By Students from Cal State Long Beach will soon be riding airwaves after the hard launch of KBEACH 88.1 FM HD-3 on Feb. 13.
KBEACH’s switch from online to FM HD marks the first time a student-run station has gone live in 38 years, according to Associated Student’s Inc. Communications Coordinator Christina Esparza.
Supported and funded by ASI, KBEACH FM HD-3 will give students the chance to compete with LA radio stations, including rock station KROQ and pop-based station KISS, KBEACH radio advisor Danny Lemos said.
“[The FM HD station] allows us to really get close to the real broadcasting responsibilities and experience,” Lemos said. “And really, on a resume that you were on FM in Los Angeles is a big deal.”
The station can be heard throughout the LA basin from Mission Viejo to Oxnard Valley by anyone who owns an HD radio. The addition of an FM HD station has even spurred talks of a new digital media department on campus, Lemos said.
“Right now it’s just a dream,” he said. “We have been looking into it, and we know there’s a lot of hurdles [like] staff, budget, accreditation. So we are talking about a good road.”
University of California, Los Angeles had the last student-run station, called KLA, with a low-power FM that only reached a three mile radius, Esparza said. The station had to transition to an online-only format because they were removed from the air by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1999, according to the KLA website.
Under the new contract that the on-campus jazz station KJZZ signed, KBEACH gets a portion of the KJZZ HD signal, Lemos said. KJZZ is divided into three HD signals, HD-1, HD-2 and HD-3.
“HD-1 rebroadcasts material from KJZZ in HD,” Lemos said. “HD-2 is additional material from KJZZ. We have HD-3, which allows us to broadcast an entirely different programing from the FM signal.”
KBEACH currently broadcasts all student material online at kbeach.org. However, all student programing from kbeach.org that fits radio criteria will air on the FM station after 4 p.m. on Feb. 13, Lemos said.
“We will produce separate programming for the FM, and we will also repurpose programs,” he said. “So, students will have something to shoot for.”
Communications senior and recently appointed KBEACH program manager Eduardo Pineda, who hosts the show Lous M. Ferre on Wednesday nights from 5 to 6 p.m., said that the FM station launch will be massive.
“We are going to be heard by a larger demographic,” Pineda, who has been performing rap music since he was 14 years old, said. “I have a lot of music in mind. It’s different than what is on the radio … [current radio] becomes redundant; there’s nothing fresh.”
A special committee determines whether or not a program is worthy to be aired live, Lemos said. Students who would like to broadcast on the FM HD station must go through a workshop at KBEACH and send in a one-hour sample program as an audition.
Workshops are open to the public, but the FM HD station is strictly for student or faculty use, according to Lemos. It will act as a practice ground for those who want to have a career in radio by giving students real-life experience in the field.
“The FM signal, since it’s [a] non-commercial free-air signal, it’s governed by the FCC,” Lemos said. “The internet isn’t because it doesn’t transfer over to the free air.”
Recently appointed KBEACH General Manager and junior communications major Evan Dixon said the extra responsibilities that come with the FM HD station, like following the rules set by the FCC and sponsor promotion, will give students more motivation when producing programs.
“It forces us to step up our game,” Dixon, who has been working with KBEACH for three years, said. “There’s been this sort of air in the past that you just come in and get a show … I hope in the process, we will weed out those who aren’t dedicated.”
The FM HD station will be incorporated into journalism professor John Shrader’s radio broadcasting class, Journalism 382. Students in the class will produce a one-hour program each week, which will be broadcast on kbeach.org.
“It’s wonderful for students to hear themselves and for their family to hear them over the air,” Shrader said. “Our mission on campus is to give students … a hands-on experience.”
Students and faculty are encouraged to attend workshops at KBEACH studios, which is located on the first level of the University Student Union. A full schedule of workshops is listed on www.kbeach.org as well as www.orgsync.com.
