Student radio learns from mistakes

The airwaves of KPSU have been silenced after over 15 years on the air. After a Debate Hour discussion on sodomy and a guest condoning it, KPSU’s signal has been permanently revoked from KBPS – AM 1450.

Portland Public Schools owns KBPS, the station operated out of Benson High School, so the station often has younger listeners than the college students at Portland State University.

The incident occurred on Thursday, June 24 at around 10:55 p.m. One of the guests said, “I think we can all agree that sodomy is great, and we want to do anything we can to encourage it.”

Then one of the panelists said, “I’ve decided that you can do anything you want as long as you can pay FCC fines.”

It is the end of over 15 years of student broadcasting on AM radio for 59 hours each week.

It is a sad end to Portland State’s radio station and the student body hopes that it will recover, but facts are facts and it broke the rules.

KPSU did not violate any licensing guidelines defined by the Federal Communications Commission. The station, however, failed to comply with the obscenity clause in its contract with KBPS.

It broke the rules and is now are dealing with the consequences, but KPSU does not seem to be letting this setback get to them. KPSU is currently broadcasting online and, with a faint signal, broadcasting on 98.1 FM.

Once it was taken off the air, KPSU became a stronger force online. KPSU’s incoming station manager and current music director, Doug Friend, is looking into FM and HD radio options.

KBPS General Manager Bill Cooper has talked about past problems with KPSU DJs’ inappropriate behavior on the air, such as profanity by DJs and in the music that airs. In an earlier interview with the Vanguard, student publications advisor Judson Randall said there have been just two instances in which KPSU was in violation of FCC regulations.

It appears that a lack of communication existed between KPSU and KPBS. While it is a horrible way to end such a long run of student broadcasting, KPSU should be proud of how it handled the situation, including being attacked by Cooper of KBPS who said KPSU DJs have a long history of breaking the rules. If that were the case, then this would have happened earlier, but it did not.

The bottom line is that the fine print is the fine print and KPSU broke the rules. However, KPSU deserves kudos for not complaining about being cut from KBPS’s stream.

KPSU also deserves credit for taking what appears to be a minor setback in stride. They are using the current situation as fuel for the fire in their bellies and are planning to come back better than ever.

Acknowledging that they did wrong, KPSU seems to be handling the situation with poise and grace to push the program to bigger and greater heights.