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KGHP likely casualty of budget shortfall

This one hits hard, because I was once a student there. Even if they sell it, there is another problem to consider: we are looking at a radio station with three low-power frequencies to cover a small community.
 
Sorry to hear this.

They're also in a difficult position as far as being self-sustaining. They've pretty much lost their 105.7 translator, and their 89.3 translator covers almost no population.

Their main 89.9 signal also covers an area with almost no population, and they are not allowed to modify/change that signal because it's operating solely due to a waiver that is void once the station is modified.

Their only hope is to somehow modify the 89.3 translator (and possibly move it to a better frequency). I don't know how possible this is.
 
Red Plume said:
Sorry to hear this.

They're also in a difficult position as far as being self-sustaining. They've pretty much lost their 105.7 translator, and their 89.3 translator covers almost no population.

Their main 89.9 signal also covers an area with almost no population, and they are not allowed to modify/change that signal because it's operating solely due to a waiver that is void once the station is modified.

Their only hope is to somehow modify the 89.3 translator (and possibly move it to a better frequency). I don't know how possible this is.
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They’d have to find a way to move the 89.3 translator to the previous location of the 105.7 translator. Where it’s situated right now, 89.3 isn’t useful. Though I’m not sure they can do that either, as 89.3 could interfere with KAOS.
 
If they were somehow able to change the community of license to Lakebay, WA, that would open 89.9 to modification.

Unfortunately, the FCC generally doesn't allow a COL change when there's no other full service station licensed to that community (Gig Harbor).
 
Red Plume said:
If they were somehow able to change the community of license to Lakebay, WA, that would open 89.9 to modification.

Unfortunately, the FCC generally doesn't allow a COL change when there's no other full service station licensed to that community (Gig Harbor).
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That rule would explain why KDDS is still licensed to Elma (I always wondered why). 89.9 does not cover much of anything though. At this point, I’m not sure anyone in Gig Harbor can even hear KGHP since 89.3 is also weak. I believe the tower for 89.3 is a cell phone tower somewhere on Fox Island.
 
I have said it before here and I'll say it again. The KGHP license is a real turkey and probably never should have been issued. I was a former and long time adult volunteer at KGHP and while I had a great time volunteering, learning much about radio including how to sound actually not too bad on the air and how to cultivate relationships with independent record labels and bands, it was always a real struggle to gain listeners. These coverage maps should tell the story about that:



KGHP899.png
This is the current and I believe original coverage map for KGHP. It covers quite a few evergreen trees but not too many people, including those in the city of license. It is located on school district properly in Lakebay.

K207AZ893.png
This is KGHP's first translator, originally covering the city center of Gig Harbor but since (after I left) moved to cover Fox Island. This 10 watt translator appears to be at the Fox Island Community Center.

K289BZ1057.png
This is the coverage map for the second translator; it's had approximately the same coverage but has hopped around to three different frequencies (I think). It does a good job of covering the actual city of license.

Not sure even one of the satellite style religious broadcasters would be interested in this combo of signals. There is a real possibility that it might just get turned in.


Val
 
"When you run out of students, you run out of funding." True dat. This is why other college and HS stations have turned their licenses over to NPR networks and EMF. It's sad, but unfortunately the newest generation just doesn't care about radio. Like the other thread, they are too busy addicting themselves to TikTok to even care about things like this. Only TV and visual media seem to be expanding in terms of jobs. Radio isn't.
I don't know how well KASB 89.9 is doing, but I wonder how long they will last in Bellevue.
 
crainbebo said:
"When you run out of students, you run out of funding." True dat. This is why other college and HS stations have turned their licenses over to NPR networks and EMF. It's sad, but unfortunately the newest generation just doesn't care about radio.
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In this case the problem is the whole school system losing enrollment, due to declining population of school age children, not specifically participation in the school's radio station.

The state of Washington doesn't have a standardized test for elective courses like broadcasting, so if you teach any subject that isn't mathematics, english or science, you're first on the chopping block.
 
crainbebo said:
"When you run out of students, you run out of funding." True dat. This is why other college and HS stations have turned their licenses over to NPR networks and EMF. It's sad, but unfortunately the newest generation just doesn't care about radio. Like the other thread, they are too busy addicting themselves to TikTok to even care about things like this. Only TV and visual media seem to be expanding in terms of jobs. Radio isn't.
I don't know how well KASB 89.9 is doing, but I wonder how long they will last in Bellevue.
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I think it's less about lack of interest and more about students that are unable to fit career technical education in to their schedules. A college bound student cannot afford to do this.

With that said, the stated problem of declining enrollment in addition to no sustainable income makes the situation even more difficult.
 
Speaking as someone who was a student not all that long ago, they (the school district) make it VERY hard for you to actually take a class and participate in the broadcasting program. What little elective classes you are offered rarely line up with anything that you actually want to do in your spare time, and often it’s hard to justify actually enrolling in the class when is blatantly obvious that the school would prefer you do something else.

The situation is not much different in university. I participated in that program as well, though I can tell you first hand, I ultimately had to put getting my education and degree first over spending time at a student station.
 
Totally agree with that statement. There was one semester in my 10th grade year that I could have gotten on at the school's TV station, and the newspaper was an after school activity, but otherwise I completely agree. I could possibly have dropped violin when I entered high school rather than staying with it for a year, but I'm certainly not sure how I could have made it work all four years.
 
The attrition rate in the broadcast industry makes it difficult to get excited about a career. Old radio farts, including me, grew up when radio was an exciting career for many. No more overnights or weekends, and increasingly, no openings at all. Much as I've loved the industry, if I were in high school again, I'd be searching for something different.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
The state of Washington doesn't have a standardized test for elective courses like broadcasting, so if you teach any subject that isn't mathematics, english or science, you're first on the chopping block.
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The WCAS (science test, 5th/8th) is the only standardized test that is operated by the state of Washington. The SBAC (ELA/Math/Writing) is a national standardized exam, perhaps with some differences state to state, but it's just like PARCC (another national exam). The days of the WASL are long, long gone. Same with paper/pencil standardized tests. They have been on computers for years. They just started taking the 3rd grade SBA in one of the districts I sub in, and the other two are not too far behind. Yes, there has been stress even on the best of students.

"the school would prefer you do something else" - i.e. get onto a sports team (not golf, not volleyball...ahem, football/basketball) and show your school how it's done! But, those that maintain streaming and TV programs for sports get bonus points in my opinion. Anacortes was/is still doing that with their broadcast club. One of my Christian friends used to be a part of that team. Streaming to YouTube and NFHS (subscription service). 4 cameras (including a handheld), they had commentators, a teacher AND a HS senior or junior co-directed, camera operators all wore headsets just like a TV crew. That is a great stepping ground to get someone into a college program and eventually on their way towards FS1 or ESPN.
 
crainbebo said:
"the school would prefer you do something else" - i.e. get onto a sports team (not golf, not volleyball...ahem, football/basketball) and show your school how it's done!
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I'm a low-grade dyslexic and that obsession with team sports caused me to drop out of one school and abandon high school completely after a semester at another. I was great at track and swimming, but when forced by the curriculum to play football, baseball and basketball I was and extreme embarrassment and ridiculed by teammates. (To this day, I can't watch any of those three sports).

But when I learned to play street soccer in Mexico City, I discovered that being goalkeeper is mostly instant math and angle calculation, and I played at that for years. My point is that forced school participation in team sports can be very harmful for those with disabilities or just poor skills.
 
I'm a little suspect of a news organization that can't accurately report without glaring typos, such as the call letters being transposed not once but twice. Also, the coverage area is quite exaggerated, although I suppose that is open to interpretation as to what listenable reception is. This is another media outlet, a subject that you can be expected to be hyper accurate when it comes to stories on such an organization. Perhaps the Peninsula Daily News is no more. I'd love to see another article on this situation.
 
valvashon said:
I'm a little suspect of a news organization that can't accurately report without glaring typos, such as the call letters being transposed not once but twice. Also, the coverage area is quite exaggerated, although I suppose that is open to interpretation as to what listenable reception is.
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Seems like a lot of what's being passed off as "news" in too many quarters these days is just press releases from folks with a vested interest. Or there aren't enough trained journalists left on payroll to make sense of what's getting published or aired. Grateful for a few exceptions. And wish I actually had a suburban news publication in north King County to complain about! .
 
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