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KSUA (91.5 FM) is a student-run college radio station licensed to Fairbanks, Alaska, United States. Broadcasting from the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
(UAF) campus with 3,000 watts
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...
(ERP,) it serves the Alaska Interior area. When first on the air in 1984, it was one of a few commercially licensed college stations. Reorganized in 1993, KSUA now operates under the FCC non-commercial educational license public radio rules. KSUA has won statewide and national broadcasting awards.


Prehistory of KSUA

KSUA-FM did not go on the air until the mid-1980s, but the station's roots stretch back for two decades before that, to the first UAF radio station, KUAC-FM. KUAC, the Fairbanks North Star Borough's public radio station, went on the air October 1, 1962, operating out of the Constitution Hall studios KSUA now occupies. KUAC was the first public radio station in Alaska, and also the first FM station serving the Interior. It would blaze the trail for other stations to come. In 1971, KUAC moved its radio and new TV broadcasting facilities into the lower level of the UAF Fine Arts Building. KUAC was joined a decade later by carrier current outlet KMPS, the precursor to KSUA. Established by the UAF student government, KMPS went on air March 24, 1971. It was a "
Progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
" campus radio station. The existing AC electoral wiring in the dorms and other campus buildings were used as a broadcast antenna; only AM radios near the buildings could receive its signal. KMPS quickly tired of its limited listener base. In the mid-1970s, the push to become a licensed on-air broadcaster began. For that, a new call sign would be needed. Unlicensed carrier current stations have no claim on or requirement for a call sign, and in 1978, the FCC assigned the KMPS-FM call sign to a station based in Seattle, Washington.


Commercial years

On September 6, 1984, KSUA-FM came on the air at the frequency of 103.9
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 ...
, operating under a commercial broadcast license from the FCC. Both KMPS and KSUA took in advertising revenue. The licensee was called Student Media, Inc. (SMI). That nonprofit corporation had been formed to operate the station. Playing what is referred to in the radio industry as the "
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...
" or AOR format (focusing on 'deep albums tracks' in addition to more popular singles), KSUA-FM began as one of the few commercial college stations in the country, as are
WHUR-FM WHUR-FM (96.3 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary radio station that is licensed to Washington D.C., and serving the Metro D.C. area. It is owned and operated by Howard University, making it one of the few commercial radio stations in the Un ...
at Howard University and
WPGU WPGU (107.1 FM) is a fully commercial, student-run college radio station on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois. It broadcasts an alternative rock radio format and other programming throughout Champ ...
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The early KSUA operated with relative autonomy, with few direct ties to the university, as a culture had existed since the 1940s at UAF of providing student services independent of the university. KSUA "Rock for the Great Land" quickly became the most popular station in the Greater Fairbanks area, with a format of playing a wide range of music that included
Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
,
Alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
, Heavy Metal,
Industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
, traditional
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and Delta Blues, Grunge (well before the genre became widely recognized) and a host of
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
recording acts. The format and content of each show was left largely up to the DJ of that show. The station served as a launching pad for 'Glenner and Jerry' (aka Glen Anderson and Jerry Evans), popular local announcers who enlivened the morning show format in Fairbanks. They would leave the station in 1987 for
KWLF KWLF (98.1 FM, "Wolf 98.1") is a commercial radio station in Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interi ...
in Fairbanks. In 2013 they still worked in local radio but at different stations. D.J. Jamie Canfield, went on to work for several independent record labels including Rounder Records, Rykodisc and Righteous Babe Records, voice work for several Rockstar Games, including Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and in 2011, he was Program Director at KSKI-FM in Hailey, Idaho. KSUA's fortunes began to decline in the late 1980s. In 1987, commercial contemporary hit radio station
KWLF KWLF (98.1 FM, "Wolf 98.1") is a commercial radio station in Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interi ...
began broadcasting; it then hired away Anderson and Evans. With new competition and decline of the Alaskan economy during the same period, KSUA's stability as a commercial radio entity diminished. As Fairbanks's radio market expanded with more new stations in the early 1990s, acute financial troubles began to plague KSUA. The station's advertising revenues steadily declined amidst an increasingly competitive broadcasting landscape. KSUA was eventually unable to meet its payroll demands to both management and on-air staff. The formerly-paid DJs were asked to volunteer, but in protest, one of them filed a wage claim with the
Department of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
, and KSUA was forced to give out almost $45,000 in unpaid wages. Out of money, KSUA went dark March 8, 1993.


Transformation, transition, and growth

The station stayed off the air until the end of 1993. During its downtime, SMI was dissolved, and the license for KSUA was transferred to the UA Board of Regents, to be held in trust for the students of UAF. In September the Associated Students University of Alaska Fairbanks (ASUAF) bill, called "Governance Agreement For The KSUA Media Board", was passed. It recreated KSUA as a public radio station, under the authority of the new KSUA Media Board. The station's chief engineer brought the system up to FCC standards. A new antenna was purchased, placed on the Moore Residence Hall on the Upper Campus. When KSUA came back on the air, it had new equipment and new management. The new KSUA came back on the air December 2, 1993, playing the same song the station had shut down with: Pearl Jam's "
Alive Alive may refer to: *Life Books, comics and periodicals * ''Alive'' (novel), a 2015 novel by Scott Sigler * '' Alive: The Final Evolution'', a 2003 shonen manga by Tadashi Kawashima and Adachitoka * '' Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors'', ...
." Until 1982—just years before KSUA went on air—the portion of the FM band below 100 MHz, including the typical noncommercial educational reserved band of 88–92 MHz, was reserved in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
for telecommunications purposes. As a result, KSUA and KUAC, as well as other public radio stations in Alaska such as
KSKA KSKA (91.1 FM) is a non-commercial radio station in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The station airs public radio programming from the National Public Radio network and the BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an internationa ...
, operated on licenses that, if sold, could be converted to commercial operation. With KSUA now operating as a public radio station, Borealis Broadcasting, a local media company wanted its frequency for a new commercial station. Borealis purchased the defunct KUWL, a Christian radio station that had operated at 91.5 FM from 1985 to 1993, and swapped it to the university for the 103.9 frequency, which could be operated commercially. In exchange, the university received a new antenna and transmitter system valued at $26,000, as well as $10,000 in additional payments—all extremely valuable in the face of budget cuts. As a result, in April 1996, KSUA moved to 91.5 FM, and Borealis started a new commercial station, also named KUWL, at 103.9 with the former KSUA license.


Sports

KSUA provides live play-by-play coverage of University of
Alaska Nanooks The Alaska Nanooks are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Nanooks name is derived from the Inupiaq " nanuq", meaning polar bear. The school colors are blue and gold. The Nanooks compete at ...
hockey. Veteran broadcaster Bruce Cech is the play-by-play announcer for all Nanook hockey games. KSUA streams all games live on their website, ksua.org. KSUA is the only radio station to provide Nanook hockey game coverage as no commercial radio station throughout the Fairbanks radio market airs their games.


General Managers

There can be anywhere from 30 to 100 volunteers at one time, normally managed by 6-9 paid student staff members (depending on the needs at the time). These positions are normally kept for a year or two and are reviewed annually by the General Manager. The General Manager in turn is reviewed by the Media Board. The Media Board is a small board of volunteer UAF students and UAF staff who oversee the monthly operations of the station and the General Manager. They also approve the annual budget and assist in helping the General Manager make large decisions.


Awards

As of Fall 2019, KSUA has won over 100 statewide broadcasting awards. In 2012 it was among the top 10 college stations nationwide competing for the MTV college radio woodie award. The next year KSUA won the College Radio Woodie Award.2013 MTV College Radio Woodie Award http://www.mtv.com/woodies/2013/winners Retrieved 8/11/2017 Alaska Broadcasters Association Awards Radiostar Awards by Radio Flag


References


External links


KSUA Website

KSUA YouTube Channel
* {{Authority control 1984 establishments in Alaska SUA Radio stations established in 1984 Mass media in Fairbanks, Alaska SUA University of Alaska Fairbanks