KALW
Encyclopedia
KALW is a public radio
station based in San Francisco, California
. Its HD FM radio
signal is broadcast over the immediate San Francisco Bay Area
at 91.7 MHz, and is webcast
with live streaming audio
.
(SFUSD). The station is an independently-operated National Public Radio affiliate, carrying content from NPR, American Public Media
, Public Radio International
and the BBC World Service
. In addition, KALW produces its own local news, music and interview shows, including the live weekday call-in program, Your Call
, the evening news magazine, Crosscurrents, and the weekly two-hour live variety program, West Coast Live!, broadcast each Saturday morning. As KALW is affiliated with the San Francisco Unified School District, it also carries broadcasts of the monthly SFUSD Board meetings and daily listings of school lunch menus, with said menus occasionally read by celebrities who have come to the station for interview shows. The KALW studios are located at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School off Mansell Avenue in the City.
KALW is the oldest FM station west of the Mississippi, having launched as an experimental station for a demonstration exhibit by owner General Electric
at San Francisco's world's fair at Treasure Island in 1939–40. The station was licensed to the SFUSD in April 1941 when GE gave it to the district. KALW originally operated on 45.1 MHz in the old FM
band, which was re-assigned to police and fire departments after World War II.
KALW's original transmitter was a modified GE medical diathermy
machine. While the original transmitter had not been used since the switch to the modern FM band in the late 1940s, it was still located at John O'Connell Technical High School until the school was demolished in the mid-1990s. The station's current transmitter tower is on Twin Peaks.
KALW was instrumental in helping KQED television sign on the air in 1954 as one of the first Non-commercial educational
television stations in the country, by providing technical training, studio space, and engineering advice to the KQED founding staff.
KALW provided Chinese language simulcasts of KGO-TV newcasts in the 1970s, before local Asian language newscasts became established.
During the 1970s and 80s KALW also aired live coverage of SFUSD sporting events, the last such regular live coverage of high school sports in San Francisco broadcasting.
In July 2004, the FCC resurrected the case. While it issued only a warning to KALW about employment practices, more significantly, the FCC decided that allegations of lying were supported by sufficient evidence to warrant hearings. The hearings concluded in June 2005.
FCC Chief Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel ruled in April 2006 to grant a two-year license renewal for KALW while reducing a fine for public file violations from $300,000 to just $10,000. In its defense to the FCC, KALW management showed evidence of its meritorious service to the community. The school district also argued for a hardship case, saying it was incapable of paying the $10,000 fine. (For instance, local school programs for children had recently been cut from the district's budget.) The judge disagreed with that assertion, however, and the SFUSD was given two years to pay the fine.
On November 2, 2006, station general manager Matt Martin posted an update on the station's website explaining the problem where he went on to express his appreciation to those who assisted with technical support from fellow public broadcaster KQED-FM
.
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
station based in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Its HD FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
signal is broadcast over the immediate San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
at 91.7 MHz, and is webcast
Webcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
with live streaming audio
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
.
Background
KALW's license is held by the San Francisco Unified School DistrictSan Francisco Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District , established in 1851, is the only public school district within the City and County of San Francisco, and the first in the state of California...
(SFUSD). The station is an independently-operated National Public Radio affiliate, carrying content from NPR, American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
, Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
and the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. In addition, KALW produces its own local news, music and interview shows, including the live weekday call-in program, Your Call
Your Call
Your Call is a call-in radio talk show program produced by KALW hosted by Rose Aguilar and Sandip Roy in San Francisco, California. Your Call features in-depth dialogue and debate on politics, culture, poverty, and the environment The format of Your Call varies from show to show, but generally...
, the evening news magazine, Crosscurrents, and the weekly two-hour live variety program, West Coast Live!, broadcast each Saturday morning. As KALW is affiliated with the San Francisco Unified School District, it also carries broadcasts of the monthly SFUSD Board meetings and daily listings of school lunch menus, with said menus occasionally read by celebrities who have come to the station for interview shows. The KALW studios are located at Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School off Mansell Avenue in the City.
KALW is the oldest FM station west of the Mississippi, having launched as an experimental station for a demonstration exhibit by owner General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
at San Francisco's world's fair at Treasure Island in 1939–40. The station was licensed to the SFUSD in April 1941 when GE gave it to the district. KALW originally operated on 45.1 MHz in the old FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
band, which was re-assigned to police and fire departments after World War II.
KALW's original transmitter was a modified GE medical diathermy
Diathermy
In the natural sciences, the term diathermy means "electrically induced heat" and is commonly used for muscle relaxation. It is also a method of heating tissue electromagnetically or ultrasonically for therapeutic purposes in medicine.-Surgical uses:...
machine. While the original transmitter had not been used since the switch to the modern FM band in the late 1940s, it was still located at John O'Connell Technical High School until the school was demolished in the mid-1990s. The station's current transmitter tower is on Twin Peaks.
KALW was instrumental in helping KQED television sign on the air in 1954 as one of the first Non-commercial educational
Non-commercial educational
The term non-commercial educational applies to a radio station or TV station that does not accept on air advertisements , as defined in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission . NCE stations do not pay broadcast license fees for their non-profit uses of the radio spectrum...
television stations in the country, by providing technical training, studio space, and engineering advice to the KQED founding staff.
KALW provided Chinese language simulcasts of KGO-TV newcasts in the 1970s, before local Asian language newscasts became established.
During the 1970s and 80s KALW also aired live coverage of SFUSD sporting events, the last such regular live coverage of high school sports in San Francisco broadcasting.
Legal challenge
In 1997 a group of full and part time KALW employees filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission to deny the renewal of KALW’s broadcast license, alleging that station management had covered up violations of hiring rules and had lied about required record keeping. The case was inactive for several years and according to KALW's website the group that filed the petition, known as Golden Gate Public Radio, went defunct.In July 2004, the FCC resurrected the case. While it issued only a warning to KALW about employment practices, more significantly, the FCC decided that allegations of lying were supported by sufficient evidence to warrant hearings. The hearings concluded in June 2005.
FCC Chief Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel ruled in April 2006 to grant a two-year license renewal for KALW while reducing a fine for public file violations from $300,000 to just $10,000. In its defense to the FCC, KALW management showed evidence of its meritorious service to the community. The school district also argued for a hardship case, saying it was incapable of paying the $10,000 fine. (For instance, local school programs for children had recently been cut from the district's budget.) The judge disagreed with that assertion, however, and the SFUSD was given two years to pay the fine.
Antenna replacement
In late October 2006, KALW suffered an antenna malfunction. The station continued to broadcast at only three percent of normal power, causing many listeners to think the station had ceased broadcasting, although the audio stream was still available via the website. KQED allowed KALW the use of their backup transmitter on San Bruno Mountain during the repair process.On November 2, 2006, station general manager Matt Martin posted an update on the station's website explaining the problem where he went on to express his appreciation to those who assisted with technical support from fellow public broadcaster KQED-FM
KQED-FM
KQED-FM is an NPR-member radio station owned by Northern California Public Broadcasting in San Francisco, California.KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television. The founding manager was Bernard Mayes who later went on to be Executive Vice-President of KQED TV and...
.