| The 2005 UCSB Disorientation Guide (back to contents) |
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The Underground Beneath the Not-So-Ivory Tower: KCSB
How often do you get to produce, or even co-produce, the scripts and scores of your inner listening? May I remove the narcotizing Ipod from your ear for just a second? Imagine your mind as a waste dump of digitized images, false philosophies, cocky gestures, and recursive sound loops...the University grooms us to arrange these items in lexicons of order, sustains their perpetual recirculation, and then delivers unsolicited quantities of more, and more...and....Get the picture? Welcome to The Program. You have ostensibly come to “higher education” — let’s insist — to clean and grow your brain...not to suggest you have a “dirty” brain (after all, growing needs good dirt...as long as you can tell healthy mud from a Ghengis fungus). Academia demands a ton of listening, and probably little of this content — outside of that pocket-sized narcoleptic device of yours — involves your conscious selection. Does anyone within these revered institutions — bastions of intellectual freedom that they are — ever invite you to create your own programming? And if you could create your own inner program, what would it sound like? What sorts of conversations would it include? Would you share it with the world? Would you stream your naked revolutionary sounds and visions across the globe? There is a war being waged for the territory between your ears. And I suggest that here is one “checkpoint” you guard very carefully, in your earplugs and cars as well as in your classrooms. In these coveted territories of sound, voice and vision, relentless land grabs abound. Consider for a moment that out of the 20 broadcasting entities within a 21-mile radius of Santa Barbara, 7 are owned by one company: Clear Channel Communications, Inc., (remember?...the entity affectionately known for pulling the Dixie Chicks off the air and putting John Lennon’s “Imagine” on a ‘No Play’ list after 9-11?). Following closely behind, Cumulus Media is runner-up, owning 3 stations within the same radius. [See http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/ for more information on these bastards.] Pirate radio stations and independent web news networks have become the latest targets of FBI-led shutdowns. The seizure of Indymedia Center’s web servers [www.indymedia.org], which provide news and internet radio streams in eight languages to every continent, by FBI agents outside of their domestic jurisdiction illustrates the growing power of independent media and Internet communications to the global social justice movement. Programmers at KCSB-FM (91.9) have a healthy panic about Big Brother media maneuvers and a near renegade passion for democratic values. Recall that KCSB was probably the first and only licensed radio station in the U.S. to be shut down by local sheriffs for their field reporting (of the Isla Vista riots of 1969-70, see www.kcsb.org). Broadcasts of those events are gems of UCSB/Isla Vista political history. Several staff members from that time are still programming at the station, most notably Sociology Professor Dick Flacks, whose program “Culture of Protest” (music and commentary of social struggle past and present) spans over 20 years. There are some truly amazing people at work in KCSB studios. Not your stereotypical radio geeks (although, fortunately, there are some of those), but very diverse, creative and intelligent people committed to remaining publicly vocal and active around matters of peace and justice. Corey Dubin and Faviana Hirsch, producers of “Latin American Journal,” have been broadcasting the news and views of first-nation peoples for many years at KCSB and KPFK. Learning radio as a UCSB student in the ‘70s, Dubin helped produce “Radio Chicano,” KCSB’s first Spanish-language program, as well as the only live broadcasts of the historic Diablo Canyon anti-nuclear protests. In similar spirit, and more recently, KCSB was the only local media outlet which covered the growing local, national and international demonstrations against the first Gulf War and the present invasion and occupation of Iraq, and contested the mainstream media’s line that the hundreds of thousands protesting in this country were small in number. The station’s broadcasts are part of history-in-the-making.But if your rebellion isn’t in political reporting, the station’s open-programming formats offer a blank canvass to creative cultural expression through audio documentary, talk radio, music programming (live in-studio and recorded, from ragtime jazz to hip-hop and experimental), spoken word/poetry and story telling. Its eclectic menu includes, among others, locally-grown programs such as “Panties in a Twist,” a feminist, queer, antiracist, anti-imperialist show of music and commentary; “Speaking of Sex,” new research and information on reproductive health and sexuality; “The Paradigm Shift, an inspirational talk show committed to generating new visions; “The India Show,” Indian music ranging from Indipop to classical; “Fire Pon Rome”, conscious reggae and dancehall dub; “African Kaleidoscope,” an educational program shared with the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center, the National Council on Drug Abuse and Focus on Disability; and “Third World News Review,” analyses of political issues from “third world” perspectives. All produced by local amateur professionals....all ordinary extraordinary freaks like you. Geoff Green, Executive Director of The Fund for Santa Barbara states matter-of-factly: “By every measure we have one of the finest stations in the country — yet it is the single most underutilized community resource in Santa Barbara.” In the past year the station has extended its national recognition by becoming the first college station to organize and host the national Grassroots Radio Conference, attended by 250 people from radio stations around the country. KCSB’s news and public affairs programming has gone national as well, with station staff producing 13 editions of the nationally-distributed “SPROUTS: Radio From the Grassroots.” There’s something happening here... If you lack the drive to become a programmer at KCSB you can still hang, become a member, and have fun helping out behind the scenes around the station. Our ‘Annual Fund Drive’ runs from November 7-16 and — given the flatulent political climate and Gropenfurher economics — this year’s drive needs to be our best ever. While KCSB’s basic operating costs are covered by the Associated Students through a lock-in fee, its real potential relies on grassroots financial support. If you were cute enough to take an empty gallon jug and, with a piece of masking tape, affectionately label “KCSB love pocket” across the top, you could probably collect enough coinage to express real love for independent community radio. [Please don’t bring us the coin rolls, cash them in first.] Better yet, show and grow your love by showing up. Come check out the studios at the base of Storke Tower, hang out, post your flyers, move in and make it home...but keep it tidy. KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN FOR KCSB orientation meetings - all are welcome!! KCSB broadcasts 24-hours a day, everyday, at 91.9-FM or on the web at www.kcsb.org. You can find the programming schedule, as well as extensive information about KCSB’s news and public affairs programs at the website. Become the media, before the pods colonize your mind. Visit KCSB online - http://www.kcsb.org/ Other radio stations worth listeneing to/streaming online: |
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