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KPFT
KPFT (90.1 FM) is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which began broadcasting March 1, 1970, as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. The station airs a variety of music, news, talk, and call-in programs, most ranging from center-left to far-left. Prominent persons who have been regulars on KPFT include science educator David F. Duncan and humorist John Henry Faulk.
KPFT was established by journalists Larry Lee of the Associated Press and Don Gardner of the Houston Post after the two became disillusioned with the lack of reporting on racial issues by existing Houston media. Sam Hudson, the first Program Director at KPFT, described difficulty in convincing the Pacifica Foundation to establish a station in Houston, saying that the standard response by Pacifica to requests for new stations anywhere in the country amounted to "put [a radio station] on the air and give it to [the Pacifica Foundation]", and that the founders of KPFT followed that advice. The station commenced broadcasting on March 1, 1970, on the 90.1 FM frequency with the song "Here Comes the Sun" from the Abbey Road album by The Beatles.
From the beginning, the station emphasized the quality of its news programming; the station monitored the "A" news wire of the Associated Press, which was more in-depth and primarily used by newspapers, as well as a French news wire due to the wire's reporting on the Vietnam War, which was described by Hudson as "excellent".
The station chose to adopt a full-service radio format; KPFT's first evening news program, Life on Earth, lasted 90 minutes or less and focused on non-space matters[clarification needed], as other stations would broadcast space-focused programming. Afterwards, the station would begin broadcasting music, which was unusual for commercial broadcasters at the time. KPFT used the variety of its programming as a selling point; music programs included jazz, rock and roll, and opera, and talk shows were aired covering a variety of subjects, emphasizing freedom of speech. The station has always been non-commercial, initially asking listeners to contribute $12 per year to fund the station's operations.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, KPFT began airing multiple shows for the local LGBT audience, including Wilde 'n' Stein (1975-early 1990s) and After Hours (1987-early 2000s). In a 1979 episode of Wilde 'n' Stein, the hosts interviewed activists Larry Bagneris and Charles Law, and Tony Lazada, a former manager of the Stonewall Inn during the Stonewall riots. Throughout the 1980s, the station also aired a number of other programs featuring minority groups and languages, including news programs in Persian, music programs in Hungarian, and talk shows in Vietnamese. The station ultimately broadcast programs in more than a dozen languages.
In July 2021, Pacifica and KPFT management chose to sell the station's Montrose-area premises at 419 Lovett Blvd., citing "prohibitive" repair costs to the building. The station had been operating remotely since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and would continue to do so while the building was being sold. In May 2022, Pacifica and KPFT management announced the purchase of new premises at 4504 Caroline St. in Houston's Third Ward.
The station's transmitter was bombed and destroyed by the Ku Klux Klan on May 12, 1970, two months after going on the air. The new station was off the air for three weeks until it was repaired. Five months later, October 6, 1970, while the station was broadcasting Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," the transmitter was bombed yet again and the damage was significantly more extensive. The second bombing took KPFT off the air for three months. No other U.S. radio station or transmitter has been bombed.
On January 21, 1971, KPFT management invited Guthrie to visit the Houston studios, where he performed "Alice's Restaurant" live as the station commenced transmitting yet again.
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KPFT
KPFT (90.1 FM) is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which began broadcasting March 1, 1970, as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. The station airs a variety of music, news, talk, and call-in programs, most ranging from center-left to far-left. Prominent persons who have been regulars on KPFT include science educator David F. Duncan and humorist John Henry Faulk.
KPFT was established by journalists Larry Lee of the Associated Press and Don Gardner of the Houston Post after the two became disillusioned with the lack of reporting on racial issues by existing Houston media. Sam Hudson, the first Program Director at KPFT, described difficulty in convincing the Pacifica Foundation to establish a station in Houston, saying that the standard response by Pacifica to requests for new stations anywhere in the country amounted to "put [a radio station] on the air and give it to [the Pacifica Foundation]", and that the founders of KPFT followed that advice. The station commenced broadcasting on March 1, 1970, on the 90.1 FM frequency with the song "Here Comes the Sun" from the Abbey Road album by The Beatles.
From the beginning, the station emphasized the quality of its news programming; the station monitored the "A" news wire of the Associated Press, which was more in-depth and primarily used by newspapers, as well as a French news wire due to the wire's reporting on the Vietnam War, which was described by Hudson as "excellent".
The station chose to adopt a full-service radio format; KPFT's first evening news program, Life on Earth, lasted 90 minutes or less and focused on non-space matters[clarification needed], as other stations would broadcast space-focused programming. Afterwards, the station would begin broadcasting music, which was unusual for commercial broadcasters at the time. KPFT used the variety of its programming as a selling point; music programs included jazz, rock and roll, and opera, and talk shows were aired covering a variety of subjects, emphasizing freedom of speech. The station has always been non-commercial, initially asking listeners to contribute $12 per year to fund the station's operations.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, KPFT began airing multiple shows for the local LGBT audience, including Wilde 'n' Stein (1975-early 1990s) and After Hours (1987-early 2000s). In a 1979 episode of Wilde 'n' Stein, the hosts interviewed activists Larry Bagneris and Charles Law, and Tony Lazada, a former manager of the Stonewall Inn during the Stonewall riots. Throughout the 1980s, the station also aired a number of other programs featuring minority groups and languages, including news programs in Persian, music programs in Hungarian, and talk shows in Vietnamese. The station ultimately broadcast programs in more than a dozen languages.
In July 2021, Pacifica and KPFT management chose to sell the station's Montrose-area premises at 419 Lovett Blvd., citing "prohibitive" repair costs to the building. The station had been operating remotely since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and would continue to do so while the building was being sold. In May 2022, Pacifica and KPFT management announced the purchase of new premises at 4504 Caroline St. in Houston's Third Ward.
The station's transmitter was bombed and destroyed by the Ku Klux Klan on May 12, 1970, two months after going on the air. The new station was off the air for three weeks until it was repaired. Five months later, October 6, 1970, while the station was broadcasting Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," the transmitter was bombed yet again and the damage was significantly more extensive. The second bombing took KPFT off the air for three months. No other U.S. radio station or transmitter has been bombed.
On January 21, 1971, KPFT management invited Guthrie to visit the Houston studios, where he performed "Alice's Restaurant" live as the station commenced transmitting yet again.