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| Oregon: Low-Power FM, High Expectations |
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The Sunday Oregonian October 20, 2002 Sunday SUNRISE EDITION SECTION: NORTHWEST; Pg. A21 LENGTH: 1071 words HEADLINE: LOW-POWER FM, HIGH EXPECTATIONS SOURCE: CHERYL MARTINIS - Correspondent, The Oregonian DATELINE: DALLAS BODY: Summary: Their 100-watt signals reach only a couple of miles, but they provide a new voice for many communities Fred Compton is general manager, chief engineer and lone record spinner at Polk County's newest radio station, KPIE, a homey operation that hopes to give this rural area a voice on the air. Music makes up the bulk of programming, but the FM station at 94.7 is also running a series of drug-prevention messages taped by a local middle school, a 33-minute show on postpartum depression supplied by a local expert, and community announcements. Compton hopes to one day cover such events as Dallas City Council meetings, high school girls' volleyball and maybe a variety show staged at a retirement center -- material that has about as much commercial value as "blue sky," he says. But that doesn't bother him because KPIE isn't supposed to be anything like commercial radio. Its signal doesn't extend more than a couple of miles, and the station, which is owned by a nonprofit community corporation, can't accept advertising. Compton manages the first low-power FM station to debut in Oregon. The Federal Communications Commission created the new category of stations in 2000 following a period of consolidation in the industry that left fewer locally owned stations. The idea was to allow new voices on the air without interfering with commercial broadcasters, who vehemently opposed the idea. The new stations may not exceed 100 watts, which typically have a radius of less than four miles. In contrast, full-power FM stations generally operate at 6,000 to 100,000 watts. Still, plenty of folks want in on the action. Nearly 100 Oregon groups have applied to the FCC for licenses. Many of the approximately 20 groups that have received construction permits are from rural areas like Dallas, which has one AM station that broadcasts in Spanish and no full-power FM station. KPIE was among the first of the low-power FM stations to reach the air. So far, more than half of the Oregon groups that have construction permits are religious organizations. But the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation plan to be on the air with a range of cultural and tribal language programs by February 2004. The tribes also want to broadcast tribal sports, radio plays and news produced by youths. "There's a lot of community interest in this," said Lisa Breckenridge, economic planner for the tribes. "There's just a real hunger for culturally generated media. We want programming in our culture and our languages." She said the tribal station will reach the bulk of the approximately 4,000 people who live on the reservation and parts of Pendleton. How many others follow through on their plans remains to be seen. Compton, a veteran of the industry who first broadcast on Sept. 22 with the national anthem, says many of those seeking licenses don't know what they're getting into. There are thousands of dollars worth of startup equipment costs, and the work extends from generating local material to constant fund raising. Compton had an advantage. As the one-time owner of a production studio that made country-music tapes for automated radio stations, he already owned most of the equipment and reels of taped music. A station in Stayton east of Salem will get off the ground soon, largely because resident John Zolkoske bankrolled much of the $15,000 project, partly with sales from a radio automation system he invented. "You can't park the car in the garage any more because it's now a radio station," said Zolkoske, who always wanted a radio station but holds a "real" job as a senior computer operator for the Oregon Lottery. The station at 102.9 will play "oldies" from about 1956 through 1975, big-band music seldom heard on many stations, and eventually local programming. Zolkoske said the station offers an opportunity for "people to come in and practice their radio skills." "We see it as more or less an opportunity to expand what typical radio does right now," Zolkoske said. Compton, 60, has been in the business since he was a teen-ager. He worked for radio and television in the armed forces and as a DJ and radio engineer for more than 35 years in cities from Detroit to Newport. His small studio is attached to his house and is filled with technology that spans a lifetime in the business. A record rack that covers one wall holds albums and 45s, which he hand-spins on turntables from time to time. There are reels upon reels of taped music, a cassette machine, a CD player and two computers -- one for audio editing and one for programming. He and his wife, Carol, finished programming a computer so they can operate 24 hours a day without being in the studio, although they will have to update the system as programming is added. They are playing a little of everything -- country, oldies, rock, big-band, jazz and Carol's picks for an hour starting at 1 a.m. Sunday. "It's been a lot of work," he said. All of that, and only a few people can hear it. Despite FCC rules designed to avoid interference, Compton landed on the same frequency as a Portland station that theoretically doesn't reach into Polk County -- but does. The result is some Dallas listeners hear him, others hear Portland, and many hear a garbled mix. Residents of Monmouth and Independence can't pick up the station, while Falls City in the Coast Range foothills can. "We're working on correcting that problem," he said. That's only the beginning. In his spare time, there's the matter of finding money. Carol Compton is applying for grants. Fred Compton expects to ask businesses to sponsor programs and will ask listeners to make tax-deductible contributions. Meanwhile, he seeks volunteers to help generate programs and urges community residents to send cassette tapes or CDs. "It's old-time radio," said Frank Patterson, a low-power broadcaster from North Carolina who heads the National Association of Low-Power Broadcasters. "It's your buddies on the radio." Compton says it's important to have the ability to get on the air immediately with issues of local importance, and to perhaps school a new generation in radio present and past. He would like to see students write, act and produce old-time radio shows. "When I was growing up, you listened to the 'Lone Ranger' and 'The Shadow,' and our imagination worked," he said. Cheryl Martinis: 503-399-8540; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it GRAPHIC: Photo by MARV BONDAROWICZ of The Oregonian staff LOAD-DATE: October 22, 2002 |
