High school radio station KBPS AM in Portland, Oregon is celebrating a very special anniversary this week: 100 years on the air. It’s an accomplishment that few radio stations can lay claim to. And it’s especially remarkable that this particular radio station has always been a student-focused educational radio station. It’s very likely the longest-running […]
It was after ten o’clock on a Friday night when I headed to community radio station Freeform Portland‘s studio in Portland, Oregon for a visit. Board President Becky Meiers had invited me and Paul Riismandel to join her on her final show before she embarked for Alaska and I couldn’t refuse. The co-host of a […]
On a drizzly Columbus Day morning, I arrived at the Day Theater in Portland, Oregon to visit community radio station Portland Radio Project. The welcoming message on the marquee read: “PORTLAND RADIO PROJECT 99,1 A LOCAL BAND EVERY 15 MINUTES,” proudly proclaiming the presence of the low power FM radio station that was housed within. The […]
Community radio staff, volunteers, advocates and activists will gather this weekend in Portland, OR for the 2018 Grassroots Radio Conference. On Friday evening they’ll be treated to an opening keynote by former FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. She’s renowned for her public interest advocacy during her nearly nine years on the Commission, as a strong supporter […]
Community radio KBOO-FM is hosting this year’s Grassroots Radio Conference on the occasion of the station’s 50th anniversary. The conference is happening October 5 – 7, 2018 and registration is open now. Founded in 1996, the GRC is intended to be a space where broadcasters, producers and supporters can share skills, discuss important issues and […]
“I can’t even imagine my life without KBOO.” That’s what Shaheed Haamid told the audience assembled January 20 at the Oregon Historical Society to celebrate the opening of “50 Years of KBOO,” an exhibit marking the Portland community radio station’s first half-century. Haamid is a long-time KBOO volunteer, programmer and current board member. He recalled […]
This past weekend the New York Times published a story on low-power FM community radio, with a particular focus on Washington and Oregon, where there is a unique concentration of stations. In assembling his story correspondent Kirk Johnson visited many stations and talked with a host of broadcasters and advocates, including Radio Survivors Jennifer Waits, […]
I just discovered this fascinating piece of video tape on YouTube, likely dating from the 1970s, documenting a pirate radio and television station operating in my neighborhood, Sunnyside, in Portland, OR. It’s part of an archive of tapes from an archive of The Video Access Project, digitized by the Oregon Historical Society. It’s truly a […]
Radio Survivor readers are well aware of my passion for radio history and my appreciation for high school radio. For those reasons, it was a thrill to finally visit KBPS 1450 AM in Portland, Oregon a couple of months ago. Licensed to Portland Public Schools, the station is housed at Benson Polytechnic High School (thus […]
During my summer road trip to the Pacific Northwest, I visited a trio of radio stations (including college radio stations KWVA and KAOS), concluding with a journey to see community radio station XRAY.fm in Portland, Oregon. (more…)
