KBRW (680 AM) is a non-commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in th ...

, broadcasting with 10,000 watts of power from a non-directional antenna. KBRW is a Class A station broadcasting on the

clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-cou ...

frequency of 680 AM. The station airs public radio programming from the

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 ...

and Native Voice One networks. KBRW also airs some locally originated programming, as well as

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

affairs, popular music and religious programs. Licensee Silakkuagvik Communications, Inc. also operates KBRW-FM at 91.9 FM, which airs a different programming schedule from this station. Barrow Radio

The KBRW broadcast stream on the Internet (www.kbrw.org and www.kbrwradio.org) is believed to be the northernmost source for broadcast streaming audio on Earth. Earl Finkler, a longtime station staffer, became known beyond Barrow as an interviewer and commentator. His commentaries were aired on multiple public radio networks, and also appeared in the '' Arctic Sounder'' newspaper. He remains well known for his association with KBRW even after retiring to his home state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. As early as 1979, KBRW was the northernmost affiliate of the weekly chart show, '' American Top 40'' with

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

, which is no longer heard on KBRW. KBRW's format is a variety of public radio, public and native affairs, religious programming, and popular music.

Translators

History

The station began broadcasting in December 22, 1975 on 680 AM with 1,000 watts. Smaller FM signals were added in 1988. The AM signal was upgraded to 10,000 watts in 1996. Shortly after the upgrade, a fire took the station off the air for several weeks. Thanks to the FM transmitters, broadcasting continued near the villages, while a new transmitter was installed to serve the outlying areas.

References

External links

BRW Native American radio NPR member stations North Slope Borough, Alaska BRW Radio stations established in 1975 1976 establishments in Alaska Utqiagvik, Alaska {{NorthSlopeAK-geo-stub