained resolute in his decision to sell the station, arguing that it was not serving the students of USF. Ironically, since students had not yet returned to campus, they didn’t have too much opportunity to counter his claims. After hearing criticism about that at the meeting, he agreed to host a similar session with students.

In the meantime, KUSF volunteers have been feverishly working to spread the word about the plight of the station and remain optimistic that something can be done to prevent the sale from happening. The KUSF Facebook page already has more than 5700 fans and media coverage has been extensive. Other independent radio stations from all over the country (including KALX, KZSU, KALW, KPOO, Radio Valencia, WFMU, KDVS, KSSU and KFJC) have been helping out by hosting KUSF DJs and staff members on their airwaves.

Although everyone is still expressing sadness, shock, and anger over the proposed sale, right now the focus is on organizing and action. The Save KUSF website includes specific guidelines on what can be done immediately: from writing letters to the USF Board of Trustees (in order to stop the sale), to signing an online petition, to attending upcoming KUSF events.

On Tuesday, a peaceful rally is planned in front of San Francisco City Hall at 1pm. Following that, people are encouraged to attend the San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Meeting, in which a resolution is being presented in support of saving KUSF.

In the meantime, USF President Father Privett continues to direct people to send their protests and comments to the FCC, even though there is still no evidence that paperwork for the sale has been officially filed with the FCC.

At last check, paperwork had been submitted for the related proposed sale of KNDL to Classical Public Radio Network. A Public Notice (PDF) on the FCC Media Bureau’s website dated January 21, 2011 provides information that the Application for Assignment of License (PDF) dated January 18, 2011 was accepted for filing regarding the proposed transfer of KNDL 89.9 FM in Angwin and its two translator stations (89.7 FM in Eureka and 92.5 FM in Ukiah-Lakeport) from Howell Mountain Broadcasting Company to Classical Public Radio Network LLC.

KNDL reportedly alerted listeners in advance (as early as January 15) by mail that KNDL would be sold and going dark on Monday, January 17. An Asset Purchase Agreement (PDF) dated January 12 can be found in the FCC database for the $2,725,000 deal. A Public Service Operating Agreement (PDF) related to KNDL dated January 12 states that, “CPRN [Classical Public Radio Network] wishes to broadcast on the Station, prior to the closing of the Purchase Agreement, classical music programming to be provided by CPRN.” Additionally, that agreement states that KNDL will initially be compensated during the term of the agreement $15,700 a month for airing classical programming. If the agreement extends beyond 12 months, they will be paid $20,000 a month for airing classical programming.

Although we have yet to see the purchase agreement for KUSF, one can assume that a similar public service operating agreement was included, which is probably why listeners caught classical music programming from KDFC over the airwaves of KUSF 90.3 as early as last Tuesday.

So, the 30-day comment window regarding the pending sale of KNDL is now officially open for disappointed fans of the religious station, but KUSF may still need to wait a little longer.

Father Privett seems unaware of this, as in an email to me today he stated, “The papers are complete and ownership was transferred on Tuesday at 10 AM. I believe the period for comments has begun. We posted contact information for FCC on line.”

I’m still awaiting a response from Brenda Barnes, Managing Director of Classical Public Radio Network to confirm or deny this statement about the filing.

In the meantime, there’s much that can be learned by combing through the paperwork for the KNDL sale, as presumably similar agreements are in place for the pending KUSF sale.






http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/01/-ever-meet-a-college.php

Ever meet a college radio nerd? Their dangerous fashion sense, challenging interpersonal skills and propensity for cigarette breaks notwithstanding, they're not exactly threatening people, unless a deleted Smiths single or Throbbing Gristle first pressing is at risk.

Nevertheless, the powers-that-be at the University of San Francisco took no chances Wednesday, when the school hosted an on-campus meeting to discuss the fate of its college radio station, KUSF 90.3 FM. (The much-loved local radio station's abrupt demise was much reported-on elsewhere, seemingly the biggest story in the Bay Area for a day or two).

On top of the aforementioned record geeks, also on hand for the meeting -- in which university officials explained to an angry public why their radio station doesn't matter -- was a sizable police presence: no less than six San Francisco Police Department cruisers, an arrest van (or paddy wagon if you're not Irish) and twenty uniformed officers. This contingent stayed off-campus across Turk Street during the two hour-long meeting and preceding march/demonstration (The Appeal arrived for the 7 p.m. public meeting at a fashionably-late 7:30 p.m., and was barred from entering the meeting hall by on-campus police).

SFPD made no arrests, according to Lt. Troy Dangerfield, a department spokesman. As to why SFPD made such a show of force, Dangerfield could not say, and directed the Appeal to ask university officials. "They requested it," he said.

Lt. Kevin Dillon of the campus security detail told the Appeal that the decision to bring in "two squads of officers" was made by the on-site SFPD officer-in-charge, based on the size of the crowd marching towards the auditorium which hosted the meeting.

"The numbers [of the crowd] reached a certain point, and at that time the decision was made to call in a certain number of officers," he said. "It's not an excessive amount of officers for a demonstration."

In situations such as this -- or if, say, Chevron or Bechtel called the police to respond to protesters -- the city is not reimbursed by USF for the use of its police force. It would be if, say, the university hired police for commencement ceremonies.

It's possible the university was sensitive to peoples' feelings. After all, it was only Tuesday when a university official was forced to call on-campus security to remove a band of imposing radio nerds from his office, as you can see in the video above.

Whatever the motivation for the show of force, it worked: nobody broke anything, hit anyone or did anything else untoward. That is, unless you're a radio nerd, in which case someone drank your milkshake, kicked you in the junk, and then laughed about it for good measure.





Date: January 18, 2011
Contact: Christine McClintock, Executive Director, 415-738-4975

The $3.75 million sale of KUSF-FM by the University of San Francisco will have a chilling effect on the culture, community and civic life of San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond.

Independent Arts & Media is the 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor of Friends of KUSF, a volunteer organization that advocates for KUSF-FM’s cultural, civic, community-development and First Amendment services. As such, we propose an alternative plan for the dispensation of the KUSF license and assets, and for the appropriate compensation of the University of San Francisco.

We respectfully request a moratorium on the sale and a grace period enabling the KUSF-FM volunteers, through the agency of Friends of KUSF, to develop and execute the following plans:

A financing strategy to raise $4 million for the purchase of the station and to seed startup operations for the station in an off-campus setting
An operations plan detailing station management, staffing, policies and oversight by the Friends of KUSF Executive Board
The sale of KUSF as proposed should not be permitted by the FCC, because it will actively undermine the public interest of the Bay Area and beyond in three distinct ways:

KUSF provides unique and irreplaceable First Amendment and civic services as a culturally diverse, community-run outlet for independent music, arts, ideas and news.
The sale as proposed will actively undermine the cultural vitality of the Bay Area by strengthening commercial “classic rock” broadcaster KUFX, which programs generic, non-contemporary music that already saturates the market via other commercial stations
The sale will also promulgate the generic “wallpaper” classical-music format of the commercial-broadcast veterans of KDFC-FM that does nothing to strengthen or advance the Bay Area’s living, vital performing arts. Indeed, KUSF-FM already runs some of the region’s leading-edge classical music programming, greatly eclipsing KDFC’s depth, quality and commitment to local classical music.
Independent Arts & Media supports people and projects that build community and civic participation through commercial-free media, arts and culture. In 2010, as a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Indy Arts received almost $200,000 in grants and individual donations on behalf of 22 independent media/culture projects. Indy Arts was founded in 2000 by KUSF and KFJC-FM volunteers; its board of directors includes current and former KUSF and KALX-FM staff.

http://artsandmedia.net/2011/01/statement-on-the-shutdown-and-sale-of-kusf-fm.html





Father Privett's article today in the San Francisco Chronicle why he had to sell KUSF:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/21/EDE81HCLUB.DTL

Saturday, January 22, 2011

I met with KUSF volunteers, community members, university faculty, students and staff this week at a forum to discuss the University of San Francisco's decision to move KUSF to an online format and to sell the FM 90.3 radio frequency ("Sale shakes up Bay Area radio," Jan. 19).

I welcomed the opportunity to meet face-to-face, especially with KUSF's volunteers and staff members. I appreciate their dedication and passion and thanked them for their contributions to KUSF over the years.

The university's decision came after careful consideration of many factors.

The first among these is our core mission to offer the highest-quality Jesuit education to our students and provide them with important opportunities to learn and to serve.

Though KUSF started as a student-operated station, at the time of our decision to sell the frequency only about 10 percent of the station's volunteers were USF students. Regrettably, our on-campus listening audience was very small. Only one academic course is offered in conjunction with the station, with just 12 students per semester. In an era of difficult economic choices, we simply could not afford to continue subsidizing, with tuition dollars, a radio station whose primary focus was not our own students. What began as a student enterprise evolved over the years into a near-entitlement for the community. It is important that KUSF remain a robust teaching and learning experience for USF students and faculty.

I believe the decision we made balances the university's needs with community considerations, and I'd like to dispel a few myths.

KUSF is not going away, nor will the FM 90.3 frequency go silent. As www.KUSF.org, the station, in an online streaming format, will have the ability to reach a truly worldwide audience without the weather or geographical impediments that a small radio station has. USF did not sell the call letters KUSF, the station logo or the music library. These represent important learning resources going forward.

The station's four full-time employees will be offered similar positions at KUSF.org. FM 90.3 will be the new home of KDFC FM, San Francisco's only full-time classical station. KDFC will continue to broadcast Metropolitan Opera programming previously hosted by KUSF.

It is true that USF was unable to give prior notice of the sale. This was part of our legal agreement with the new owners. We did not intend to cause hard feelings with those who believe they had a right to be informed beforehand, but we were obliged to follow this part of the contract.

On Tuesday, we closed the station for engineering and other changes necessary to make the transition. In doing so, we took a number of reasonable and timely security measures. We believe these were appropriate and regret if any individuals were inconvenienced in that process.

USF is proud and remains committed to continuing its 155-year tradition of service to San Francisco that includes almost 400,000 annual hours of community service to vulnerable populations in the city and across the world.

The Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., is president of the University of San Francisco.






January 20th, 2011 by Jennifer Waits in classical radio, college radio, localism, public radio

Last night KUSF DJs, staff members, alumni and listeners (including students, University of San Francisco faculty, and DJs from other local college radio stations) came out to University of San Francisco in an attempt to get some answers from USF about the sudden shut-down of the college radio station on Tuesday at 10am during DJ Schmeejay’s show. The 478 seat Presentation Theater was filled to capacity with supporters eager to pose questions to USF President Rev. Stephen A. Privett.

Prior to the scheduled 7pm meeting, people gathered in front of Phelan Hall (where KUSF is housed) with home made signs and caps and shirts emblazoned with “Save KUSF.” The bell tower overlooking campus ominously chimed, while people swapped stories about the surprise announcement of the station sale to University of Southern California for its new Classical Public Radio Network.

In the background, campus security turned people away from Phelan Hall and also watched over the growing crowd from atop a neighboring building’s roof. As it got closer to 7pm, the large group walked over to Presentation Theater, while chanting against the station sale. At one point a motorcycle escort even helped to block off Turk Street, while the group crossed over from the main campus. Upon arriving in front of Presentation Theater, one of KUSF’s Music Directors, Irwin Swirnoff, led the crowd in a vocal protest before the assembled entered the theater. As people arrived, they were handed slips of paper, which could be filled out with a name and relationship to KUSF if one wanted to ask a question during the meeting.


Irwin Swirnoff Leads Group of KUSF Supporters into Presentation Theater (Photo: J. Waits)

Before the floor was opened to questions, USF President Privett invited those in the room to “pray with him,” as is the tradition at USF at meetings such as these. It turned out to be a telling way to begin the discussion, as many questions later would focus on how the handling of the KUSF sale was in keeping with Jesuit values.

After thanking the volunteers and staff of KUSF for their service, he said, “It’s very clear to me that there is justifiable anger and disappointment with the decision that I made…” He added, “I don’t expect or anticipate that you are going to agree with me…,” but asked that people listen to his perspective. Privett emphasized that his “primary responsibility” is to students and to ensure that “all of the university’s resources are directed…to a quality education…to our students….”

With that, Privett opened the floor to questions. Names were called from the slips of paper that were turned in, so it felt fairly random as far as who was given an opportunity to share a comment or ask a question. Although the range of questions and comments were impressive, emotional, and intelligent; for the most part the answers stuck to the party-line that was communicated in Privett’s opening statement and in USF’s official press release from Tuesday. Despite that, there were some surprising revelations and incisive questions that no doubt left Privett thinking in a different way about how he’s handled KUSF.

San Francisco listeners talked about how KUSF has been an important resource for the community and said that they will miss being able to hear the station over the FM airwaves.

Current KUSF DJs talked about their dismay over how the plans to sell the station were kept secret and argued that they were made to feel like “criminals” by the administration when they were simply trying to get answers after the station was abruptly shut down.

One KUSF volunteer, who is also a junior Media Studies major at USF, said that “yesterday when I was at KUSF and thrown out…I didn’t feel like a student, I felt like a criminal.” He explained to Privett that he was also a campus tour guide and that he refused to give a tour the day after the shut-down because he didn’t “want to have to say anything bad about the university.” He also expressed how important the non-student volunteers and the San Francisco community are to KUSF, arguing, “I know for a fact…we can’t do this without the community…I can’t run a radio station without the community…I love them and I learn from them.” He also told Privett that right now he feels “ashamed” to attend USF and said, “I feel so betrayed by the school that I love so much.”

Despite comments like these, Privett downplayed the current role of students at KUSF, at one point saying that only 10 students worked at the station. He quickly recanted that after people questioned him and then seemed to state that perhaps KUSF had a staff of 10 percent students (a point that someone later referred to as the “myth of the 10 per cent”).

Although Previtt stated that, “KUSF will continue with online programming,” he also said that “KUSF will go back to its roots” as a “student enterprise” and a “learning laboratory.” No mention was made as to whether or not the station would be open to community members as it is now. He was vague about the details on how the “new” KUSF would be programmed, stating that those questions will be decided later by the Dean and faculty members who will be charged with designing a curriculum for the station. On that note, a Media Studies professor from USF chimed in, saying that she was upset that faculty members in her department were also left in the dark about the sale, saying that if the new direction of the station is as a “teaching facility,” then, “Why is the first time that I learned about this decision, last night? I am a teacher…” She added that, “a lot of faculty members are very upset with this decision.”

I was lucky to have my name called, so asked Privett a few questions about both the sale and the future of the station. I questioned him about how the offer arrived at USF and whether or not the station was officially for sale. He said that they had not put themselves up for sale and that an offer to buy the station came to them through a broker 3 to 4 months ago. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, he learned who the suitor was (University of Southern California). To me this was intriguing news, as earlier in the day Brenda Barnes from KUSC stated that her priority was to expand the reach of Classical Public Radio Network by seeking out available frequencies in the Bay Area. She emphasized that they were only approaching stations that are already for sale; so it left me wondering if that was the case with KUSF. Many have pointed out that KUSF has received purchase offers in the past, including one from USC that was rejected a few years ago. So, perhaps that indicates that KUSF has been on the market all this time, even though Previtt denied it tonight.

I also asked about the future of Cultural programming on KUSF (for more details on the program schedule at the old KUSF, see my “station field trip” article) and about the rumored plans that the station will be moving. Earlier in the day, a KUSF Music Director, Howard Ryan (aka “DJ Schmeejay“) was interviewed on Radio Valencia. He said that the school’s communication about KUSF moving to a streaming station seemed to be giving people the false impression that KUSF as it is today would simply be transitioned to an online-only station. He said that there was talk that the station would move to a new building and that there would be no space for the music library, arguing that, “The cultural programming is probably not going to stay” and “It’s really not at all going to be” like the old KUSF. He guessed that the new station would consist of students playing primarily digital music.

So, after hearing Howard’s words earlier, I asked Privett about the plans for the music library and if it would be retained. He said that it was the property of KUSF and indicated that there would be space for a library in the new location. Later on in the evening he said that the station is moving out of Phelan Hall because the building is being renovated and the campus “needed more beds.” Prior to KUSF’s occupancy, its space in Phelan Hall was used as dorm rooms and the plan is to revert the space back to that purpose. He didn’t indicate where KUSF would be moving.

Howard was also one of the many people to question Privett about morality and the community-oriented ideals of Jesuits, asking, “”How do you feel this business transaction reflects Jesuit ideals?” Privett said that the station was not part of the university’s “core mission,” adding they the school “cannot afford this community service.” Howard then asked why the community wasn’t given the opportunity to make an offer to buy the station and asked Privett to reconsider his decision to sell the station to USC. Despite that plea, Privett remained resolute that his decision will stand.

Although many in the crowd probed Privett about business ethics, the secrecy with which the deal went down and how the sale of the station is in keeping with the stated vision, mission, and values of USF, he said, “This was not a crass business decision about dollars…This was about ensuring that our programs involve students…our primary mission is to our students.”

As the evening wore on he also mentioned that the school wanted to “recoup” both space and monetary resources that went into KUSF. Others countered his statements about the school’s funding of the station, pointing out that KUSF brought in underwriting dollars, donations, and also survived based on the volunteer hours put in by students and community members. People also questioned Privett on why KUSF wasn’t allowed to do fundraisers and why it wasn’t encouraged to become financially self-sufficient.

After about 2 hours of questions, Privett left the stage and Irwin Swirnoff addressed the crowd from the audience, saying, “We asked that a KUSF representative be on stage,” but were denied. So, the meeting ended with many lingering questions on the lips of DJs and listeners. Privett did state that if people had more questions, they were welcome to email him at privett@usfca.edu.

In the meantime, the Save KUSF Facebook page had around 3300 fans at last count, an online petition is circulating, and news and updates are being posted on the website Save KUSF. Behind the scenes DJs and staff are planning their next moves to work to formerly protest the sale with the FCC. Stay tuned…






January 20th, 2011 by Jennifer Waits in classical radio, college radio, localism, public radio

Last night KUSF DJs, staff members, alumni and listeners (including students, University of San Francisco faculty, and DJs from other local college radio stations) came out to University of San Francisco in an attempt to get some answers from USF about the sudden shut-down of the college radio station on Tuesday at 10am during DJ Schmeejay’s show. The 478 seat Presentation Theater was filled to capacity with supporters eager to pose questions to USF President Rev. Stephen A. Privett.

Prior to the scheduled 7pm meeting, people gathered in front of Phelan Hall (where KUSF is housed) with home made signs and caps and shirts emblazoned with “Save KUSF.” The bell tower overlooking campus ominously chimed, while people swapped stories about the surprise announcement of the station sale to University of Southern California for its new Classical Public Radio Network.

In the background, campus security turned people away from Phelan Hall and also watched over the growing crowd from atop a neighboring building’s roof. As it got closer to 7pm, the large group walked over to Presentation Theater, while chanting against the station sale. At one point a motorcycle escort even helped to block off Turk Street, while the group crossed over from the main campus. Upon arriving in front of Presentation Theater, one of KUSF’s Music Directors, Irwin Swirnoff, led the crowd in a vocal protest before the assembled entered the theater. As people arrived, they were handed slips of paper, which could be filled out with a name and relationship to KUSF if one wanted to ask a question during the meeting.


Irwin Swirnoff Leads Group of KUSF Supporters into Presentation Theater (Photo: J. Waits)

Before the floor was opened to questions, USF President Privett invited those in the room to “pray with him,” as is the tradition at USF at meetings such as these. It turned out to be a telling way to begin the discussion, as many questions later would focus on how the handling of the KUSF sale was in keeping with Jesuit values.

After thanking the volunteers and staff of KUSF for their service, he said, “It’s very clear to me that there is justifiable anger and disappointment with the decision that I made…” He added, “I don’t expect or anticipate that you are going to agree with me…,” but asked that people listen to his perspective. Privett emphasized that his “primary responsibility” is to students and to ensure that “all of the university’s resources are directed…to a quality education…to our students….”

With that, Privett opened the floor to questions. Names were called from the slips of paper that were turned in, so it felt fairly random as far as who was given an opportunity to share a comment or ask a question. Although the range of questions and comments were impressive, emotional, and intelligent; for the most part the answers stuck to the party-line that was communicated in Privett’s opening statement and in USF’s official press release from Tuesday. Despite that, there were some surprising revelations and incisive questions that no doubt left Privett thinking in a different way about how he’s handled KUSF.

San Francisco listeners talked about how KUSF has been an important resource for the community and said that they will miss being able to hear the station over the FM airwaves.

Current KUSF DJs talked about their dismay over how the plans to sell the station were kept secret and argued that they were made to feel like “criminals” by the administration when they were simply trying to get answers after the station was abruptly shut down.

One KUSF volunteer, who is also a junior Media Studies major at USF, said that “yesterday when I was at KUSF and thrown out…I didn’t feel like a student, I felt like a criminal.” He explained to Privett that he was also a campus tour guide and that he refused to give a tour the day after the shut-down because he didn’t “want to have to say anything bad about the university.” He also expressed how important the non-student volunteers and the San Francisco community are to KUSF, arguing, “I know for a fact…we can’t do this without the community…I can’t run a radio station without the community…I love them and I learn from them.” He also told Privett that right now he feels “ashamed” to attend USF and said, “I feel so betrayed by the school that I love so much.”

Despite comments like these, Privett downplayed the current role of students at KUSF, at one point saying that only 10 students worked at the station. He quickly recanted that after people questioned him and then seemed to state that perhaps KUSF had a staff of 10 percent students (a point that someone later referred to as the “myth of the 10 per cent”).

Although Previtt stated that, “KUSF will continue with online programming,” he also said that “KUSF will go back to its roots” as a “student enterprise” and a “learning laboratory.” No mention was made as to whether or not the station would be open to community members as it is now. He was vague about the details on how the “new” KUSF would be programmed, stating that those questions will be decided later by the Dean and faculty members who will be charged with designing a curriculum for the station. On that note, a Media Studies professor from USF chimed in, saying that she was upset that faculty members in her department were also left in the dark about the sale, saying that if the new direction of the station is as a “teaching facility,” then, “Why is the first time that I learned about this decision, last night? I am a teacher…” She added that, “a lot of faculty members are very upset with this decision.”

I was lucky to have my name called, so asked Privett a few questions about both the sale and the future of the station. I questioned him about how the offer arrived at USF and whether or not the station was officially for sale. He said that they had not put themselves up for sale and that an offer to buy the station came to them through a broker 3 to 4 months ago. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, he learned who the suitor was (University of Southern California). To me this was intriguing news, as earlier in the day Brenda Barnes from KUSC stated that her priority was to expand the reach of Classical Public Radio Network by seeking out available frequencies in the Bay Area. She emphasized that they were only approaching stations that are already for sale; so it left me wondering if that was the case with KUSF. Many have pointed out that KUSF has received purchase offers in the past, including one from USC that was rejected a few years ago. So, perhaps that indicates that KUSF has been on the market all this time, even though Previtt denied it tonight.

I also asked about the future of Cultural programming on KUSF (for more details on the program schedule at the old KUSF, see my “station field trip” article) and about the rumored plans that the station will be moving. Earlier in the day, a KUSF Music Director, Howard Ryan (aka “DJ Schmeejay“) was interviewed on Radio Valencia. He said that the school’s communication about KUSF moving to a streaming station seemed to be giving people the false impression that KUSF as it is today would simply be transitioned to an online-only station. He said that there was talk that the station would move to a new building and that there would be no space for the music library, arguing that, “The cultural programming is probably not going to stay” and “It’s really not at all going to be” like the old KUSF. He guessed that the new station would consist of students playing primarily digital music.

So, after hearing Howard’s words earlier, I asked Privett about the plans for the music library and if it would be retained. He said that it was the property of KUSF and indicated that there would be space for a library in the new location. Later on in the evening he said that the station is moving out of Phelan Hall because the building is being renovated and the campus “needed more beds.” Prior to KUSF’s occupancy, its space in Phelan Hall was used as dorm rooms and the plan is to revert the space back to that purpose. He didn’t indicate where KUSF would be moving.

Howard was also one of the many people to question Privett about morality and the community-oriented ideals of Jesuits, asking, “”How do you feel this business transaction reflects Jesuit ideals?” Privett said that the station was not part of the university’s “core mission,” adding they the school “cannot afford this community service.” Howard then asked why the community wasn’t given the opportunity to make an offer to buy the station and asked Privett to reconsider his decision to sell the station to USC. Despite that plea, Privett remained resolute that his decision will stand.

Although many in the crowd probed Privett about business ethics, the secrecy with which the deal went down and how the sale of the station is in keeping with the stated vision, mission, and values of USF, he said, “This was not a crass business decision about dollars…This was about ensuring that our programs involve students…our primary mission is to our students.”

As the evening wore on he also mentioned that the school wanted to “recoup” both space and monetary resources that went into KUSF. Others countered his statements about the school’s funding of the station, pointing out that KUSF brought in underwriting dollars, donations, and also survived based on the volunteer hours put in by students and community members. People also questioned Privett on why KUSF wasn’t allowed to do fundraisers and why it wasn’t encouraged to become financially self-sufficient.

After about 2 hours of questions, Privett left the stage and Irwin Swirnoff addressed the crowd from the audience, saying, “We asked that a KUSF representative be on stage,” but were denied. So, the meeting ended with many lingering questions on the lips of DJs and listeners. Privett did state that if people had more questions, they were welcome to email him at privett@usfca.edu.

In the meantime, the Save KUSF Facebook page had around 3300 fans at last count, an online petition is circulating, and news and updates are being posted on the website Save KUSF. Behind the scenes DJs and staff are planning their next moves to work to formerly protest the sale with the FCC. Stay tuned…





(01-19) 21:35 PST San Francisco -- To many, Tuesday was the day the music died.

On Wednesday, almost 500 backers of college radio station KUSF poured into the University of San Francisco's Presentation Theater to tell university President Stephen A. Privett they objected to his decision to sell the station's frequency to a classical music station and shift to an online-only format. The move apparently will preclude dozens of volunteer DJs, producers and others who are not students from involvement in the new KUSF.

Angered supporters chanted, "Shame on USF!" and carried signs reading "Sell Out" and "Mozart my ass." Some heckled Privett, a Jesuit priest who warned that his time was limited because he had to prepare for a funeral.

"This is a funeral right now, pal!" someone in the audience yelled. There were parents with toddlers in their arms, students wearing green "Save KUSF" hats, and station DJs from two decades ago.

"I just feel so betrayed by the school I love so much," said Chad Heimann, 20, a junior who is the chief student recruiter for the station. "We can't do this without the community. I can't run a radio station without the volunteers. ... I learn from these people."

The university abruptly pulled the plug on the station at 10 a.m. Tuesday under a $3.75 million deal that transfers KUSF's 90.3 FM frequency to classical music station KDFC, just purchased by a University of Southern California-controlled nonprofit. KDFC's old frequency, 102.1, is being taken over by rock station KUFX.

The move, part of a larger deal that still requires Federal Communications Commission approval, bumped KUSF off the FM dial for the first time since 1977. The station remains closed as the university prepares to go online-only.

Privett said he made the decision because the station, dominated by outside volunteers, "was of minimal benefit to my students."

"This was not a crass business decision about dollars," Privett said. "This was about ensuring our programs involve our students. ... Our primary mission is to our students, it is not to the community at large."

Privett said some of the $3.75 million would be used to fund the student-led online station, with the rest going to other unspecified educational projects.

Bobby Lee, a 2007 USF graduate and an alumni donor, said he and at least 10 other donors think "this is a terrible deal" and that they "will not continue contributing to the university."

E-mail John Coté at jcote@sfchronicle.com.





KUSF volunteers Ethan Jenkins and Claudia Mueller and paid employee Miranda Morris are in disbelief after their popular public radio station on the University of San Francisco's campus was abruptly shut down Tuesday.

Staffers Angry Over Radio Station Changes
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle Pop Culture Critic
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

It was business as usual on Tuesday morning for KUSF music director Howard Ryan, who played an eclectic mix of music while promoting a 10 a.m. in-studio appearance from local band The Pickpocket Ensemble.

When that hour arrived, his show abruptly went off the air - part of a complicated deal that gives classical music station KDFC the college station's 90.3 frequency - and leaves KUSF off the FM dial for the first time since 1977.

University of San Francisco officials said the station's blend of music and community programming will still be available by webcast. At the station late Tuesday morning, the somber group of DJs and staff felt angry and betrayed, saying that they didn't learn about the deal until minutes before the signal went dead.

"We weren't told anything that was happening," said Irwin Swirnoff, another music director at the station. "We were never able to mobilize our listeners, or do those things that would at least get us the opportunity to meet the bid."

USF spokesman Gary McDonald said the decision was a tough one, but the move won't jeopardize the station's primary goal as a teaching lab for students.

"Through the years, as fewer students were involved, we were subsidizing a community radio station," McDonald said. "The bottom line is, we're here to teach students. We can still do that."

McDonald said as part of the $3.75 million deal, KUSF retains its call letters and logo. Engineers are working to improve KUSF's online capabilities, and the station will return as a webcast in the near future.

The station has about 200 volunteers, most of whom are not students. Staffers said they will demand more answers at a Wednesday night meeting with school officials, and mobilize more when students return to campus for classes on Monday.

Ryan, who had to turn the band away, said the station's dedicated staff deserves better.

"It's heartbreaking," Ryan said. "We didn't even get a chance to thank the listeners or tell them goodbye."