Pacifica Radio folio collection, 1949-1987

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Summary

Creators:
Pacifica Radio
Abstract:
This collection comprises folios from Pacifica Radio stations KPFA, KPFK, WBAI, KPFT, and WPFW, ranging in date from 1949 to 1987, as well as a small number of Pacifica administrative files and promotional pamphlets.
Extent:
8 linear feet (8 cartons)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Pacifica Radio folio collection, PA Mss 145 Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection comprises folios from Pacifica Radio Stations KPFA, KPFK, WBAI, KPFT, and WPFW, ranging in date from 1949 to 1987. These historical station program guides from the early years of each of these five stations contain Pacifica stations' radio schedules and features.

In addition to the folios, which comprise the bulk of the collection, these materials also hold a small number of Pacifica administrative files, including Pacifica board meeting minutes, dating from 1965 through 1984, as well as Pacifica promotional pamphlets and KPFA handouts.

Biographical / historical:

Founded by Lewis Hill in the 1940s, Pacifica Radio (a division of the Pacifica Foundation) was grounded in Hill's pacifist ideals and devoted itself to upholding the First Amendment through its alternative radio programming. Pacifica's first fledgling station KPFA-FM in Berkeley, CA went on the air on April 15, 1949. Unique for its non-commercial structure and its listener sponsored rather than government supported financial organization, KPFA established itself as a locale for minority voices during a period of intense scrutiny and unease—the Cold War. KPFA won several distinctions in the early years of its tenure, such as broadcast awards for a feature by Alexander Meiklejohn about the First Amendment and a Robin Hood series by Chuck Levy and Virginia Maynard, as well as the George Foster Peabody Award for its programs rooted against McCarthyism. Pacifica's strident stance against the accusatory politics of the US Cold War eventually led to an investigation from the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) into the activities of the organization. In 1962, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conducted their own investigation into Pacifica for its alleged communist ties, resulting in the withholding of various Pacifica Radio license renewals (these were eventually renewed in 1964).

As KPFA successfully traversed the airways and gained traction for its innovative programming, Pacifica founded its second station in Los Angeles in 1959, KPFK-FM. This was followed by the accession in 1960 of the commercial station WBAI in New York from philanthropist Louis Schweitzer, the creation of KPFT in Houston, TX with the guidance of journalist Larry Lee in 1970, and the 1977 construction of WPFW in Washington D.C. This collection includes folios from the early years of each of these five stations, booklets that informed subscribers about Pacifica stations' radio schedules and features. Many of these folios also advertise Pacifica in an effort to acquire listener support, which was instrumental to their survival on the radio. At the time of the collection's organization, KPFA, KPFK, WBAI, KPFT, and WPFW remain on-air.

Bibliography:

"About KPFT: Our History." KPFT Houston. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://kpft.org/about/.

"About WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City." WBAI-FM. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://www.wbai.org/about.html.

"94.1 KPFA: History." 94.1 KPFA. Accessed September 18, 2018. https://kpfa.org/. Land, Jeff. "Pacifica's WBAI: Free Radio and the Claims of Community." Jump Cut no. 41 (1997): 93-101.

"Pacifica History." Pacifica Foundation. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.pacifica.org/about_history.php.

"WPFW 89.3 FM: Our History." WPFW 89.3 FM. Accessed September 18, 2018. http://www.wpfwfm.org/radio/about-us/our-history.

Arrangement:

This collection is divided into two series: Folios, which comprises the bulk of the collection, and the much smaller series, Promotional and Administrative Files.

Physical location:
The collection is located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF).
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. The collection is stored offsite. Advance notice is required for retrieval.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Research Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Research Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Research Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Pacifica Radio folio collection, PA Mss 145 Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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