This Week in the Mercury
Friday, June 25, 2010
News BREAKING: KPSU Kicked Off the Air
Posted by Stefan Kamph on Fri, Jun 25, 2010 at 3:46 PM
KPSU, Portland State University's student-run radio station, has had its signal at AM 1450 shut down permanently by Bill Cooper, the managing director of KBPS.
KBPS is Benson High School's student-operated station, owned by Portland Public Schools. It owns the license and broadcasting equipment for KPSU's signal, which aired on the station during nighttime hours since 1994.
Last night, KPSU aired its Debate Hour, which featured a discussion on sodomy. A listener turned on the radio to hear the words "sodomy is great," and posted a complaint to this online discussion thread. Cooper, who is attending a conference in Kansas City, learned of the broadcast this morning, and moved to shut down the station. At 1:09 pm today he posted a notice to the thread saying the station would be shut down:
A programming note. Because of last night's on-air incident you will no longer hear KPSU programming on AM 1450 KBPS. For now, most of the airtime that had been devoted to KPSU will be programmed with music. Very soon we will begin airing a number of Portland School District programs that are currently under development.
Cooper says that even before the sodomy incident, he was planning not to renew KPSU's contract for station use after it expired at the end of this month. "We're taking back the airtime to program other things from the school district," including music and community announcements, he says.
Doug Friend, the KPSU music director, says that the station was on thin ice with Cooper: "Our contract said we should use a conservative interpretation of FCC guidelines."
However, FCC profanity restrictions do not apply between 10 pm and 6 am, when KPSU volunteers say the show aired. (Clarification, 4:09 pm: The mention of the word "sodomy" does not violate FCC restrictions.)
The station will continue to broadcast online, and with a low-power signal on campus at 98.1 FM. "We're going to push forward as much as possible," says Friend.
Update 4:09 pm: A statement from Friend on behalf of KPSU is after the jump.
To sum everything up: We are sad to see our relationship with KBPS end so suddenly & without warning. Aside from the clause in our KBPS contract which states that KPSU should adopt a "conservative" understanding of FCC guildlines & that Bill Cooper has any final say on content for our station; we have had a positive relationship with KBPS throughout this stations history. This being said, we are taking the recent events as an oppertunity to move forward with our station, pursuing possible broadcasting options in HDFM & generally pushing the station to greater reaches. We've recently completed an impressive remodel at the station, along with an upgrade of Dj gear & equipment and look forward to the upcoming year.We are committed to continue providing truely free community radio, where a diverse collection of DJs can participate in a broadcasting environment of open programming creativity. KPSU - Portland's College Radio currently broadcasts online at www.kpsu.org & on the PSU campus at 98.1FM
1
Sodomy IS great.
KPSU had some good programs. But then again, nothing brings in hordes of listeners like community announcements.
KPSU had some good programs. But then again, nothing brings in hordes of listeners like community announcements.
2
And "sodomy" isn't considered unacceptable for broadcast by the FCC.
So lick my red, bleedin' hole, Concerned Parent.
So lick my red, bleedin' hole, Concerned Parent.
3
Two words: community standards.
They suck, but the vocal minority is always heard when it comes to FCC-related issues.
They suck, but the vocal minority is always heard when it comes to FCC-related issues.
4
Oh no! This is seriously lame. My primary mode of transportation is in a car with an AM only radio and I listen to KPBS/KPSU a ton. From the morning children's music shows ('Music NO BODY has to be embarrassed to listen to!'
5
IIRC, Sodomy wasn't on the list of words I couldn't say during my own college radio days. If this aired after 10pm, I'm not sure the angry activists have much of a case. UGH, FCC, you're killing me.
6
Read the article. This was *not* an FCC shutdown, this was a shutdown by the managing director.
This isn't to say I like the FCC. The FCC knows sodomy is great. They've sodomized countless people over the years.
This isn't to say I like the FCC. The FCC knows sodomy is great. They've sodomized countless people over the years.
7
You know what's the most frustrating thing about this? It's like if Peter Jackson was fired from the set of Fellowship of the Ring because a book club in Vermont whined about the changes.
8
The PPS station should be shut down and it's paid staff sacked, the license sold. The transmitter land which has a valuable location should be sold to a cell phone company. There is a big budget problem in Portland Public Schools, and this can be part of the solution.
9
Nope. The last thing we need is another cell phone tower, R. Community radio? That we can actually use.
p.s. Tea Baggers: Sodomy? It's great. If you don't like it, don't do it. This would be like us shutting down the American job killer Walmart or the great polluter NASCAR just because you mentioned 'em on the air.
p.s. Tea Baggers: Sodomy? It's great. If you don't like it, don't do it. This would be like us shutting down the American job killer Walmart or the great polluter NASCAR just because you mentioned 'em on the air.
10
That thread is so awesome. My favorites...
"They outtah take the fine out of HIS Parent's WALLET , make them take out a second on the Home Mortgage to cover the fine and then see whos laughing out of the side of whos mouth now..."
"Any prior reference point for decent behavior is now deemed 'judgmental.'
As a result, God and the Bible have been taken out of the schools.
We have a predator for a mayor.
Bicycling nude is okay.
Trees have rights, but not citizens with standards."
"They outtah take the fine out of HIS Parent's WALLET , make them take out a second on the Home Mortgage to cover the fine and then see whos laughing out of the side of whos mouth now..."
"Any prior reference point for decent behavior is now deemed 'judgmental.'
As a result, God and the Bible have been taken out of the schools.
We have a predator for a mayor.
Bicycling nude is okay.
Trees have rights, but not citizens with standards."
11
If you would like to contact Portland Public Schools – who own KBPS – to tell them how you feel about Bill Cooper’s decision, you can call them directly at 503-916-5828, or e-mail them at pubinfo@pps.k12.or.us.
12
My name is Captain AP and I am the host of the debate hour. I am very surprised at the outrage over my new show that was put on the radio last night.
For those of you that haven't listened to the show, I urge you to download the mp3 and listen to the entire show and not just 3 lines: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
The show is 2 hours long, so please listen to it and form your own opinion. If you do listen I am sure you will find it to be a very educational show that highlights many important issues locally, nationally and internationally.
A last note is that I am very sad that some people in the Portland Community would fight so hard to censure both free speech and open debate on sensitive issues.
The following is the show email and the show facebook page. I am open to hearing any opinions from you. That is what my show is all about: Openness and discussion.
Thank you,
Captain AP
email: kpsudebate@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KPSU-Debate-…
Show Archive: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
For those of you that haven't listened to the show, I urge you to download the mp3 and listen to the entire show and not just 3 lines: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
The show is 2 hours long, so please listen to it and form your own opinion. If you do listen I am sure you will find it to be a very educational show that highlights many important issues locally, nationally and internationally.
A last note is that I am very sad that some people in the Portland Community would fight so hard to censure both free speech and open debate on sensitive issues.
The following is the show email and the show facebook page. I am open to hearing any opinions from you. That is what my show is all about: Openness and discussion.
Thank you,
Captain AP
email: kpsudebate@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KPSU-Debate-…
Show Archive: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
13
Also, if you would like to listen live we are on the air from 9-11 Thursdays. You can listen at http://kpsu.org/
15
To whom it may concern:
My name is Kelly Welch, and I am a panelist on KPSU’s Debate Hour. Additionally, I have been a member of the PSU Debate Team for five years, coordinating for over three years, and have seen the evolution of our team from a small group of dedicated students into a fabulous organization at fueling lively discussion, winning tournaments all over the United States, and being able to discuss every sort of political and social issue we face with a good dose of levity and humor.
Let me first state that while I understand that KPSU has had to abide by FCC regulations and a nebulous, undefined station policy. What I don’t understand, however, is why profanity exists as a category of language. Words are arbitrarily defined as being terrible based on antiquated notions of propriety. What separates “butt” and “ass” in my mind… well, nothing separates them. They are synonyms. But one is “so much worse” than the other. For no reason. No reason that makes sense, that is.
But, how do we define what is “inappropriate” when there’s no hard and fast standard? We have been told to avoid the George Carlin’s 7 Words. I don’t agree with this policy. But I abide by it. We have been told not to issue calls of action or to tell our audience to do something. Fine, we don’t. We make suggestions.
With these limitations of speech, we still continued our shows, because it was more important to have honest, open discussion that sometimes went into the arena of “hilarious” or “absurd.” If you want an example of this, when we had on a professor from the Political Science Department last week, who discussed Supreme Court politics with us for nearly an hour and a half, the entire discussion, full of fantastic information and lively discourse, was peppered with good jokes. It was our best radio show ever. (Part one: http://archive.kpsu.org/node/32240, Part two: http://archive.kpsu.org/node/32241 ) Who knows if we said anything inappropriate? I certainly don’t think we did. I know we didn’t violate the FCC’s rules, because we strictly avoid those transgressions.
Truthfully, we don’t know if we’ve crossed a line until someone complains. The FCC works off of a complaint system, and apparently so does KBPS. So, what happens is that while the majority of people who watch or listen to things that are within the realm of what they believe is appropriate, all it takes is one outraged person with an e-mail account to raise a big ol’ fuss over three little words. If profanity goes out over the air, the FCC doesn’t hear about it unless someone complains. NEVER underestimate the power of a vocal minority.
From now on, I will not underestimate the power of a vocal minority that a) doesn’t have a sense of humor, b) doesn’t know when someone is quoting television, c) can’t discern the inflection in someone’s voice which indicates wry wit, sarcastic humor, or irony, or d) cherry-picks words or phrases to illustrate their point without paying attention to things such as context, or even the content itself.
Sodomy is not profane. Sex isn’t profane. Everyone does it eventually with rare exception, and it’s the reason you’re all here to complain about us talking about it. It’s fun, it’s a driving force for our survival as a species. The Supreme Court recently said that anti-sodomy legislation is a no-no. It’s all sorts of legal now! And, I’ve got it from a few reputable sources that sodomy is pretty great. And maybe we should encourage more of it. Maybe if everyone had a little more sodomy in their lives they wouldn’t be such anal-retentive killjoys.
Enjoy silencing everyone, haters! http://www.gifbin.com/982918
More...
My name is Kelly Welch, and I am a panelist on KPSU’s Debate Hour. Additionally, I have been a member of the PSU Debate Team for five years, coordinating for over three years, and have seen the evolution of our team from a small group of dedicated students into a fabulous organization at fueling lively discussion, winning tournaments all over the United States, and being able to discuss every sort of political and social issue we face with a good dose of levity and humor.
Let me first state that while I understand that KPSU has had to abide by FCC regulations and a nebulous, undefined station policy. What I don’t understand, however, is why profanity exists as a category of language. Words are arbitrarily defined as being terrible based on antiquated notions of propriety. What separates “butt” and “ass” in my mind… well, nothing separates them. They are synonyms. But one is “so much worse” than the other. For no reason. No reason that makes sense, that is.
But, how do we define what is “inappropriate” when there’s no hard and fast standard? We have been told to avoid the George Carlin’s 7 Words. I don’t agree with this policy. But I abide by it. We have been told not to issue calls of action or to tell our audience to do something. Fine, we don’t. We make suggestions.
With these limitations of speech, we still continued our shows, because it was more important to have honest, open discussion that sometimes went into the arena of “hilarious” or “absurd.” If you want an example of this, when we had on a professor from the Political Science Department last week, who discussed Supreme Court politics with us for nearly an hour and a half, the entire discussion, full of fantastic information and lively discourse, was peppered with good jokes. It was our best radio show ever. (Part one: http://archive.kpsu.org/node/32240, Part two: http://archive.kpsu.org/node/32241 ) Who knows if we said anything inappropriate? I certainly don’t think we did. I know we didn’t violate the FCC’s rules, because we strictly avoid those transgressions.
Truthfully, we don’t know if we’ve crossed a line until someone complains. The FCC works off of a complaint system, and apparently so does KBPS. So, what happens is that while the majority of people who watch or listen to things that are within the realm of what they believe is appropriate, all it takes is one outraged person with an e-mail account to raise a big ol’ fuss over three little words. If profanity goes out over the air, the FCC doesn’t hear about it unless someone complains. NEVER underestimate the power of a vocal minority.
From now on, I will not underestimate the power of a vocal minority that a) doesn’t have a sense of humor, b) doesn’t know when someone is quoting television, c) can’t discern the inflection in someone’s voice which indicates wry wit, sarcastic humor, or irony, or d) cherry-picks words or phrases to illustrate their point without paying attention to things such as context, or even the content itself.
Sodomy is not profane. Sex isn’t profane. Everyone does it eventually with rare exception, and it’s the reason you’re all here to complain about us talking about it. It’s fun, it’s a driving force for our survival as a species. The Supreme Court recently said that anti-sodomy legislation is a no-no. It’s all sorts of legal now! And, I’ve got it from a few reputable sources that sodomy is pretty great. And maybe we should encourage more of it. Maybe if everyone had a little more sodomy in their lives they wouldn’t be such anal-retentive killjoys.
Enjoy silencing everyone, haters! http://www.gifbin.com/982918
16
KBPS will be no more now that KPSU isn't going to be paying it to be on air. And that means BILL COOPER will be out of a job soon...I maybe a KPSU DJ, but I don't necessarily speak for KPSU and it's DJ's and staff when I say to Bill Cooper and the humorless teabagging types that complain about our content: "YOU ARE WELCOME TO EAT MY ASS"
Thank You,
Tage Starheim Savage (DJ of the Sweet And Sour Savage Hour- http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/1…)
Thank You,
Tage Starheim Savage (DJ of the Sweet And Sour Savage Hour- http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/1…)
17
KBPS has been an oppressive weight bearing down on the shoulders of KPSU for too long. There's no love lost between these two opposing forces. I would hope that KBPS not renewing KPSU's contract will benefit KPSU. I'm looking forward to what happens next with KPSU.
19
It's about time KPSU got this kick in the ass and stop being under the license and guidelines of PPS maybe now they can get their own frequency and have true Free Speech and not be under the "guidelines" of the family radio the PPS or this bill Cooper yahoo.
Make it happen kids and good luck.
Jay Bozich
aka King Fader
KBOO
Make it happen kids and good luck.
Jay Bozich
aka King Fader
KBOO
20
As a KPSU alum, including being both the creator and original host of the debate hour and the person whose language choices were behind the last time the station was kicked off the air, I can say that Bill Cooper is a puritanical jackass.
Though he's in charge and can yank the stations broadcast if it's his prerogative to do so, anyone with any inside knowledge knows that he had never clearly outlined what was and wasn't acceptable, and what he did offer, were overly broad general statements that were impossible to understand let alone execute. In dealings with KPSU he was a moral censor to the point of obscenity and a first-rate douche. Sure, if it were up to him, it would be all Osmonds all the time, which no one would ever listen to, but this isn't about taste.
With limited bandwidth on airwaves, they should be allocated responsibly for the good of the community. Yes, KPSU was occasionally atrocious, but it had a diversity and free form nature that is nearly absent in modern radio. It was the only place where a show like The Debate Hour or Live Friday could even exist. And its existence and broadcast made Portland a better, more interesting place, even if every so often the lid was blown off the cover-up that people do in fact have pee-pees.
That this small a man, whose sole purpose in life seems to be to halt any possibility of mental or emotional growth not only in the children who attend Benson Poly-Tech, but of all people within the broadcast range of the antenna, that this man hasn't been fired and run out of town is a true travesty.
In the word's of Zell Miller, "I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel."
I wish I could say KPSU is better off for being rid of such a total fuckwad. But a radio station that's not on the radio isn't much of a station, as KPRA can attest to. So let's just hope that the massive revenue loss to KBPS from the lack of fees coming in from KPSU is enough that Cooper is fired and replaced with someone reasonable. But only after having to sell a kidney on the black market trying to make up the difference.
More...
Though he's in charge and can yank the stations broadcast if it's his prerogative to do so, anyone with any inside knowledge knows that he had never clearly outlined what was and wasn't acceptable, and what he did offer, were overly broad general statements that were impossible to understand let alone execute. In dealings with KPSU he was a moral censor to the point of obscenity and a first-rate douche. Sure, if it were up to him, it would be all Osmonds all the time, which no one would ever listen to, but this isn't about taste.
With limited bandwidth on airwaves, they should be allocated responsibly for the good of the community. Yes, KPSU was occasionally atrocious, but it had a diversity and free form nature that is nearly absent in modern radio. It was the only place where a show like The Debate Hour or Live Friday could even exist. And its existence and broadcast made Portland a better, more interesting place, even if every so often the lid was blown off the cover-up that people do in fact have pee-pees.
That this small a man, whose sole purpose in life seems to be to halt any possibility of mental or emotional growth not only in the children who attend Benson Poly-Tech, but of all people within the broadcast range of the antenna, that this man hasn't been fired and run out of town is a true travesty.
In the word's of Zell Miller, "I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel."
I wish I could say KPSU is better off for being rid of such a total fuckwad. But a radio station that's not on the radio isn't much of a station, as KPRA can attest to. So let's just hope that the massive revenue loss to KBPS from the lack of fees coming in from KPSU is enough that Cooper is fired and replaced with someone reasonable. But only after having to sell a kidney on the black market trying to make up the difference.
21
Hey guys!
Captain AP here reminding everyone that "The Debate Hour" is going to be on tonight from 9-11pm. It can be streamed live at kpsu.org! You can also download other shows for free here: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
As always you can leave feedback on the show on our facebook page:
http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
Thanks guys!
Captain AP here reminding everyone that "The Debate Hour" is going to be on tonight from 9-11pm. It can be streamed live at kpsu.org! You can also download other shows for free here: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
As always you can leave feedback on the show on our facebook page:
http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
Thanks guys!
22
The show was on the air after 10 PM.
Who cares if it aired on a station run by PPS? Anyone too young to hear those words wouldn't/shouldn't have been tuning it at that hour.
Howard Stern and the like got away with far worse for many years during prime morning hours when kids were commuting to school.
All in all, what an absurd situation.
Who cares if it aired on a station run by PPS? Anyone too young to hear those words wouldn't/shouldn't have been tuning it at that hour.
Howard Stern and the like got away with far worse for many years during prime morning hours when kids were commuting to school.
All in all, what an absurd situation.
23
I had a conversation with The Debate Hour last night - here is an article about the future of KPSU - http://www.bretevan.com/kpsu-under-constru…
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