KUNM-FM
Encyclopedia
KUNM is a public radio station
broadcasting on FM
89.9 MHz from high atop Sandia Crest, with broadcasts originating from the third floor of Oñate Hall, on the campus of the University of New Mexico
(UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
. As of April 3, 2008, KUNM has translators broadcasting at 91.1 in Cuba
(K216CU) and Eagle Nest
-Cimarron
(K216CT), and at 91.9 in Nageezi (Dzilth-Na-O-Dit) (K220EM), and Las Vegas
(K220AW).
In addition, KUNM has full-power transmitters at 88.7 Socorro
(KBOM), 91.9 Espanola
(KRAR), and 90.9 Arroyo Seco
(KRRT). Translators at 91.1 in Arroyo Seco (K216AL) and at 91.9 in Taos
(K220AV) went silent with the upgrade to KRRT's transmitter status. At writing, KUNM features a range of locally produced music shows, local and national news coverage, and public affairs programming.
The call letters "KUNM" reference the University of New Mexico. The call letters "KBOM" are sardonic humour: the transmitter reaches the Trinity Nuclear Test Site. "KRAR" stands for "Rio Arriba Radio", since Espanola is located in Rio Arriba County. KRRT stands for "Radio Relay Taos".
The station is currently funded through a combination of listener sponsorship, underwriting by local businesses and support from nonprofits, student fees, and various other sources.
Listener support accounts for a little over 50% of the station's total annual operating budget.
KUNM began life in 1960 as KNMD, a "carrier current
" AM
radio station. According to van Dresser, "small AM transmitters [were] located in each dorm [at UNM]" and the Student Union Building. The signal was broadcast... through the AC
power circuits... from about 2 in the afternoon until about 6".
According to Stephenson, fraternity and sorority members, as well as other students living off campus, complained that their student fees were being used to pay for a service they could not receive. In 1964, the Radio Board decided the best solution was to obtain a Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Educational broadcast license for a transmitter on Sandia Crest.
Van Dresser continues: "the station applied to use the call letters KUNM when it went FM". The application was apparently "held up" by a commercial Spanish language station, KBNM
, which argued that its listeners might confuse "B" with "V", and that the post office might subsequently confuse "V" with "U", while the station which would eventually become KUNM continued to originate its broadcasts from the basement of the Student Union Building on the UNM campus.
Stephenson says the Radio Board decided, in 1965, to broadcast from a transmitter on top of the Student Union Building "until the funds [could] be gathered to move [the transmitter] to [Sandia] Crest".
It was at roughly this time that Ramsey Lewis
' "The In Crowd" became a part of the station's musical history. According to van Dresser, this is the period during which the station began airing the cutting-edge music of the mid-to-late 'sities.
At the same time, the station was, in his words, "literally in the middle" of the "third most violent [campus] confrontation" in the wake of the "Cambodian Incursion
" during the Vietnam War
, during which the New Mexico National Guard
was called out to expel students who "took over the Student Union Building". The first and second most violent confrontations, van Dresser reports, occurred at Kent State University
and Jackson State University
. He says KUNM provided a "feed" to CBS
news and "did live networking with Pacifica
" during the event.
Van Dresser was succeeded by L. A. "Woody" Woodworth, formerly the station's program director, as station manager. Woodworth was, in turn, "I think", as van Dresser puts it, succeeded by Mike Wolfe.
Stephenson reports that in 1965, [New Mexico State Legislature?] "Senate Bill 59 [passed] authorizing the creation of a student FM station with antenna on the [Student Union Building]". According to Stephenson, the UNM Board of Regents applied to the FCC, on behalf of the Student Council, for a 100 watt, educational band, FM station in June 1965, and that the license was granted to the Regents under the call letters KNMD.
Stephenson continues: in 1966, "KNMD files a construction permit with the FCC for 90.1 FM at 3.6 Kilowatts. The FCC grants KNMD a name change to KUNM. Before broadcast is to begin and program guides mailed out [sic.], a local commercial station with similar call letters files suit to stop the station from broadcasting as KUNM. Station broadcasts as KNLB." (See above.) According to Stephenson, KNLB finally became KUNM in October 1966.
Stephenson dates "The In Crowd" as becoming an important musical milestone in the station's history to 1968.
According to Stephenson, KUNM's attempt to move its transmitter to Sandia Crest was "blocked" by KKOB AM in 1973. He adds that KUNM moved its studios from the Student Union Building to Oñate Hall in 1976, and "finally" began broadcasting from Sandia Crest in September of that year.
KUNM became a member of NPR in 1978, following the bankruptcy of KIPC. Funding for this transition was accomplished through benefit concerts at the Kiva Auditorium in downtown Albuquerque. The station's first national broadcast contribution was an exclusive interview with Manuel Noriega by a KUNM news reporter.
KUNM was among the first radio stations to carry Amy Goodman
's Democracy Now!
in the mid-90's. John McCall, a UNM Law Student appointed as Radio Board Member, and Spencer Walaitis, a KUNM Volunteer and community activist/musician, campaigned for the program and encountered some opposition on the Radio Board. According to McCall, when the two went to address a Volunteer meeting and encourage support for inclusion of DN! in the program lineup, Walaitis suffered a heart attack shortly after his speech to the Volunteers. He died there in Onate Hall despite valiant efforts of the volunteers to save him. He left behind a wife and young children. After the death of Spencer Walaitis there was very little opposition to the inclusion of DN! in the program lineup. The transmitter atop the crest of the Sandia Mountains
(Sandia Crest) was upgraded to broadcast a digital signal in November 2006.
On the afternoon of February 15, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Socorro from high atop "Mountain M" at 88.7 MHz with the transmitter call letters KBOM.
On the afternoon of April 1, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Española from atop Black Mesa at 6000 Watts at 91.9 MHz with the transmitter call letters KRAR
.
On the afternoon of April 3, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Arroyo Seco at 90.9 MHz with the transmitter call letters KRRT, eliminating interference between translators and transmitters which had occurred since KRAR went ON AIR two days prior. At the same time, the translators at 91.1 in Taos (K220AV) and 91.9 in Arroyo Seco (K216AL) were permanently retired from service.
Early weekday afternoons highlight locally-produced jazz
programming, and "Free Form", which features a variety of hosts playing a wide range of music. Late mornings feature classical music from American Public Media
. Evening music programming varies from acoustic folk to experimental electronic.
KUNM broadcasts syndicated programming for several hours each day. National Public Radio (NPR) is broadcast during the morning and evening "drive time", interspersed with local news. NPR programming provides national news programs seven days a week. KUNM is an NPR Member Station. Pacifica Radio
programming includes "Democracy Now", "This Way Out", and "Counterspin". Public Radio International
programming includes "Afropop Worldwide", "This American Life", and occasional seasonal programs.
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...
broadcasting on FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
89.9 MHz from high atop Sandia Crest, with broadcasts originating from the third floor of Oñate Hall, on the campus of the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
(UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. As of April 3, 2008, KUNM has translators broadcasting at 91.1 in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(K216CU) and Eagle Nest
Eagle Nest, New Mexico
Eagle Nest is a village in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 306 at the 2000 census. Situated on the Enchanted Circle Highway, Eagle Nest is a small summer-home and resort area...
-Cimarron
Cimarron
Cimarron is the title of a novel published by popular historical fiction author Edna Ferber in 1929. The book was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1931 through RKO Pictures. In 1960, the story was again adapted for the screen to meager success by MGM...
(K216CT), and at 91.9 in Nageezi (Dzilth-Na-O-Dit) (K220EM), and Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
(K220AW).
In addition, KUNM has full-power transmitters at 88.7 Socorro
Socorro, New Mexico
Socorro is a city in Socorro County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It stands in the Rio Grande Valley at an elevation of . The population was 9,051 at the 2010 census...
(KBOM), 91.9 Espanola
Española, New Mexico
Española also known as Espanola , is a city primarily in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, in the United States. A portion of the central and eastern section of the city is in Santa Fe County. Española was founded in 1880 as a railroad village, incorporated as a city in 1925. The city is situated in...
(KRAR), and 90.9 Arroyo Seco
Arroyo Seco
The Arroyo Seco, meaning "dry stream" in Spanish, is a seasonal river, canyon, watershed, and cultural area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The Arroyo Seco has been called the most celebrated canyon in Southern California.-River course:...
(KRRT). Translators at 91.1 in Arroyo Seco (K216AL) and at 91.9 in Taos
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
(K220AV) went silent with the upgrade to KRRT's transmitter status. At writing, KUNM features a range of locally produced music shows, local and national news coverage, and public affairs programming.
The call letters "KUNM" reference the University of New Mexico. The call letters "KBOM" are sardonic humour: the transmitter reaches the Trinity Nuclear Test Site. "KRAR" stands for "Rio Arriba Radio", since Espanola is located in Rio Arriba County. KRRT stands for "Radio Relay Taos".
The station is currently funded through a combination of listener sponsorship, underwriting by local businesses and support from nonprofits, student fees, and various other sources.
Listener support accounts for a little over 50% of the station's total annual operating budget.
History
The following brief, and very incomplete, history of KUNM is largely compiled from internal documents, available to any on-air volunteer, written by former station manager Steve van Dresser and long-time station volunteer Claude Stephenson.KUNM began life in 1960 as KNMD, a "carrier current
Carrier current
Carrier current is a method of low power AM radio transmission that uses the AC electrical system of a building to propagate a medium frequency, AM signal to a relatively small area, such as a building or a group of buildings...
" AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
radio station. According to van Dresser, "small AM transmitters [were] located in each dorm [at UNM]" and the Student Union Building. The signal was broadcast... through the AC
Alternating current
In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
power circuits... from about 2 in the afternoon until about 6".
According to Stephenson, fraternity and sorority members, as well as other students living off campus, complained that their student fees were being used to pay for a service they could not receive. In 1964, the Radio Board decided the best solution was to obtain a Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) Educational broadcast license for a transmitter on Sandia Crest.
Van Dresser continues: "the station applied to use the call letters KUNM when it went FM". The application was apparently "held up" by a commercial Spanish language station, KBNM
KBNM
KBNM-LP is a low-powered FM radio station based in Belen, New Mexico broadcasting at 100 watts. KBNM airs an oldies music format. It is owned by Tix For Kids, a non-profit group that raises money to buy tickets to concerts and other events for sick children.KBNM streams its signal over the...
, which argued that its listeners might confuse "B" with "V", and that the post office might subsequently confuse "V" with "U", while the station which would eventually become KUNM continued to originate its broadcasts from the basement of the Student Union Building on the UNM campus.
Stephenson says the Radio Board decided, in 1965, to broadcast from a transmitter on top of the Student Union Building "until the funds [could] be gathered to move [the transmitter] to [Sandia] Crest".
It was at roughly this time that Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
' "The In Crowd" became a part of the station's musical history. According to van Dresser, this is the period during which the station began airing the cutting-edge music of the mid-to-late 'sities.
At the same time, the station was, in his words, "literally in the middle" of the "third most violent [campus] confrontation" in the wake of the "Cambodian Incursion
Cambodian Incursion
The Cambodian Campaign was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia during mid-1970 by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. These invasions were a result of policy of President Richard Nixon whose decision it was to invade...
" during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, during which the New Mexico National Guard
New Mexico National Guard
The New Mexico National Guard consists of the:*New Mexico Army National Guard **1st and 2nd Battalions, 200th Infantry**93rd Troop Command, 44th Army Band**111th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade**200th Infantry Brigade*New Mexico Air National Guard...
was called out to expel students who "took over the Student Union Building". The first and second most violent confrontations, van Dresser reports, occurred at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
and Jackson State University
Jackson State University
Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...
. He says KUNM provided a "feed" to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
news and "did live networking with 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...
" during the event.
Van Dresser was succeeded by L. A. "Woody" Woodworth, formerly the station's program director, as station manager. Woodworth was, in turn, "I think", as van Dresser puts it, succeeded by Mike Wolfe.
Stephenson reports that in 1965, [New Mexico State Legislature?] "Senate Bill 59 [passed] authorizing the creation of a student FM station with antenna on the [Student Union Building]". According to Stephenson, the UNM Board of Regents applied to the FCC, on behalf of the Student Council, for a 100 watt, educational band, FM station in June 1965, and that the license was granted to the Regents under the call letters KNMD.
Stephenson continues: in 1966, "KNMD files a construction permit with the FCC for 90.1 FM at 3.6 Kilowatts. The FCC grants KNMD a name change to KUNM. Before broadcast is to begin and program guides mailed out [sic.], a local commercial station with similar call letters files suit to stop the station from broadcasting as KUNM. Station broadcasts as KNLB." (See above.) According to Stephenson, KNLB finally became KUNM in October 1966.
Stephenson dates "The In Crowd" as becoming an important musical milestone in the station's history to 1968.
According to Stephenson, KUNM's attempt to move its transmitter to Sandia Crest was "blocked" by KKOB AM in 1973. He adds that KUNM moved its studios from the Student Union Building to Oñate Hall in 1976, and "finally" began broadcasting from Sandia Crest in September of that year.
KUNM became a member of NPR in 1978, following the bankruptcy of KIPC. Funding for this transition was accomplished through benefit concerts at the Kiva Auditorium in downtown Albuquerque. The station's first national broadcast contribution was an exclusive interview with Manuel Noriega by a KUNM news reporter.
KUNM was among the first radio stations to carry Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
's Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
in the mid-90's. John McCall, a UNM Law Student appointed as Radio Board Member, and Spencer Walaitis, a KUNM Volunteer and community activist/musician, campaigned for the program and encountered some opposition on the Radio Board. According to McCall, when the two went to address a Volunteer meeting and encourage support for inclusion of DN! in the program lineup, Walaitis suffered a heart attack shortly after his speech to the Volunteers. He died there in Onate Hall despite valiant efforts of the volunteers to save him. He left behind a wife and young children. After the death of Spencer Walaitis there was very little opposition to the inclusion of DN! in the program lineup. The transmitter atop the crest of the Sandia Mountains
Sandia Mountains
The Sandia Mountains name posu gai hoo-oo, "where water slides down arroyo") are a mountain range located in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, immediately to the east of the city of Albuquerque in New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The range is largely within the Cibola National...
(Sandia Crest) was upgraded to broadcast a digital signal in November 2006.
On the afternoon of February 15, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Socorro from high atop "Mountain M" at 88.7 MHz with the transmitter call letters KBOM.
On the afternoon of April 1, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Española from atop Black Mesa at 6000 Watts at 91.9 MHz with the transmitter call letters KRAR
Krar
The krar or kraar is a five- or six-stringed bowl-shaped lyre from Eritrea and Ethiopia. The instrument is tuned to a pentatonic scale. A modern krar may be amplified, much in the same way as an electric guitar or violin....
.
On the afternoon of April 3, 2008, KUNM went ON AIR in Arroyo Seco at 90.9 MHz with the transmitter call letters KRRT, eliminating interference between translators and transmitters which had occurred since KRAR went ON AIR two days prior. At the same time, the translators at 91.1 in Taos (K220AV) and 91.9 in Arroyo Seco (K216AL) were permanently retired from service.
Programming
Five times a week, the live call-in show Native America Calling originates from KUNM's Studio A, which the programmers refer to as "Studio 49". Native America Calling is the only nationally syndicated call-in talk show focusing on Native American issues. In fall of 2006, the in-house, half-hour "Evening Report" was reformatted to incorporate local and regional news stories into NPR's national newsmagazine, "All Things Considered".Early weekday afternoons highlight locally-produced jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
programming, and "Free Form", which features a variety of hosts playing a wide range of music. Late mornings feature classical music from American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
. Evening music programming varies from acoustic folk to experimental electronic.
KUNM broadcasts syndicated programming for several hours each day. National Public Radio (NPR) is broadcast during the morning and evening "drive time", interspersed with local news. NPR programming provides national news programs seven days a week. KUNM is an NPR Member Station. Pacifica Radio
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...
programming includes "Democracy Now", "This Way Out", and "Counterspin". Public Radio International
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
programming includes "Afropop Worldwide", "This American Life", and occasional seasonal programs.