USC And Entercom’s Gambit: The Dark Side Of ‘Preserving Classical Music’ In San Francisco
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In today’s highly consolidated media environment, independent content and community involvement are rare on radio. (Photo by Alex Yorke, Creative Commons)
For decades, 90.3 has been the home of the award-winning, University of San Francisco-operated community station KUSF-FM. In an arrangement negotiated behind closed doors between USC, the University of San Francisco, and Entercom - one of the five largest radio station owners in the country - the station was torn from the airwaves last week. Volunteers arrived to find the station behind lock and key; others reported being treated like criminals as they were ushered out in a state of surprise. Preserving classical music from afar should not come at the expense of the cultural and musical communities that are now losing a key hub.
The details are even shadier. In 2008, Entercom purchased San Francisco’s 102.1 FM KDFC-FM, one of the last commercial classical stations in the US. Having recently acquired San Jose’s classic-rock KUFX (relaunched as KFOX this month), they likely sought a way to change from classical to a more profitable format with minimal public relations damage. Via an apparent ‘content swap,’ USC Radio provided a way to do so.
USC would take control of KDFC, change the commercial station into a nonprofit entity, and retain its name and staff. Entercom does not budge: it now uses its valuable slot at 102.1 FM to rebroadcast its San Jose-based classic rock programming to San Francisco, becoming, in their words, a “nine county rock dominator.” Rebroadcasting one’s own content is a great way to cut costs, here coupled with the higher ad revenues the new format would bring. USC Radio would need to find a different home on the dial for its new enterprise, hence the purchase of 90.3. (USC also purchased 89.9 FM from Christian broadcaster Howell Mountain Broadcasting.) USC is reported to have spent $3.75 million to complete the transaction.
Why do this? USC Radio president Brenda Barnes told the Daily Trojan, “USC wanted to have a more tangible presence in an area that is so important for alumni and perspective students.” This effort carries heavy collateral damage. The first opportunity for KUSF’s audience to respond – which they did in droves, emphatically opposing the sale of their station – was at a public meeting January 19, 2011, after the station’s closing.
In today’s highly consolidated media environment, independent content and community involvement are rare on radio. KUSF-FM provided both. Educational stations licensed by the FCC decades ago, now increasingly and shortsightedly sold by their home institutions for a quick windfall, are one of the few ways marginalized voices and content can reach the broadest audience. They are not mere “teaching laboratories” for students considering broadcast careers: they have become vitally important institutions in themselves, taking chances on perspectives and content not otherwise carried by commercial media and NPR.
While the University of San Francisco plans to move KUSF to an online-only format, it’s difficult to imagine that a web-only presence will offer the same experience or the same positive benefit. It will be incapable of reaching less affluent residents. Broadcast radio is still the most powerful medium going today: the high price tag paid by USC makes this very clear.
Surely it is possible for USC Radio to achieve its goals without assisting one of the largest broadcasters in the country to fatten its bottom line, all at the expense of a valuable, cherished and genuinely local San Francisco voice. With such voices coming under threat across the country, our role should be to support them, not bury them. The Federal Communications Commission must still approve this transaction. There is still time to change course.
Comments
I'm having trouble following this. To begin with, Entercom was not making enough money with KDFC. No surprise there; classical music is hard to mix with commercials, because the music goes on too long. But then, why not just change the format and start broadcasting classic rock at 102.1? Did they fear that the FCC would not let them change format on the last commercial classical station in this market? So they brought USC in, so they can say that the classical station is just moving down the dial. But USC wants listeners and does not want to compete with another classical station. The solution: Buy up the other classical station (KUSF) and shut it down, then USC has the monopoly. And of course the whole thing is done in secret so as to present a fait accompli. Do I have this about right?
I sent the following to the FCC regarding the sale of the 90.3 KUSF license to USC. I think that USC students and community could appreciate my objections:
Dear Chairman & Commisioners:
I ask the FCC to not approve the sale of the 90.3 FM license for the KUSF radio station of the University of San Francisco to the University of Southern California (for use of KDFC FM) or any other party..
The value of a not-for-profit college radio station, particularly one focusing on services to students and a diverse local community, often transcends the mere provision of music as entertainment. The University of San Francisco’s KUSF (90.3 FM) is one such station.
KUSF provides not only a teaching/training environment for students, but it also offers local programming for ethnic communities and subject interests not serviced by any other station, profit or not-for-profit. There are still a substantial number of people in San Francisco and environs who rely on over-the-air delivery of information and music. In particular, a larger percentage of residents in the many ethnic communities served by KUSF do not have (often can not afford) Internet access. A good portion of the traditional local Chinese community is one example. Consequently, they rely on KUSF to learn of issues relevant to their communities as well as news of the world.
College radio is also vital for supporting and expanding the availability of a greater diversity of music as well as programs of other cultural and social interest. KUSF has certainly excelled at that. The station’s wide range of community services programs have won the station many awards.
I also understand the desire for broadcast access to classical music (I enjoy it myself), but the vast majority of the community that enjoys classical music has much more access to the electronic tools and Web resources that can provide that music via the Web, whether at home or on the go. These include Sirius satellite in cars and wifi and cellular broadband via smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
So, please reject the efforts of the University of San Francisco to sell the license for the frequency 90.3 FM in San Francisco to the University of California’s Classical Public Radio Network for the use of its KDFC classical station. KUSF's local on-air availability certainly provides a far greater value and importance to the community than the alternative.
"USC is being used as a pawn here and should withdraw from Entercom's deal. Going ahead will bring you nothing from the Bay Area but a damaged reputation."
So true.
Great article guys.
- kxsc staffer
It is quite shocking to see USC / Annenberg, institutions with a stake in society and effective media, involved in yet another large owner takeover of an important independent media voice.
USC is being used as a pawn here and should withdraw from Entercom's deal. Going ahead will bring you nothing from the Bay Area but a damaged reputation.
Actually, KUSF already played classical music as it did nearly every other genre of music, often in the same DJ set. USC is preserving nothing but Entercom's bottom line while sucking the soul and culture out of San Francisco. I hope they can find a way to reverse their purchase to keep themselves from being associated with the terrible stink they've left on our airwaves. Excellent article, by the way!