KPFA to Celebrate 60 Years

A local radio station, known for its progressive dialogue and its many firsts in the radio industry, will celebrate its 60th birthday on Wednesday.

KPFA was founded in 1949 by pacifist anarchist Lewis Hill with the premise that dialogue could solve conflicts, according to Sasha Lilley, the station's interim program director.

With the slogan "Free Speech Radio," the station was the first publicly supported radio outlet, Lilley said.

As part of its anniversary, the station will launch a news show on April 20, expanding its coverage to include statewide news via a collaboration with its sister stations in Los Angeles and Fresno, according to Lilley.

"At a moment when news coverage is contracting (nationally), we're actually expanding our news coverage," she said.

The station will also make its Web site more interactive in the coming weeks, allowing the public to upload audio clips, videos and photos.

According to Lilley, the site will continue a tradition of dialogue between the station and its listeners. She said the station was among the first to answer calls on the air.

"Being interactive is a long part of our history," she said.

KPFA was also the first station to broadcast Allen Ginsberg's controversial poem "Howl" and served as a forum for Free Speech Movement activists.

C.S. Soong, host of KPFA's program "Against the Grain," said his career at the station began because he found its perspectives to be refreshing and different.

"What I really value about this station is the degree of freedom it gives me to explore a lot of edgy and sometimes unpopular opinions and perspectives," he said.

Sandra Wasson, general manager for UC Berkeley's radio outlet KALX, said she thought KPFA provided a valuable counterpoint to mainstream media.

"I think they add a lot to the spectrum of media out there," she said. "They're willing to ask questions the mainstream media won't."

Lilley noted that the station does not cater to commercial interests because it is publicly funded. She added that while the amount of money donated to the station has declined, the number of donors has remained static.

UC Berkeley graduate student Antonia Porter said she listens to KPFA because she prefers topics covered by local radio.

"(KPFA provides) a more real sense of what's going on," she said.

Lilley said the station's contribution to media is especially important now that a high number of outlets are shrinking and disappearing.

"It is definitely a difficult time for the media," she said. "In a moment like this, KPFA really matters."