KUSF is an
online-only radio station owned by the
University of San Francisco and operated by its students. From 1963 until 2011, the station was a
non-commercial radio
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financ ...
station licensed to
San Francisco, California, broadcast at 90.3 FM
MHz.
KUSF history
KUSF began in 1963 as a campus-only
AM station managed by the Associated Students of the University of San Francisco (ASUSF). In 1973, the University of San Francisco (USF) was offered an
FM radio station by a small local Bible college that wished to discontinue its radio operations. USF accepted the offer and on April 25, 1977, KUSF became an FM station broadcasting on the 90.3 frequency.
The old AM station later became the student-managed KDNZ.
Originally broadcasting six hours a day, KUSF began broadcasting 24 hours a day in 1981. In its early days KUSF was a conventional college station, broadcasting programs of interest to the university and greater
San Francisco community. However, KUSF soon garnered attention by playing new underground music: it was one of the first radio stations to play
punk rock. Many now-famous acts also first gained exposure on KUSF, most notably
The B-52's and
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
.
In addition to Metallica, the program Rampage Radio (hosted on Saturday nights on KUSF from midnight to 5AM by Ron Quintana) was responsible for helping launch the careers of
heavy metal bands, or giving them their first exposure in San Francisco, such as
Iron Maiden,
Queensrÿche,
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
,
Venom,
Slayer
Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
,
Suicidal Tendencies,
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
,
Overkill
Overkill may refer to:
* Overkill (term), the use of excessive force or action to achieve a goal
* Surplus killing, when a predator kills more prey than it can eat
* Overexploitation, depletion of a natural resource through overharvesting
** Ove ...
,
Manowar
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy (particularly sword and sorcery) and mythology (particularly Norse mythology and Greco-Roman mythology), as well as ...
,
Accept
Accept may refer to:
* Acceptance, a person's assent to the reality of a situation etc.
* Accept (band), a German heavy metal band
** ''Accept'' (Accept album), their debut album from 1979
* ''Accept'' (Chicken Shack album), 1970
* ACCEPT (or ...
,
Anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...
and
Raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
, as well as local Bay Area acts
Y&T,
Metal Church,
Exodus,
Possessed
Possessed may refer to:
Possession
* Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else
** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body
*** ...
,
Testament
A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament.
Testament or The Testament can also refer to:
Books
* ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book
* ''Testament'', a thriller nov ...
,
Death Angel,
Forbidden,
Lȧȧz Rockit,
Vio-lence and
Heathen __NOTOC__
Heathen or Heathens may refer to:
Religion
*Heathen, another name for a pagan
*Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry
Music
*Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band
*Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band
*The Hea ...
.
On January 18, 2011, USF announced plans to sell the 90.3 FM frequency to the
Classical Public Radio Network
{{Update, date=January 2011
The Classical Public Radio Network was a national, 24-hour classical music service in the United States. Its mission was to preserve, enhance and expand experience of classical music for radio listeners. With this visio ...
, which is owned by the
University of Southern California. In addition, USC announced that it had reached an agreement with Entercom Communications to take over the intellectual property of local classical outlet
KDFC (102.1 FM), and moved the station's programming to the 90.3 FM frequency. The KUSF
intellectual property remained with USF, which launched an upgraded online-only station. The KUSF
call sign now belongs to a radio station (91.3 FM) licensed to serve Glendale, Oregon, United States. Upon announcement of the sale, KUSF locked its doors, shut down its website temporarily and went off the air.
On February 8, 2011, the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco.
Government and politics
The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...
voted 8-3 to oppose the sale.
A group of former KUSF volunteers formed
KXSF San Francisco Community Radio, a
low-power FM station broadcasting at 102.5fm in San Francisco. KXSF began broadcasting on September 4, 2018.
Programming
The station's musical programming varies from
rock to
hip-hop to
world music. New music programming is broadcast Monday through Friday from midnight to 6 PM. Cultural programming takes over weekdays from 6 PM to midnight, and all day Saturday and Sunday.
Awards and recognition
KUSF was nominated for "College/Non-Commercial Radio Station Of The Year" in the 2008 PLUG Independent Music Awards. In July 2000, KUSF was named one of twenty recommended radio stations in the United States by US Airways' "ATTACHE" magazine. KUSF possesses Gold Records from groups including R.E.M., the Bangles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cowboy Junkies, Midnight Oil, the B-52's, and Love and Rockets. KUSF has received numerous
for the long-running community service series that is broadcast weekly. A Certificate of Merit was awarded to KUSF by the American Heart Association for outstanding service in stimulating public support in the fight against heart disease.
On June 7, 1998, San Francisco Mayor
Willie Brown held "Fighting Back Day in San Francisco" in honor of KUSF's community service series for senior and disabled citizens. The mayor also held "KUSF 90.3 FM Stereo Day In San Francisco" on April 25, 1998, KUSF's birthday.
KUSF was the recipient of the National Association of College Broadcasters' National College Radio Award for "Best Community Service Programming" in 1993-94.
KUSF was named Best Radio Station by
SF Weekly in 2001, 2003,2004, 2006, and 2007.
Events
KUSF sponsors Rock-n-Swap, a large
record
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
collectors' fair held five times a year on the USF campus. Rock-n-Swap features music-related items of all kinds, including but not limited to vinyl albums, CDs, DVDs, books, and posters. All proceeds benefit KUSF.
KUSF holds numerous concerts in the Bay Area.
Staff
KUSF is currently managed by Miranda Morris. The station staff primarily includes students at the university.
References
External links
KUSF websiteKXSF website
{{DEFAULTSORT:KUSF.org
University of San Francisco
USF USF may refer to:
Universities
* University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana
* University of San Francisco, California
* University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
* University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois
* University of Siou ...
USF USF may refer to:
Universities
* University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Ft. Wayne, Indiana
* University of San Francisco, California
* University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
* University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois
* University of Siou ...
Radio stations established in 1963
1963 establishments in California
Internet radio stations in the United States
Defunct radio stations in the United States
Radio stations disestablished in 2011