Barbershop broadcasts over for KANM
By Stacey Roberts
StaffWriter
After 13 years of broad
casting, student-run KANM
99.9 FM is finally receiving
more attention from both stu
dents and the community.
KANM is becoming more in
volved in community affairs in
an attempt to bring credibility
to the radio station. It is work
ing toward the goal of register
ing with the Federal Commu
nications Commission so it can
get off cable and into homes
and cars.
KANM’s problem is financial
not academic.
Jo Hudson, student activities
advisor, estimates the initial
costs for registering with the
FCC would be approximately
$10,000. The cost includes pay
ing for applications, an an
tenna, a required area survey,
booklets and other various and
sundiy items.
“There are certain obliga
tions associated with applying,
such as adding news briefs and
public service announcements
to the programming,” Hudson
says.
The excitement generated by
the prospect of non-cable
broadcasting brings back mem
ories of the old days when
KANM could not even find a
place to broadcast from, much
less raise the money for an FCC
license.
For years, KANM strug
gled with its creator, Student
Government, and broadcast
from such bizarre places as a
barber shop, an apartment
complex recreation room and
even a station manager’s apart
ment.
Ginger Hudson, not related
to Jo, believes KANM will be on
the air within a year, although
she hastens to add most people
will estimate a longer time pe
riod.
Ginger, 21, is public relations
director and has been a disc
jockey for two years. She feels
that KANM’s duty, as well as
her own, is to bring a different
culture to the community. She
says the listenership has picked
up in the last year due to a push
for greater student support.
Ginger says she loves her job
with the radio station but re
sents the fact that the Univer
sity does not actively support
the radio station.
“All other major universities
support their stations,” Ginger
says. “Look at the University of
Houston. It’s supported by their
university and continues the al
ternative music format.
“I think they should fund us
the initial money needed to get
on the airwaves because after
that the up-keep would be min
imal.”
Within the past few
months, KANM has received
additional publicity through
the selling of sunglasses, a fund
raiser for the needy of Brazos
Valley and the publication of its
own magazine.
Ginger is the creator of the
continued on p.7