‘It’s a Death in Our Community’: Locals Reeling After KHSU Locks Doors and Streams Chico Radio Station
This morning the University sent out a press release stating, “Humboldt State University is reorganizing and streamlining operations at its public radio station, KHSU, with the goal of preserving quality programming for the North Coast.”
Staff and volunteers were angry and shocked as were members of the station’s Community Advisory Board (CAB) that met with HSU President Lisa Rossbacher yesterday evening to discuss the future of the station and local programming.“We were so lied to,” Jana Kirk-Levine, a CAB member claimed about the meeting with Rossbacher. “She told us things were in the works to keep the station going…She made it sound like there was a future…Why did she tell us we could have a meeting in a month when they were closing the station the next morning?..The station was going dark as we know it.”
Kirk-Levine claimed that the plan to close the station to local programming was in place before the CAB meeting. She laid out a timeline that seems to back up her claims. She said that the meeting ended yesterday at 6:30 p.m. and that staff received an email at 6:38 p.m. saying there was a mandatory staff meeting at 9 a.m. today. At 9 this morning, she said, the staff received word of the imminent change. At 9:32 a.m., the university sent out a press release (see below) announcing the change. At 9:33 a.m., former controversial General Manager Peter Fretwell, forwarded the press release to KHSU volunteers with a few terse words tacked at the end including, “To all our volunteers – thank you for your hard work and your years of commitment to our community.”
After describing what she said was Rossbacher’s duplicity, Kirk-Levine added, “I don’t know how she could sleep last night knowing she lied to us.”
James Floss, a lecturer at Humboldt State for 34 years and a volunteer programmer for KHSU, is “gobsmacked.” He said, he no longer has access to years of work and history that he has collected in interviews previously archived on the KHSU site.Sounding stunned, he told us, “My password no longer works. My door key no longer works.”
Floss said, “I think it is a tremendous loss. This is thousands of hours of material that has been vaporized…One of the things KHSU stood out for was all the original material—all the volunteers making original programming.”
Multiple people were part of his radio show, Immigrant Voices, “It involved 20 different HSU students,” he said. And, along with the disruption to students and volunteers, he said, the abrupt shutdown has thrown plans for a number of out of the area folks into a tailspin. “A contingent of Oaxacan scholars are coming to visit HSU,” he said. “I was going to show them Immigrant Voices.” He had hoped to interview one for the program.
Kirk-Levine agreed that the abrupt change led to problems for a number of people. Her husband, Eric Kirk, had a radio show scheduled tonight. But, now, she said, “He does not have a radio station…[Another radio show host] had some performers come up earlier [to appear on her show before their live performance]. She had to call them on the road and tell them to take their time.”
Floss explained that these are just a few examples of the disruption, “This is happening to a lot of people.” He added quietly, “There has been a death in our community.”
He, along with several others we spoke to, immediately stopped donating to the radio station. “I have, of course, cancelled my membership [to KHSU] even though I have been a member since I was an undergraduate nearly 38 years ago.”
Besides losing donations from longtime supporters, Phil Ricord, founder of Wildberries, who claims to have been the “largest local underwriter” has “canceled all KHSU underwriting effective immediately” saying it was “shocked and saddened by this unilateral and ill conceived notion…This is a dark day.”
Beyond the loss of donations and, at least one underwriter, Kirk-Levine said that the station needs five full-time employees or their equivalent to bring in the funding normally provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Now, because of the layoffs today, “there are only two staff members still employed,” she said.
The University says it has plans to continue the popular national programs though it isn’t clear at this point how that will happen without the funding from CPB and the reduction in donations and underwriting. The press release stated, “Even with the changes at KHSU, listeners will continue to have access to high quality national programming and news. The most recent audience data reaffirm this is, by far, the station’s most popular programming.”
However, Kirk-Levine argues this will be difficult without Kevin Sanders, who was laid off today. “Kevin was the engineer.” She said he was responsible for keeping the station on the air.
Staff at KHSU did not respond by press time so we were unable to get their plans for dealing with these issues. However, they did post a report they said which led in part to their decision. Read it here.
The argument for the University’s decision presented on the KHSU website is as follows:
In addition to issues identified in the report, there are serious budget issues at the station. KHSU is heavily subsidized by the HSU general fund, and the station’s budget deficits have continued to worsen. At the end of the 2017-18 year, HSU had to cover a budget deficit of nearly $135,000 beyond its regular subsidy, and this year’s projected budget deficit is even larger.
KHSU’s budget challenge largely reflects increases in payroll costs. In addition, community support has been flat or declining, with underwriting revenue down approximately 14 percent for the year and listener support down approximately 17 percent. And while volunteers create a great deal of local programming, their efforts also come at a cost, requiring significant support by paid staff.
The budget challenges at KHSU come as HSU has been working to address an overall structural deficit as well as funding declines related to an enrollment drop. The University has reduced its spending by $9 million over the last two years, and is making nearly $1 million in additional reductions for the coming year.
For context, over the last year HSU has funded nearly half the cost of KHSU. Listener support provided about 22 percent, corporate underwriting 17 percent, and government grants 12 percent. HSU directly paid more than $265,000 in salary, covered at least $250,000 for space and utilities, and spent at least $80,000 receiving and processing contributions to the station.
Earlier today, in the confusion, as KHSU transitioned and national news streamed around 11 a.m., mikes were left on and independent journalist Monica Petruzzelli reported hearing two male voices cutting in and out. She said she started typing as fast as she could and recorded the following:
Voice 1: “What are you going to do with the station?”
Voice 2: “[We are] finding collaborators to be partners… the key is to remain a public radio station as much as we can, but at the moment it is not reasonable.”
Voice 1: “We were pretty much balanced.”
Voice 2: “No, since I’ve been here the station has not operated in the black.”
Voice 2: “I’ve been tracking it very closely… we lost $40,000 in underwriting. Each drives goal was $10,000 under last year. This one we didn’t make it by $15,000. I think this has to do with people not donating because of the recent chaos. I see a loss of $40,000 in underwriting, and $40,000 in donations. It’s self injury.”
Brenda Starr, a former KHSU radio host, believes that the current move away from local programming may be a step towards selling the KHSU license. “The administration failed and mismanaged the station,” she said. “It was being done systematically…There were little things were being sabotaged.”
She added, “I’m surprised that the Board of Regents didn’t just sell the license if they wanted to make a lot of money. They can get a couple million dollars to buy that airwave.” She worries that perhaps a conservative religious group might step in to buy the license.Kirk-Levine said she thinks “there is dishonesty in the way they are representing the numbers.” In addition, she argues that the University is abrogating its responsibility to the community. “It is bigger than just the radio station and the football team…the gallery…the Childrens Center,” she said naming off a number of beloved local offshoots of the University that have been axed.
“We know the administration doesn’t understand the impact that the University has on the community as a whole,” she argued.
Then she added, “I think it goes beyond Humboldt State and it goes to CSU [the California State University system]. It doesn’t understand the connection…HSU has so much of an impact on the community. So much of the community has an impact on HSU…The boundaries have been blurred in a positive way.”
Now, with almost all the local programming being cutoff, she says, “I’m concerned and really sad…If they didn’t honor the connection between the community and the radio station…Do they care about the impact they have on the community?”
Meanwhile, as of Thursday evening, those tuning into KHSU are hearing the dulcet tones of a pledge drive at a Chico station, NSPR. No local programming is available.
Letter from Peter Fretwell to the volunteers includes the University’s press release:
Dear KHSU Volunteers,
Humboldt State University issued the following information just now.
Organizational Changes at KHSU
Humboldt State University is reorganizing and streamlining operations at its public radio station, KHSU, with the goal of preserving quality programming for the North Coast.
Station employees were told of the changes earlier today. Because the reorganization and budget reductions include the elimination of positions, a number of individuals have been laid off. The University is working to provide clear information to them, and to ensure they receive any benefits they are entitled to.
The steps taken today include:
Elimination of HSU’s direct payroll support, including the General Manager position and Chief Engineer position, saving the University more than $250,000 annually.
Elimination of five other staff positions, generating significant savings in the portion of KHSU’s budget that comes from government support, underwriting, and listener contributions.
Appointment of an Interim Station Director, to be supported through non-HSU funding.
Moving all KHSU operations to Feuerwerker House, reducing the inefficiency of having two separate spaces.
Indefinite suspension of volunteer-run programs. The University will evaluate how students can return to a more substantial on-air role at KHSU.
Actively pursuing collaboration with other public stations in California and seeking CPB funding to support this effort.
The decision to realign the station reflects a comprehensive assessment. Factors included the station’s cost to the University; KHSU’s limited capacity for additional fundraising and underwriting; challenges identified by the CSU Office of Audit and Advisory Services; feedback from listeners and volunteers; the University’s commitment to public service; and the appropriate role of student involvement in station operations and programming.
###
The following graph shows a typical 24-hour KHSU on-line listening cycle, accurately measured in real-time.
WebMetrics listening graph.jpg
To volunteers producing public affairs and news programming under the auspices of other non-profits (EcoNews, Humboldt County Extension Services, etc.), we welcome your continued programming work during this transition time. If your organization has questions, please contact David Reed.
To all our volunteers – thank you for your hard work and your years of commitment to our community. David Reed will be in touch with you regarding any personal music or other personal items you have at KHSU.
Thank you,
Peter Fretwell
Earlier Chapters:
- KHSU’s Community Advisory Board Submits Vote of No Confidence in General Manager
- Do the Right Thing–a Member of KHSU’s Advisory Board Demands the General Manager’s Resignation
Join the discussion! For rules visit: https://kymkemp.com/commenting-rules
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When they took the wrestling away, I said nothing, because I am not a wrestler.
When they took the football away, I said nothing, because I am not a football player.
But when they came for the hippies, I wept, because enrollment was down and no one cared because current students just lament poor life decisions and hope for a transfer…..
HUMBOLDT,
thanks. It was the only radio station worth listening to.
stop complaining. get organized . go raise some money and fund your selves. [edit]
Funding won’t help, HSU Football proved that.
I believe that after decades of community support in the form of money and hours of volunteer effort, the least HSU can do is hand over the FCC license to the community to rebuild a true public radio/media resource. It may be funky and lack some of the refinement that we have grown to expect for a time. But that is an effort I can continue to support ( I am a current sustaining member).
This is criminal! This was the only station worth listening to. Last week they were conducting their yearly pledge drive…did all the members and sustaining members just throw away their money when they thought they were spending it for a great cause?
My understanding is that you can call and ask for a refund.
I am a sustainer but am waiting for my “member didcount card” before canceling😖
You might wait a long time. I don’t think Advancement has anything to do with the Thank You gifts and there’s no staff, like Monica or David, to oversee that.
Kmud?
KMUD is a community run radio station. There is a translator for northern Humboldt KMUE are the call letters. We welcome all input, news, DJs, volunteers and listeners from all over the county, including Del Norte and Mendocino.
Vive La Mud!!!
Kind of like what happend to KXGO! Arcata thought it would never happen to a HSU station! Ha Ha Ha! Protest tomorrow!
PROTEST SATURDAY, 10AM TO 1PM, ON THE ARCATA PLAZA AT THE FARMERS MARKET!
SHOW YOU CARE!
WITHOUT KHSU AS OUR COMMUNITY VOICE, WE MUST STAND UP AND LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD IN PUBLIC!
COME ONE, COME ALL!!!
Meet at the McKinley statue on the plaza!
There are no statues of false idols on the Arcata plaza.
You must have been hallucinating at the time.
RH, unfortunately since the doors are all locked and everyone booted off air, there won’t be anyone around to hear your protest, and it will do nothing to unchain the doors. KHSU is done. The comment about “worried about a religious conservative group” buying up the license really doesn’t matter, but evidently that’s someone’s worst fear. KINS already has that part of the market and unlikely to buy the license out of spite.
But I can see that this decision was kept in secret for a bit and the action plan didn’t happen just overnight. The lockout was just the last part of it. Rossbacher seems to have a few more jokers up her sleeve. Or at least that’s what her minders are telling her before she skips town.
This is a planned death not unlike the Times-Standard getting purposely choked out in favor of online-only presence (re: Digital First Media) and offsite (and out of country) ad serving and classifieds. The only thing local about it is the building, the press, and the 2 or 3 guys running it. And a couple writers. Everyone else is long gone.
Hey Bungee.
A PROTEST is perfectly appropriate way for people who care to organize, share ideas, to mourn and support each other. In case you hadn’t noticed, Humboldt is a community that does not take things lying down. It may be the beginning of the end, but it ain’t yet the end! (The UC Board of Regents owns the license, and maybe they can be appealed to. Also, with a new President and VP coming into HSU, that may be an opening!).
Besides, the goal of protest is not always to make change, it’s to let the peoples’ voices be heard!!
COME PROTEST SATURDAY, 10A TO 1P AT THE PLAZA/FARMERS MARKET, IN ARCATA!
Not a very nice thing to do to the poor farmers who brings their locally grown food to the market to sell. Protest somewhere else where you will not harm people. Why not protest next to HSU?
Gandal radio head does care about them.
Why don’t you write Amy Goodman a letter requesting her financial aid?
If i opened a bookstore that couldn’t sell enough books to pay the bills I should go out of business.
If this radio station can’t drum up enough revenue to pay the bills…
A BIG factor in KHSU’s financial problems were caused by the firing of Katie Whiteside last year. From there, many people would not support the station until GM Fretwell was fired.
….It’s almost like the planned destruction of KHSU.
That’s an assumption based on a shallow, misleading, and inaccurate review.
Right. I remember when KXGO began as an “underground” rock station broadcasting from Fickle Hill in 1971. The announcer would say, “You are listening to KXGO Arcata, KGO rated X”.
I liked KXGO too.
KXGO ROCKED!!!
I do not care to listen to ad generated news from Chico.
I tuned in at 6:00 P.M. just to see what was playing on KHSU. After 5 ads in a row and a station identification saying they were broadcasting from Chico, I had heard all I needed to and switched to KMUD immediately.
“Shocked”? “Stunned”? What, you didn’t see this coming? CSU sent in a 3-person team to destroy a college, and a community, in order to build a more profitable business from the ashes of an already profitable (but grossly mismanaged) learning institution. They are a strike team- go in, blow everything to hell, get out.
The dismantling of KHSU is only the most public part of this team’s mission. The Lumberjack News has reported a lot more that only affects the students and faculty, and therefore was left unreported by the rest of our local media.
And yes, Humboldt WILL take this lying down. You will think you are standing up, but that is an illusion. You will hold signs and chant slogans. The fact that the slogans sound the same and the signs read the same as they did in the ’60s proves just how well they worked then, and forecasts their effects these next times.
This is but the tip of the iceberg. HSU is the most expensive campus to run in the CSU system. When the budget gets tight, which university do you think will get axed? Sounds like the dominoes are starting to fall.
Indeed, you are correct. We are witnessing the beginning of the end for over priced universities and colleges all over the country. Or a mass consolidation. People are starting to realize how deep the bull shit is and they aren’t going to continue believing the lie that a college education is necessary. I’m happy to sit back and watch it all collapse. Just wait till the student loan bubble bursts
This is some really fucked up bullshit!
When I checked the headlines at 5 they had the nerve to ask for money for their pledge drive.
That was from Chico.
Fascism seems to be the trend. Democracy be damned! HSU students need to walk out. This is an outrage. Boycott HSU and listen to KMUD. If the community sits back and takes this they’ll get what they deserve. Trump, Netanyahu, Putin, et al – my God!
And that is what happened to those who never think that the cash cow could dry up. Free everything for everyone takes a lot of money from those poor fools who are abused for having money and wrung dry of it simultaneously. They go elsewhere.
It’s just part of the conservative horseshit flowing over the nation. Christians with money trying to make us think and act like they do and trying to call it democracy. HSU admin has been at the forefront of this BS for a long time.
OH FFS, you really believe that? You’re as bad as the right wing nutters telling us Soros and Hillary are secretly married and planning the NWO.
LOL, I haven’t heard that one before, a new meme to hunt down is always fun. I have heard she and Abel Danger’s sister have had a ‘thing’ going on for decades now, though. I didn’t collect the meme, only saw it once, go figure.
The State of California is responsible for the funding for it’s universities. Federal government is not directly involved.
A lot of people want someone to blame, and the finger usually points to the old enemies, but, frankly, the problem is budget cut after budget cut, in this State.
People should be pointing the finger at Sacramento.
The problem is constant new spending. Hard to jack up taxes when that well is going dry but that doesn’t stop California trying as they spend money then think of how to pay for it.
Yep, that too.
I was referring to the university side of the financial situation.
You’d rather have the lefty libtards telling us how to think and act, eh? Way to make a point, dipshit.
Betsy DeVos Effect?
The Janet Napolitano effect?
Power is out north of Myers Flat as of 7 pm
The PG&E Site says fixed by 8:30. Is it?
No. They’re saying 10:30 now. Several sections in the area are out…
That’s not good. I’m sorry.
Jefferson Public Radio could be headed that way,they fell way short of their goal on their fund drive his year.
Jefferson Public Radio had their own coup years ago.
Ron Kramer was the station manager. He was summarily fired…for what cause or circumstances, I don’t know. But JPR had grown into a large conglomerate by the end of his tenure there.
It seems to be the model for late stage capitalism…get big or get out of the way!
As did KMUD
This is sad. What does it say about KMUD and KWPT?
KWPT is still tops in music to me, but i can’t deal w/the zombie busine$$ adverts.
KMUD/KWPT/KSLG/Lost Coast Outpost are all one owner, LCCI. They’ll be around a while. Kind of like Renner stations. When you’re the only game in town, you never go out of business.
Lost Coast Communications owns KHUM, KWPT the Point, KSLUG, 94.1 FM–the Lounge, and the Lost Coast Outpost. It doesn’t own KMUD.
~thanks, Kym.
Thanks for the info!
I think you mean KHUM, not KMUD.
Edited to add: Oh…looks like Kym beat me to it!
Also, the “click to edit” feature with the countdown clock is pretty cool. All comment threads should have this!
I do my best editing after I hit SEND…I figure I’m not the only one.
The people own KMUD!! NO Corporate or other major stakeholders to answer to!
All the LCCI stations have gone WAY downhill and are mostly station plugs and stupid advertisements that aren’t funny or entertaining. Time to turn off radios once you lost the KMUD signal in NorHumCo. The LCCI stations weren’t too bad until 2017. Used to enjoy listening to KHSU, and LCCI radio stations daily up until then. RIP most good HumCo radio. Shine on KMUD!
DID YOU CONTRIBUTE?
Donations fell 50% below the goal
KMUD is not owned by anyone but the community of members. No other station is connected to the Mud.
Redwood Community Radio is the official name.
This is terrible news. I don’t care or need to know the inner workings, but I do contribute every year and I think of KHSU as a very, very important part of life here. Public radio is the only unbiased (non-commercial therefore unbiased) news we have here, and I hope it doesn’t go anywhere.
KHSU AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT IS GONE….. AT LEAST FOR NOW.
IF YOU CARE…. COME TO THE PROTEST SATURDAY 10AM TO 1PM ON THE PLAZA, AT THE FARMERS MARKET!
“The steps taken today include:
Elimination of HSU’s direct payroll support, including the General Manager position and Chief Engineer position, saving the University more than $250,000 annually.”
Seems like a smart move to me. I don’t see the point in spending a quarter million dollars per year just so people have interesting music to listen to or biased programs catering to snowflakes. If the station couldn’t operate at a profit then it should be shutdown.
Rather than protest your loss of a radio station try doing something productive. 250k a year out of the budget isn’t worth it for a radio station where the majority of content can be found online. You can still tune in to democracy now. You can listen to jazz flute on multiple streaming apps. If you want local news or events just start a group on Facebook or create your own website.
Quit crying “poor me” when funding is pulled from what amounts to little more than a few people playing tracks and programs. If the station were decent or sustainable you wouldn’t be in this position. Why don’t you start a YouTube channel, it’s free and you can reach billions of viewers.
I think that paying a custodian to clean the campus or hiring more campus police is a far better use of funds.
Your ignorance is astounding. Obviously you are not a KHSU listener. [edit]
Tell me what the benefits of the station were. I’m open to hearing your point of view. Tell me how the cost to operate was justified.
It’s like Jazz, 707. If you have to ask, you’ll never know. Stop pretending you can’t see the value of KHSU.
“What is swing”
“If you have to ask, lady, you’ll never know.” – Fats Waller
Greetings, Derral. Enjoyed your good rockin’ in the past.
Local Radio stations provide local news. Community radio helps build democracy by focusing on local elections and concerns. It helps build community by providing a sense locality, of place. Crucial place for local artists to get the word out about what they do.
North Coast News KAEF claims to report local news. BUT they run nationwide stories that anyone with cable has seen the stories ten times before KAEF broadcasts. One night last week they ran three local stories and the rest were from out of the North Coast area. KIEM is beginning to do the same. I see their stories on MSN. And it would nice if they reported the news without making comments and judging people who have been arrested. Their guilt is not determined by KAEF reporters. You are not circus KAEF………….at least you shouldn’t be!
What Kym said! 😉
~except for the “building democracy” thought process.
“Democracy is the art of running the circus from the monkey cage.” H. L. Mencken
I think kmud does everything that kym explained and more. I don’t agree with most of the views of the station and the supporters, however i think they do a great job getting their message out while being remarkable people. As far as I know kmud doesn’t operate off of state tax money.
I don’t think that the general populations tax money should pay for a radio station with either a right or left view on policy. I think pushing your views should be left for the private sector and funded by the private sector. Kmud is a prime example.
Just my opinion.
Used to be. Used to be donor. But got tired of paying to be harangued, derided and threatened while the programming I enjoyed disappeared. Jefferson Radio too.
+The GM at KHSU was making approximately $90k a year (and that was about $90k too much for all the work that he wasn’t doing), and the station engineer about $20k less than that (and worth every penny). How that adds up to over $250,000 a year can only be attributed to Fretwell’s fuzzy math skills.
They aren’t saving money for janitors or police. It’s for more administrators
I’m inclined to agree with 707. I did listen sometimes, and some of it was ok, but honestly a lot of media is becoming outdated when you can get all your info via the internet. I’m not a fan of the heavily leftist politics they promoted on KHSU anyway. Always avoided NPR shows and especially Democracy Now, unless I wanted to hear what leftist propaganda they were promoting. Things change. Get over it.
Democracy Now is not NPR. It is an independent radio show.
I would come but I am out of town. I hope you bring the pitchforks. If there is anything else I could do to support the cause please let me (or all of us) know.
Sure Willow Creeker. Thank you!
We could use some people with clipboards getting contact info from people in the crowd, so if and as a movement builds, we can communicate with people we know who care and who are willing to step forward!
BRING CLIPBOARDS, PAPER, AND PENS (OR IPADS/ DIGITAL DEVICES). Leave the pitchforks at home. Lol.
(The despised, now former GM) Peter Fretwell has a lot of nerve to refer to the broadcast area as “our community”. He, VP Craig Wruck and HSU President Lisa Rossbaucher are all temporary residents, hired guns, who came, saw, screwed OUR COMMUNITY and soon will all leave!
If I were anyone remotely involved in this coup, I’d be out of here, STAT!
A laser pointer alone would have me shitting my britches, not knowing what’s behind it(or under)!
What a bunch of ham-handed fools!
Buh-bye!
At a CAB meeting last fall, when being called out as an outsider who wasn’t really part of this community, Wruck said “How long would I have to live here to be part of this community? Five years? Ten years?”, disdain in his voice and temperament. He moved here from Minnesota, made $200,000 a year for 6 years, and now retires and will be moving back to Minnesota. Besides making a lot of money, and causing chaos and discord while he was here, he really was never part of this community.
[…] Kym has more details about KHSU’s demise – some of them provided by someone very close to me. […]
The decline in enrollment is BS.
Highest number applying of all the state schools.
“Deficit” proven BS by private investigators last year.
Im ashamed of my alma mater!!!!
KHSU is valuable not only as a way to hear news and local events, its a major community resource especially in storms, earthquakes,etc. It is a community supported radio who just did a huge fundraiser.
Wheres the local lawyers to challenge them on this? We will support you!
Lisa R should have been fired after the footall program collapsed even with local fundraising to the tune of 500,000. Sounds familiar. Is she pocketing the money or what???? She is not to be trusted!!!! Lets occupy her building until the state school system fires her with NO payout, shes already in the top 5 highest paid in the CSU system. On top of rent paid, gas, and travel time. I want the money i paid hsu that went to her salary given back to me!
Flood the csu head with calls about this. Call mike mcguire&jim wood&jared huffman! Enough is enough!
And hey HSU you can forget about your housing projects, fix up your dilapidated dorms instead of asking us to ok stupid housing designs that are too expensive for students anyway. The only reason theresnot enough housing is HSU let in 1500 more students after promising over and over to never up the student pop and didnt supply housing for the increased number thus creating a problem they want us to fix.
Screw you HSU admin.
If youre a student right now id highly consider organizing some protests&sit-ins, your program could face the same. Imagine seeing your proff’s “escorted” out by campus police.
Ask the native american studies dept how its done!
Thank you for explaining things. I finally understand now why the housing situation has gotten so bad.
Aaarrghh is full of it. Yes, enrollment is definitely down, and no hsu does not have the highest paid anything. HSU has tried to mitigate its lower enrollment by abolishing the standards that used to be required to get in. In addition they have switched all recruitment to areas that generally don’t apply to college, can’t afford it, and who do not qualify based on lack of proper education before college. Enrollment is down across the board in almost every college, and costs are up. The high costs of higher education used to be equated with better jobs and higher pay. Now it means moving back in with your parents and dealing with obscene amount of debt after college.
“More jobs now than…..” yes, but the part intentionally failed to mention each and every time is that those jobs pay less than ever before, and now you need more than one just to survive, let alone thrive. It wasn’t always this way, and it doesn’t have to be this way now.
I will miss this radio station very much! Kmud is the only station my radio plays now.
Lisa R. lied to the staff face to face hours if not minutes before firing them via email, and had already changed the locks?! Really?!
No spine on that one at all.
Hey Aaarrgghh!
Please post phone numbers and other contact info for people to use to RAISE THEIR VOICES!
I am a born in Humboldt County resident and after one semester at HSU I transferred to OSU. It felt to me like a glorified high school. My two children and most of their friends decided to go to real universities in Southern California, Arizona, Washington and Oregon. HSU should be a satellite campus of the University of California. My son has his PhD (chemistry) from the University of Arizona and my daughter is working on hers (Veterinary)at UC Davis. HSU offers no PhD’s or advanced degrees (I don’t consider a masters degree as advanced) yet calls itself a “University”. The one thing I have noticed in the past several years is HSU recruitment is focused on minority students, many from the Southern California, which I think is outstanding. “The enrolled student population at Humboldt State University is 43.7% White, 33.7% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Two or More Races, 3.28% Asian, 3.19% Black or African American, 1.05% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.24% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders.” HSU data from their online reports. I do find it interesting that with all the schools in the LA Area students of color and culture are recruited to HSU. They only except is Native American students.
With the exception of San Diego State, none of the CSUs offer doctorate degrees. They have a different mission than “R1” universities (like the UCs and OSU), focused on undergraduate education. This has advantages. The classes at HSU are typically taught by professors, not PhD students. The faculty have more flexibility to engage with students and also in service-oriented (vs. research-oriented) work. HSU has a lot going for it, and following a UC model is probably not appropriate for this place.
More to the point of the original article, the loss of KHSU (and the art gallery and the football program) are great losses for the community. I think HSU *should* be in the business of building community. In the HSU strategic plan, goal #3 is to “strengthen partnership with local communities.” The university still does a lot, such as through service based coursework, but it needs to maintain these tangible, consistent institutions that tie the university to the community.
I’m bummed. I listen to this station exclusively. Leave it on all night. I loved the diversity of the music. One night jazz, the next classical, etc. I listened to the BBC news. It has everything. NPR. such a deceitful act by HSU.
Sad day for KHSU, and a sad day for HSU to learn that HSU President Lisa Rossbacher is not someone you can ever trust. Really, why lie? When someone shows you who they are, that’s who they are…
How long have they been planning this, since they moved the station studio last year ?
I echo the bummed and surprised feelings. Feels kinda like a coup & I was usual donor I listened online and appreciated the well rounded, educated, and polished style.
Big loss for the students, especially media students, the local community, and listeners from afar. Shows ya how important KMUD and Kym’s site are once other things are taken away.
This is a sad sad day for the no hum community! KHSU is an invaluable service! I wonder if KHSU could run a internet radio station in the meantime? It’s not the same, or nearly as good as a service, but it would keep the station up for a time..possibly… And Such underhanded dealings from HSU… a true shame! Bummer!
Would someone mind enlightening me as to how the student run KRFH station fits into the KHSU station? Curious if KRFH will be impacted at all. Looking through the comments, I haven’t seen KRFH mentioned at all which seems odd since it’s the student run station.
KRFH is the student-run station. It is funded by the Journalism Program’s budget. KRFH got their LPFM license on their own in 2015, with not a single ounce of help or support from the HSU administration. It was a student that took on the project and completed it on their own.
The claim that HSU wants KHSU to be a student station is despicable, considering they already have one that receives absolutely no support from the administration.
If you really want to go back, KHSU was the first student-run station at the University. The University Administration realized they could make a ton of money off the license, and took it and ran. Turned it into the KHSU we’ve come to know and love. Made it a Public Radio Station. Years later, after a long time without a student-run station, KRFH was formed and streamed online and through the hardwiring on the HSU campus. 2015, got their LP-FM Licence and have been on the air ever since.
Thanks for the history!!
“The claim that HSU wants KHSU to be a student station is despicable, considering they already have one that receives absolutely no support from the administration. ”
That’s awful. I’m sorry, but it’s really horrible that the students had to start their own station from scratch while having good in-campus infrastructure that seems like it wasn’t very accessible. USC had or maybe still has a station called the SLUG which I think was run by the students or at least for the students. The DJs were students. It was THE most popular station in the whole area. New music, new ideas, local musicians. It was FRESH. I hope it’s still going strong. While reading this I thought maybe they would restructure as student based, but this doesn’t look hopeful.
I had no idea KRFH even existed, and wondered why I didn’t hear much in the way of student voices on KHSU. I didn’t listen to KHSU after trying it several times. I’ll try KRFH now, thank you.
Some history of K Radio Free Humboldt is that KSHU administrators fought hard to try to keep it off the air back in the 1990s, just as they fought any attempt at true community radio outside of the control of HSU. Doing so was a slap in the face to communications students at HSU, as they had no real shared training program in place there at KSHU back then for communications majors. I was involved in several of those efforts back then, to end the encroaching corporate stranglehold over the public airwaves. The corporate administrators like former KSHU GM Parker Van Hecke won.
It’s time to bite the umbilical cord.I sense a lot of energy here and maybe we can make this a positive.Other communities have public radio without an oppressive college overseer.KZYX for example.HSU charged 250000 dollars for the rent,surely we can do better.Yes there may be less money overall,but what is the cost of freedom?We have the talent and are able to raise some money let’s take this opportunity to build the radio station we believe in.
This is really sad and upsetting. As a long time listener and sustaining member my heart is broken but I can’t imagine how volunteers and employees feel. My heart goes out to all of you. Gratitude for all the work you’ve done.
What can we do now? Is there really protest? How do we get more information on why the station was shut down? I’m upset with the administration but I honestly don’t know who pulls the strings. Are Rossbacher, Wruck, and the other guy as big of turds as y’all are saying? Does it really look like they were sent here to disrupt this community asset?
Learn lots of details about what happened and what ideas there are for moving forward…..
COME TO THE PROTEST! 10AM TO 1PM TOMORROW/ SATURDAY APRIL 13, ON THE ARCATA PLAZA, DURING THE FARMERS MARKET!
All are welcome.
Hey sohum lets keep our little.community powered radio goin!!! Now.more important than ever i believe
This is typical control grid bullshit. No un-vetted non profit public communications allowed. Look at the consolidation of media and the degree public radio has become propaganda. Look at what is happening to Julian Assange, and to journalism in general. Look at how the media encourages division and tribalism, a divide and conquer tactic to enforce narritive control for the empire. Social media is an extension of this as well, of course.
Educate yourselves, serve your community, organize, be smart, be cunning and take the bull by the horns:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F254074746826
(Just one low dollar example)
Erik,
thanks, a lot of trolls out, almost as if they are paid.
Good post.
Boom goes Julian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_5gOat-f3Y
(upbeat, fun, animated, song of Julian doin’ what Julian do best)
The other side of Julian that isn’t so upbeat, animated or musical.
White hat? (video above)
Black hat? (thread shares below)
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1116332459388547072.html
So what? Bunch of crybabies crying and whining over getting lied to. Are they going to do anything about it? No. They are whiners and criers. Will they march to Rossbacher or disrupt anything or do a sit-in or take the equipment hostage? No. They will write whiny letters and cry like the weak babies they are. That’s why they take all your stuff, whiner! Because they have no fear of you…because you never do anything about it but complain, whine and cry.
And your solution Over It? Take the equipment hostage? You’d be in jail 5 minutes after you did that.
Or…a group of people doing that would….provoke a standoff. The media would begin reporting. Other students and citizens would be inspired by an act of resistance instead of whiny letters. The crowd would grow. It would become a sit-in and sleepover. The police would be afraid to do anything rash resulting in a public relations debacle. Rossbacher would maneuver to make herself look good but it would be difficult. National media by Day Three inspires more students across the country to get off their asses. etc etc…..Oh but let’s whine instead because we might get in trouble! It’s soooo unfair and mean!!! Why am I not there doing it myself? Because KHSU is already a shell of its former self. I didn’t listen to it. But if you really do care and you really think it’s unjust you really should get up and do something. Otherwise it’s a news blip and will be buried in 3 days and that’s what they want to happen…
Re: “crybabies”.
Thank you Franz and Hanz! 🙂
Does anyone listen to radio?
Everyday.
Pretty vital if your rural.
Except for KMUD, Humboldt radio has been horrible for a couple years. Rossbacher has been ruining everything good about HSU and community while drawing large sum of money for her pocket. HSU is no longer a very good school except for the possibility of a renewed nursing program. RIP KHSU, and soon, RIP HSU.
Pinch,
it appears so.
They need somebody good there.
No administrator should make more than 40,000$/year.
And how much should the teachers, police officers, maintenance workers, and janitors make?
Now if we just close Humboldt state all will be well in our community.
It brings urban Americas issues to our small rural community.
I would have kept the radio station and shit canned the college.
Lol, my feelings too!
Yup… Close HSU, the north coast would be a much better place.
Used to be a good school… but it started big time ‘downhill’ in 1980 or so.
They have closed most of the departments that were of use to students and society.
Agreed
Sheesh, this is off subject here but your comment about HSU bringing American issues to Northern Humboldt I take with a grain of salt. IMHO look at what happened to Northern Humboldt County after they opened Pelican Bay Maximum Security Prison. It’s been way down hill with huge issues brought in by placing that entity in NorCal.
Pot industry brought bangers to us all…feels more n more like LA all the time.
Yeah sure let’s be more primitive and detached from the world. [edit]
That sounds a little extreme, but the CSU admin seems to have forgotten what gave HSU value within the CSU system. The way I see it, it gained value from its emphasis on a program focused on its northwest CA service area. It trained teachers for northwest CA public schools. It trained nurses for northwest CA health systems. It had great natural resources programs and science programs that supported its natural resource emphasis. Now they’re trying to impose a one-size-fits-all model that throws away what made HSU one of the sleeper high quality schools in the past. And, frankly, the quality of students who self-select to attend HSU seems to have dramatically deteriorated.
Change is good right?
That’s what people try to tell me.
Well, now we see once again that the chain of custody on change cuts both ways.
You can remove historical artifices from their ghostly hovering on your town plaza, but so to can they can shutter historical broadcasts from your airwaves.
So no, change is not good, to those who like the way things were or used to be.
If life sucks, then yes, change would be a good thing..
But usually we are told that change is good by people who want to establish alternative societies on top of ours and or in competition with ours (think immigration debates, or green rush/ legalization debates).
I like local broadcasting better than anything else, so this seems like a loss for sure. I was already searching for other stations though, having been turned off for some time by the obvious partisan leftism and immigrant Mafia suck-up-ism predominant on khsu’s national programming, but when I know people on the radio actually live in my community, I automatically give them more credence and respect, so again, a loss.
Remember, it’s Humboldt STATE University, not humboldt university,
And Alexander von humboldt was a German explorer(evil white male!), not a contemporary khsu listener.
Here’s to yesterday
What he said.
X2. Thank you!
HSU will be gone in less than a decade. Watch.
Keep dreaming. HSU is the one thing that keeps Arcata a little more different and interesting than other small towns around. Having young people from all around the world come here and stay for awhile. Sure they can be annoying sometimes with their oversensitive politics, but I would still prefer to be around some interesting young people rather than old crusty hicks like many of the commenters here.
Pray for a tsunami maybe Arcata will be gone also…
John,
hope not, but it almost appears that way;
as if somebody is trying to ruin it on purpose.
I wonder how many of you “commentators” who have listened to any programs in KHSU have ever donated to the station. I have been donating since the seventies even when I could barely afford my rent. I’ve been a sustaining member for more than 15 years now, so I’m upset about this. I’m more upset about those who use services, have the means to support yet refuse to do so.
Yes I’m not sure what the real story is, I hope we get some different sides of the story, and learn what’s going on. I have a hard time following g the politics, public radio politics doesn’t exactly grab me… but I am very concerned with losing the station and I want to learn more about what’s happened. I have been a member/ contributor for ten plus years.
Orange Sunshine, Does that really matter? Maybe they couldn’t afford it? No need to attack each other now. Save it for those that squandered your donations.
Did you even read my comment? I wrote, “…have the means to support…” , so where is the attack to which you attribute my comment? I have chosen to directly address “those that squandered” by other means rather than on this forum. I doubt that the administrators responsible spend much time reading comments on this blog which is I why I directed my frustration toward those who hover between prattling submission and mute rebellion.
Touche’
Hard to believe HSU would make this crazy mean spirited move. Pass this on to your friends at KHSU:
Job Opening
Program Director, KZYX FM Philo, CA
KZYX is looking for a new Program Director! We are a rural 5000 watt NPR affiliate serving all of Mendocino County, as well as parts of Lake, Humboldt and Sonoma counties. Since 1989, KZYX has been a beloved and vital resource for local and national news, public safety, and entertainment. KZYX offers a wonderful diversity of national programming from various content providers as well as exceptional music and public affairs shows produced by local volunteer programmers. We are located in the rural community of Anderson Valley, an area known for its beauty and a vibrant creative community.
Deadline is April 15! kzyx.org
More info and other radio jobs here: https://nfcb.org/community-radio-jobs/
All this and I still don’t know why the station was closed. Was it because it cost too much money and funding couldn’t be found? Was it because it put liberal ideas out there in the air that were one sided and were opposed by the other side? Was it because there was no true oversight in place and the station was doing whatever it wanted to do? Was it because Lisa Rossbacher is a meany? Was it because the university wants to sell the license and make some money to spend somewhere else? Was it because it didn’t provide on the job training to students who might one day become journalists? Was it a combination of all of the above?
I read most of the report and nothing in it convinced me that this radio station had problems that couldn’t be solved.
One thing I do know. Phil Ricord is a stand up guy, and his claim that this is an “ill conceived notion” bears some thought.
I once had a HSU student friend who used to have a one hour radio show where she played some great ethic music every week. You know what I mean; the kind of music you never hear anywhere else. It was a highlight for me to listen to it when I had the chance. It was a highlight to her to do the show, as she told me.
Kind of sad, this closing of a station that’s been on air for so long…
Finding the right solutions to our problems is what we as a community should be doing, not just eliminating something when we get the upper hand and have the power to do it. Communication with each other before taking action helps in finding the right solution. Unfortunately, tolerance, compromise, and compassion have gone by the wayside, so it’s not likely going to happen anytime soon.
Rossbacher is doing as many rotten things she can before leaving, i.e. getting rid of wrestling, football,now the community radio station. The community put up $500,000 for football. You would think she would have been thrilled. NOT. The community temporarily screwed up her plans. She is a liar and has been one all along. In the future, hopefully someone from out of the community won’t be hired as President of HSU.
KMUD=community radio KHSU=college radio. Big difference. KMUD is people-owned and run by a board of directors. No one person can make radical changes or decisions. Throw them your support.
KHSU embarked upon a perilous undertaking when they started to de-emphasize their college-related mission in favor of a more Pacifica-like mission over 30 years ago. The Pacifica model supports a lot of fringe and special-interest programming but it has only proven successful in large urban areas with a large potential listener support base. And even then, the Pacifica stations have fallen on hard times in recent years. From the University’s point of view it is hard to justify subsidizing a station to make up for shortfalls in listener support if it deviates too much from its college-related mission. I have enjoyed stations based on the Pacifica model, warts and all, and even consider my experience with them an important part of my youthful development. But maybe we are being confronted with the fact that it takes more savvy to make it work in a small population area, if at all, than the old KHSU crew had, and the University decided it could no longer make up the difference.
Definitely. Please come on down and volunteer at KMUD! We’d be very glad to welcome volunteers who want to engineer, help at events, DJ, help with the front desk, drives, etc. We’d be happy to see you.
This should be a tremendous opportunity for KHUM and KMUD to pick up the local programming that was valued at KHSU. But I am frankly skeptical that some of the local programming could survive without the massive state subsidy that KHSU offered. Let them show their merits through increased community support, either through advertising on KHUM or listener support on KMUD.
The fundamentals suggest big changes in store for KMUD, now that SoHum is no longer awash in pot money that found its way to KMUD and there is a large untapped listener support base if they decide to give the Humboldt Bay area more emphasis in their service.
If the new, or whatever, KHSU can pay for all of it’s programming now and doesn’t need volunteers, then they don’t need my pledge $$. The only thing they have for me now is Democracy Now which is also on KMUD at noon. So, nothing, really, unless I’m making a trip to Chico, I can now get the “local” weather. I guess that’s more pledge $$ for KMUD.
What does this mean for KRFH?
KRFH is still on the air. The actions by HSU with regards to KHSU do not affect the student run station in any way. This entire situation is all because Craig Wruck and Peter Fretwell are thin-skinned tyrants, and were shocked that the public had the nerve to stand up to them when they fired Katie Whiteside last May. All that they have been doing since those CAB meetings in the wake of her dismissal was to find a way to exact their revenge upon the community by destroying the public radio station. They finally “succeeded” last Thursday.