Lake County Community Radio (LCCR) has recently been awarded a federal grant of $94,266 from the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP), Department of Commerce, to buy the equipment necessary to start a full-power, community radio station at 88.1 FM. This is a matching grant. LCCR has already raised $20,000 toward that match and needs approximately $12,000 more to have the funds released.
LCCR is a locally owned and operated, non-profit radio organization, which has run a low power FM station (KPFZ-LP) since 2001 in Lake County. That station, at 104.5 FM, currently broadcasts on a limited schedule to the north end of the lake (5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday).
Since 1998 LCCR has been working toward putting a much larger, full-power station on the air. That station is expected to get to all of Lake County and to parts of four other northern California counties as well.
“Three elements are necessary for LCCR to put its full power station on the air,” said volunteer organizer Andy Weiss, who has been working on the project since the mid-1990s. “We need the permission of the owners of Mt. Konocti, where our transmitter will be located. We need operational money for our first year on the air. And we need the money to buy the broadcast equipment. The PTFP grant should provide most of the money for the equipment, which is fairly expensive and high tech.
“But we aren”t at the building phase just yet,” Weiss continued, “fund raising is our main thrust right now. We need enough to match our grant, and about $30,000 more to pay for our studio costs that first year on-the-air. After that, KPFZ will be bringing in money with member support, events, and underwriting to help pay the way.
“Community radio stations differ from commercial radio stations in that their mission is to serve the community rather than turn a profit,” Weiss added. “Our programming is very eclectic, mostly local, and if you tune in, you”ll hear your friends, neighbors, and co-workers discussing Lake County issues, playing a wide variety of music and offering up the culture from around the county. We are also here to train those who want to learn about broadcasting, and give anyone who is interested an opportunity to be part of making radio. This new station will be a great addition to the media in our lovely county.”
LCCR wishes to thank everyone locally who raised money, gathered and wrote letters of support, made financial contributions and worked on the grant. Also, thanks go out to Brad Onoroto and Congressman Mike Thompson, consulting engineer Gray Haertig of Portland, Ore., local engineer Bill Rett, as well as Carol Pierson, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters in San Francisco; for their assistance.
For more information, to become a founding member/make a donation, or to get involved, contact KPFZ, its programmers and Board of Directors (Susan Krones, Taira St. John, Chris Mallock, Rhyschenda Owens, Chloe Karl and Frank Dollosso) at 274-2152.
