KFJC

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KFJC (89.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station in Los Altos Hills, California at Foothill College, using a freeform radio format. KFJC's broadcast is 24/7 in the southern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley. The broadcast is also streamed over the Internet.

KFJC's mission is to be a conduit for new and interesting audio art and information. KFJC's music programming is largely oriented to recent material from many different genres. Most programs must play at least 35% (by song count) tracks from material added in the last 8 weeks. The station is licensed to the Trustees of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District and operated as a teaching laboratory for the Fine Arts and Communications Department of Foothill College. KFJC, as a community radio station, is almost entirely funded by listener contributions. The cost of running the station, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, is approximately US$100 000 per year. KFJC does have some underwriting from local business which provides the station with materials such as records, office supplies, and printing and graphics.

KFJC's Crown / PTEK 300 watt transmitter is located on Black Mountain, in the Montebello Open Space Preserve, south of Los Altos, California.

[edit] History

1959-1970

KFJC began broadcasting from a broom closet on October 20, 1959 in Mountain View, California at the old Foothill Junior College campus. The station was only allowed to broadcast from 5pm until 7pm Monday through Thursday playing "study music" and pre-recorded educational materials. KFJC moved to its current location in Los Altos Hills, California in 1961 when the new Foothill College campus opened. In 1965 the first rock and roll record was played on KFJC, causing the DJ Woody Muff to be reprimanded shortly after. But in 1966 Woody was rewarded. On April 2, the first rock and roll show was allowed to run on KFJC. It didn't last a year before it was forced off the air by more conservative staff members. By 1968, KFJC numbered 100 staff volunteers and was broadcasting from noon to 9:30pm Monday through Friday. Rock and roll was making more frequent appearances on the station. In 1970, KFJC hosted an open mike session during a nationwide student strike that had also shut down the Foothill College campus.

1971-1985

In 1974 KFJC began broadcasting in stereo after 15 years of mono FM broadcast.

In late 1978, the five student managers had had enough. They instituted a mutiny and voted to overthrow the general manager, John Lowe. Up to this point, KFJC management had enforced a strict format that attempted to mimic the larger Bay Area commercial stations KSJO and KOME. DJs were told NOT to play bands like the Ramones, Elvis Costello or the Clash because they were too extreme. After the change DJs were encouraged to play new music that other stations were too timid to play. Influential players in the revolution were Music Director Bob Gibson, Program Director Robert Zepernick, new General Manager Kerry Loewen as well as Kevin Hardiman, Boris Darling, Todd E. Daniels, Anita Plep, Steve Trash, Teresa Trash, and many many others.

In 1980 KFJC upgraded their transmitter from 10 to 250 watts, expanding their broadcasting range. In 1981, KFJC started the annual tradition of the 'Month of Mayhem' in which the month is filled with special programming from increased live mics to in-depth coverage of artists.

At 6 p.m. on August 19, 1983, the station started playing variations of Louie Louie. The event, known as Maximum Louie Louie saw 823 versions of the song played over the course of 63 hours. The escapade was the result of a competition between Bay Area radio stations. It was covered by Bay Area media and featured in The Wall Street Journal.

In 1984 the KFJC studios were enlarged and received a bathroom, much to the delight of the DJs.

1986-2000

In 1993 the "Penny Pitch" was born. During the"Penny Pitch," KFJC staff go out into the community with live broadcasts and ask for spare pocket change. This is a chance to meet the faces behind the microphones and occasionally hear live bands. 1994 brought the first KFJC CD release, "Summer Surf." This was the first in a long line of CDs created at KFJC issued during the annual fund-raiser. In 1996 KFJC went international with a live broadcast from Brixton, England where several bands played over two weekends. In that year KFJC also began streaming over the Internet. KFJC had its next international broadcasting 2000 when staff went to Dunedin, New Zealand to a music festival for 6 nightly broadcasts featuring 15 bands.

2001-Present

In 2002 and 2003 KFJC studios were upgraded again, bringing new equipment. In 2004 KFJC celebrated 45 years on the air with an entire day of 45s being played on October 31.

[edit] Departments

Day-to-day operations are overseen by the station's General Manager who is elected to the post annually. The General Manager oversees a total of eleven departments which are:

• Engineering
• Music
• Production
• Programming
• Promotions
• Public Affairs
• Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
• Publicity
• Traffic
• Training
• Treasury

Most of these departments have a managing staff member. Managers are elected through submission of a proposal and is voted to the post by the other department managers.

[edit] External links

• KFJC 89.7 - The radio station's main website
• KFJC netcast - Listen to KFJC online
• Maximum Louie Louie - Information on Maximum Louie Louie