KPFT
Encyclopedia
KPFT is a listener-sponsored community radio station
in Houston, Texas
, which went on the air on March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica
radio family. Larry Lee sold the idea to Pacifica to establish listener-supported radio in Houston as an alternative to main-stream broadcasting. The station frequently shows Progressive
talk segments. Among the prominent persons who have been regulars on KPFT in the past were science educator David F. Duncan
and humorist John Henry Faulk
.
KPFT commenced broadcasting on the 90.1 FM
frequency
with the song "Here Comes the Sun
" from the Abbey Road album by The Beatles
.
Radio Maria Hispana (Houston) the local unit of Radio Maria
USA, airs Spanish-language programming for the hispanic Catholic community on KPFT's subcarrier
. Rice Radio broadcasts on KPFT's HD-2 channel and the alternate programming is now on the HD-3 channel.
was bombed and destroyed on May 12, 1970, two months after going on the air. The new station was off the air for three weeks until repairs could be made. Five months later, on 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 studio
s, where he performed "Alice's Restaurant" live as the station commenced transmitting yet again.
After months of inactivity by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
and local police, Pacifica took the initiative to mount a media
campaign designed to draw attention to the unsolved case and seek support for pressuring authorities to act. Federal agents ultimately arrested a member of the Ku Klux Klan
, Jimmy Dale Hutto, and charged him with the KPFT bombings, as well as with plotting to blow up radio stations KPFA
and KPFK
. Hutto was convicted and imprisoned in 1971.
In the early morning hours on August 13, 2007, a bullet was fired into the studio, breaking a window and narrowly missing a woman's head. No one was injured. The shooting followed a week-long fundraising drive; since the shooting, one of the windows was covered with the KPFT banner and the front entrance locked.
On July 16, 2008, a man demanded access to KPFT's studios. After being rebuffed, he punched out a window pane on the back door with a knife. The man was apprehended without resistance, and promptly arrested.
On June 28, 2010, somebody cut the power lines to the station's transmitter, leaving the station only available online. Damages were reportedly approximately $10,000. Power was restored the following day and broadcasting resumed.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, which went on the air on March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica Radio is the oldest public radio network in the United States. It is a group of five independently operated, non-commercial, listener-supported radio stations that is known for its progressive/liberal political orientation. It is also a program service supplying over 100 affiliated...
radio family. Larry Lee sold the idea to Pacifica to establish listener-supported radio in Houston as an alternative to main-stream broadcasting. The station frequently shows Progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
talk segments. Among the prominent persons who have been regulars on KPFT in the past were science educator David F. Duncan
David F. Duncan
David F. Duncan, Dr. P.H. was born in Kansas City, Missouri on June 26, 1947. He is President of Duncan & Associates, a firm providing consultation on research design and data collection for behavioral and policy studies. He is also Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health...
and humorist John Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk from Austin, Texas was a storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against blacklisters of the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist.-Early life:...
.
KPFT commenced broadcasting on the 90.1 FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
with the song "Here Comes the Sun
Here Comes the Sun
"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. It is regarded as one of the most popular Beatles songs. The song was written while Harrison was away from all of these troubles...
" from the Abbey Road album by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
Radio Maria Hispana (Houston) the local unit of Radio Maria
Radio Maria
Radio Maria is an international Catholic radio broadcasting service founded in Erba, province of Como, in the diocese of Milan in 1983. The World Family of Radio Maria was formed in 1998 and today has branches in 55 countries around the world...
USA, airs Spanish-language programming for the hispanic Catholic community on KPFT's subcarrier
Subsidiary Communications Authority
Subsidiary Communications Authorization in the United States, and Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation in Canada, is a subcarrier on a radio station, allowing the station to broadcast additional services as part of its signal.-Background:"Subsidiary Communications Authorization" is the...
. Rice Radio broadcasts on KPFT's HD-2 channel and the alternate programming is now on the HD-3 channel.
Violence against the station
The station's transmitterTransmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
was bombed and destroyed on May 12, 1970, two months after going on the air. The new station was off the air for three weeks until repairs could be made. Five months later, on October 6, 1970, while the station was broadcasting Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
's "Alice's Restaurant
Alice's Restaurant
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree" is a musical monologue by singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie released on his 1967 album Alice's Restaurant. The song is one of Guthrie's most prominent works, based on a true incident in his life that began on Thanksgiving Day 1965, and which inspired a 1969 movie of the...
," 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 studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
s, where he performed "Alice's Restaurant" live as the station commenced transmitting yet again.
After months of inactivity by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
and local police, Pacifica took the initiative to mount a media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
campaign designed to draw attention to the unsolved case and seek support for pressuring authorities to act. Federal agents ultimately arrested a member of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, Jimmy Dale Hutto, and charged him with the KPFT bombings, as well as with plotting to blow up radio stations KPFA
KPFA
KPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...
and KPFK
KPFK
KPFK is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves the Greater Los Angeles Area, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet...
. Hutto was convicted and imprisoned in 1971.
In the early morning hours on August 13, 2007, a bullet was fired into the studio, breaking a window and narrowly missing a woman's head. No one was injured. The shooting followed a week-long fundraising drive; since the shooting, one of the windows was covered with the KPFT banner and the front entrance locked.
On July 16, 2008, a man demanded access to KPFT's studios. After being rebuffed, he punched out a window pane on the back door with a knife. The man was apprehended without resistance, and promptly arrested.
On June 28, 2010, somebody cut the power lines to the station's transmitter, leaving the station only available online. Damages were reportedly approximately $10,000. Power was restored the following day and broadcasting resumed.