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KCRW (89.9
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
FM) is a
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
member station broadcasting from the campus of
Santa Monica College
Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Althoug ...
in
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming from NPR and other affiliates. A network of repeaters and
broadcast translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
s, as well as
internet radio
Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...
, allows the station to serve the
Greater Los Angeles area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
and other communities in Southern California. The station's main transmitter is located in Los Angeles's
Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...
district and broadcasts in the
HD radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
format. It is one of two full NPR members in the Los Angeles area;
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
-based
KPCC is the other.
History
KCRW was founded in 1945 to train servicemen returning from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in the then-new technology,
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
—hence its call letters, which stand for College Radio Workshop. It was a charter member of NPR in 1970, making Santa Monica College the second community college to own a public radio or television station.
Ruth Seymour
Former
KPFK
KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...
program director
Ruth Seymour Ruth Seymour (born Ruth Epstein) is a retired American broadcasting executive known for her innovative work with public radio. She has been described as a pioneer in public radio and "a commanding presence in the public radio arena."
Early years
...
became general manager in 1978 and retired in February 2010. Born Ruth Epstein to Russian-Polish Jewish immigrants, she grew up in the East Bronx, studied at Sholem Aleichem Folk School and the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
, and married and divorced
Jack Hirschman
Jack Hirschman (December 13, 1933 – August 22, 2021) was an American poet and social activist who wrote more than 100 volumes of poetry and essays.
Biography
Hirschman was born in New York City to a Russian Jewish family. He received a B.A. ...
, adopting the name of her paternal great-grandfather in 1993 to become Ruth Hirschman Seymour. She developed a mix of music, news, and other spoken-word programming that now attracts over 500,000 listeners each week. She was also known for a feisty temperament and a spur-of-the-moment style that led to the nickname "Lady of the Iron Whim."
Jennifer Ferro
The current general manager is Jennifer Ferro.
Ferro is also the President of the KCRW Foundation, which provides financial support and other resources to ensure that KCRW can maintain and expand its mission consistent with economic, social and technological developments. The KCRW Foundation board of directors is composed of business and community leaders; Monica J. Shilling, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, serves as chair.
The station airs programs from NPR,
Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States.
PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...
(PRI),
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and oper ...
, and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, a range of music programs and live in-studio performances, and locally produced news and culture programs. KCRW also airs programming created through their'' Independent Producer Project,'' a project KCRW created to support "the work of independent contributors," which includes programs like Strangers, UnFictional, and SoundsLA. The station has three live program streams—"On Air," "Eclectic 24" and "News 24"—and on-demand listening through the KCRW apps and podcasts.
In August 2013, KCRW released a new logo and brand design created by Los Angeles-based branding agency
Troika Design Group
Troika or troyka (from Russian тройка, meaning 'a set of three') may refer to:
Cultural tradition
* Troika (driving), a traditional Russian harness driving combination, a cultural icon of Russia
* Troika (dance), a Russian folk dance
Poli ...
.
Programming
KCRW is an affiliate of NPR. Music programming includes the station's music program ''
Morning Becomes Eclectic
''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...
''.
Warren Olney
Warren Olney, Sr. (March 11, 1841 – June 2, 1921) was an American lawyer, conservationist, and politician, in California.
He was a founding member, alongside John Muir and the young botany professor, Willis Linn Jepson of the University o ...
hosts the station's news and public affairs programs, ''To the Point'' (nationally distributed by Public Radio International).
KCRW covers the Southern California film industry with programs including ''The Business'' with Kim Masters, ''The Treatment'' with Elvis Mitchell, ''Martini Shot'' with Rob Long, and film reviews from Pulitzer Prize winning
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
film critic
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern (born October 3, 1932) is an American writer and retired film critic. He wrote for ''Newsweek'' from 1965 to 1983, and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1995 to 2022. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2005. Morgen ...
.
Music programs feature an eclectic array of songs from around the globe, particularly on the daily music program ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and the daytime weekend line-up. At night, music such as
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
,
progressive, and
electronic dance music are the main styles on shows formerly known as ''Metropolis'' and ''Nocturna''. KCRW dropped all program names except
Morning Becomes Eclectic
''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...
and Strictly Jazz in 2008. Three of the station's previous music directors currently have programs on the air at KCRW.
Local and regional touring artists can send recordings to KCRW for consideration of airplay.
KCRW airs Santa Monica City Council meetings live when they are held. Because of the nature of the repeater network, Santa Monica City Council meetings can be heard throughout the Southern California region reaching out to approximately 150 mi (240 km).
Before its current host,
Evan Kleiman
Evan Kleiman is a chef, author, radio host and restaurant owner. She has been the radio host of Good Food on KCRW since 1997. In 2012, her radio show received the Best Audio Series award from the IACP. In 2017, Kleiman was inducted into the James ...
, took over as host, the KCRW show ''Good Food'' was parodied on
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
in a
recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...
sketch series, ''
Delicious Dish
Delicious may refer to:
Fruits
* Golden Delicious, a cultivar of apple
* Red Delicious, several cultivars of apple
Other
* ''Delicious'' (film), a 1931 Hollywood musical
* ''Delicious'' (TV series), a 2016 British TV series starring Dawn Fre ...
'', with
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory,'' TBS's '' People of Earth'', NBC's ' ...
and
Molly Shannon
Molly Helen Shannon (born September 16, 1964) is an American actress and comedian who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2001. In 2017, she won the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ...
.
Since 2013, KCRW has put on the annual Radio Race, a 24-hour competition in which participants can write, record, and edit a nonfiction radio story. "Here Be Monsters", a podcast about fears and the unknown, got its start on KCRW after winning Radio Race.
Programs, a selected table
Influence and accolades
KCRW's flagship program is ''
Morning Becomes Eclectic
''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, ...
'', a three-hour daily music program that has aired for more than 30 years. Historically, the show host is also the station's
music director
A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...
. Isabel Holt created the show in 1978.
Tom Schnabel
Thomas Daniel Schnabel (born February 5, 1947 in Los Angeles) is a music consultant, producer and DJ. Based in Los Angeles, he was formerly the music director at KCRW.
Early career
Tom Schnabel attended USC, The Sorbonne, and UCLA. He later t ...
hosted the show from 1979 to 1990. In November 1990,
Chris Douridas
Chris Douridas (born September 20, 1962) is an American popular DJ and musical tastemaker at Santa Monica, California's radio station KCRW, where he hosts a two-hour program showcasing progressive new music. He is also a filmmaker, actor, televis ...
took over the show, hosting until April 1998.
Nic Harcourt
Nic Harcourt (born September 23, 1957) is an English-born American radio and television presenter, producer, and journalist best known as the former Music Director and on-air presenter for the Santa Monica, California-based radio station KCRW. Har ...
was in the seat from 1998 until December 1, 2008, coming from
WDST
WDST (100.1 MHz), branded as "Radio Woodstock 100.1", is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Woodstock, New York, and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley. Radio Woodstock is known as a progressive station that was at the forefront of both the mo ...
FM 100.1 in Woodstock, N.Y.. At WDST Harcourt successfully transitioned a traditional Triple A station to a cutting-edge trendsetting Alternative station in the shadow of New York City. Longtime KCRW DJ
Jason Bentley Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is an American radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and as Music Director for KCRW. Previ ...
, known for his "''Metropolis''" nighttime avant garde dance program, is the former host and music director. That position (morning host and MD respectively) will be split in two on August 30, 2019, with Bentley relinquishing both duties after 10 years, but will continue hosting ''Metropolis''.
KCRW has given initial exposure to artists such as
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
,
Norah Jones
Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
,
Sigur Ros,
Damien Rice
Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success i ...
, and
David Gray. KCRW programming has won numerous awards and accolades, including the
Golden Pylon
Golden means made of, or relating to gold.
Golden may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
*Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall
*Golden Cap, Dorset
*Golden Square, Soho, London
*Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
Award in 2011 and 2014, a
PRNDI Award in 2013 and 2014, The
Edward R. Murrow Award in 2014 and 2015, the
Webby Award
The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories include ...
in 2015, an
APTRA Award in 2015, The
Gracie Award
The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary cont ...
in 2016, and seven first place awards from the
Los Angeles Press Club
The Los Angeles Press Club is an American journalism organization founded in 1913. It honors journalists through its annual National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and SoCal Journalism Awards.
The Board of Directors includes the organi ...
for the year of 2015.
Several hosts have extended their careers into music supervision for both film and television, including
Chris Douridas
Chris Douridas (born September 20, 1962) is an American popular DJ and musical tastemaker at Santa Monica, California's radio station KCRW, where he hosts a two-hour program showcasing progressive new music. He is also a filmmaker, actor, televis ...
(
''American Beauty'',
Shrek
''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...
and
House of Lies
''House of Lies'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Matthew Carnahan. The show, which premiered on Showtime on January 8, 2012, is based on the book ''House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell ...
), Liza Richardson (
''Friday Night Lights'' and
The Kids Are All Right), and
Gary Calamar Gary Calamar is a five-time Grammy Award-nominated film and television music supervisor whose credits include: ''The Man In The High Castle','' '' Six Feet Under'', ''True Blood'', ''House'', ''Weeds'', ''Entourage'', ''Dexter'', and '' Varsit ...
, the music supervisor for
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's ''
True Blood
''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development.
The serie ...
'' and
''Six Feet Under''.
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
is now prominent at the station, which streams thousands of hours of content each week. KCRW provides three different live streams: the live broadcast, a 24-hour music service, and a 24-hour news service. Streams are available through web browsers, with alternate streams offered using the
PLS file format, which can be played using software such as
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
,
Winamp
Winamp is a media player for Microsoft Windows originally developed by Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev by their company Nullsoft, which they later sold to AOL in 1999 for $80 million. It was then acquired by Radionomy in 2014. Sinc ...
and
RealPlayer
RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP ...
. The music service and news service are also included as channels in
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United States only. It had over 200 free internet radio stations.
History
Roots
AOL Radio ...
. The station also archives its talk and music programs for listeners to stream at their convenience, and offers
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s of in-studio performance and talk programs.
KCRW has members across the country and the station regularly sponsors live music events throughout the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
In a 2021
L.A. Podcast
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
interview, former staffer
Cerise Castle accused the station of "microaggressions, gaslighting, and blatant racism." The station investigated the accusations with the help of a law firm. In a statement, the station said: "Ultimately, several of the claims were found to be unsubstantiated or not corroborated. But we take all claims very seriously."
Events
KCRW promotes a great deal of live music events nationally, featuring both established and emerging artists. In April, 2011, KCRW promoted and sponsored the controversial graffiti exhibit entitled "Art in the Streets" at the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...
(MoCA). The Los Angeles Times reported an increase in tagging around MoCA after the exhibit opened to the public.
Stations
KCRW programming is relayed by five full-power stations. However, KERW—serving San Luis Obispo—is a full-time HD1 simulcast partner with KCRW-HD2's "Eclectic 24" music programming. "Eclectic 24" is heard on the HD2 signals of the four other stations, as it does on KCRW itself.
![KCRW RF spectrum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/KCRW_RF_spectrum.png)
The call letters of KCRI, KCRU, KCRY, and KDRW are identified at the top of each hour alongside those of KCRW, as are the frequencies of those stations and their transmitters.
KCRW also directly feeds three low-power
translators
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
, while other stations feed four additional translators.
Notes:
KCRW also has applications pending for new translators on 88.5 in
Mojave, 89.9 in Temecula, 90.1 in Baker, 90.3 FM in
Barstow, and 105.7 FM in
Julian.
Previous translators (now off the air and licenses returned to the FCC) operated on 88.3 FM in
Palmdale
Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south.
On Aug ...
, 89.1 FM in
Camarillo
Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...
, 90.9 FM in
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...
, and 100.1 in
China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake is a United States military facility in California.
China Lake may also refer to:
Places in the United States
*China Lake, Kern County, California, an unincorporated community named for a nearby dry lake
*Chi ...
. Another former translator, K296AI, was the only KCRW translator not owned by the station. It is operated by Indian Wells Valley TV Booster, Inc., which also operates translators that rebroadcast Los Angeles-area television stations in the
Ridgecrest area. That translator currently rebroadcasts
KMZT.
In February 2014, KCRW announced that it would buy Santa Barbara station
KDB (93.7 FM), currently a classical music station, for $1 million. The transaction will allow KCRW to begin using another Santa Barbara station,
KQSC
KQSC (1530 AM) is a radio station licensed to broadcast from Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, with a daytime power of 15,000 watts, and can be heard by day from the outskirts of Denver to the state's border with New Mexico.
In Augu ...
(88.7 FM) as a repeater for KCRW's programming, while transferring
KUSC
KUSC (91.5 FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet s ...
's classical programming from KQSC to KDB, thereby preserving KDB's role as Santa Barbara's classical station.
KCRW Berlin
On September 13, 2017, partner station, KCRW Berlin, was awarded a broadcast license in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, on 104.1 MHz. This license and frequency had previously been held by
NPR Berlin
NPR Berlin was the first international affiliate of the American public radio network, NPR. The station started broadcasting in April 2006. It replaced a radio station from Voice of America that previously broadcast on the 104.1 MHz frequency. T ...
. The station has a website a
kcrwberlin.com
KCRW Berlin ceased broadcasting on December 13, 2020, due to the economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
Wayback Machine*
KCRW Presents*
*
Santa Monica College''The Urban Man Commentaries on KCRW''*
*
*
{{Authority control
CRW
NPR member stations
CRW
Mass media in Los Angeles County, California
Santa Monica College
Radio stations established in 1945
1945 establishments in California
Organizations based in Santa Monica, California