ALL IT TOOK was a little sodomy to bring down KPSU, Portland State University’s student-run radio station. At the end of a show called Debate Hour on Thursday, June 24, a serious political conversation veered into a juvenile discussion about sex and urine. Then someone uttered three words that prompted a listener to file a complaint: “Sodomy is great.”
KPSU has leased airtime on nights and weekends from the Benson High School radio station KBPS (AM 1450) since 1994. Last year, PSU paid Portland Public Schools $46,400 to broadcast. But in response to the complaint, KBPS Managing Director Bill Cooper has immediately terminated the signal-sharing contract with KPSU.
The shutdown was a surprise to the students who run KPSU, even though Cooper had told KPSU adviser Jud Randall at the beginning of June that the school district would end the station’s contract on July 1 in order to clear the way for more school district programming.
“Bill asked me not to tell anyone,” says Randall. “At first I agreed, but then I changed my mind, and called him back to say so. He went ballistic.”
Cooper was worried that, with knowledge of an impending termination, DJs would have few qualms about airing offensive content.
“In the world of radio, people going away don’t know they’re getting fired until after their last broadcast,” says Cooper.
The signal-sharing contract between PSU and Portland Public Schools includes a clause that not only requires broadcasters to abide by a “conservative interpretation” of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) obscenity rules, but also to acknowledge that some college-level programming “is not appropriate or acceptable” for a school-owned station. So while Debate Hour did not break any FCC rules, it did cross the contract’s blurry line.
KPSU has run afoul of this clause multiple times in the past, whether by failing to announce the station ID as required or embarking on an immature “discussion of women’s body parts,” says Randall. Still, former program director Cody Rich says that regarding the offensive-material clause, “Bill Cooper told us he would interpret it any way he wants.”
Cooper says he thinks the loss of revenue for the school district is nothing compared to potential FCC fines—and told the Mercury so in no uncertain terms. “They were broadcasting on that station by the grace of our good will,” he shouted.
KPSU still broadcasts online at kpsu.org and at 98.1 FM on the PSU campus. Now, the station is looking to the future.
“This is a chance to reinvent ourselves,” says KPSU assistant music director Megan Stahl. “Now people will be reminded of who we are.”
They should just lease a contract with a right-wing hate-talk station. That way, they’d have free reign to say any & every absurd thing they wanted, ’til their heart’s content.
They got kicked off the air for using a word that appears in the Bible?
http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
Last night’s Debate Hour. Still pushing buttons, since good discussion can happen even when people are being sarcastic. It’s true. I read that somewhere.
The SwASoSaHo still rocks it:
http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/1…
My name is Captain AP and I am the host of the debate hour. I am very surprised at the outrage over my new show that was put on the radio last night.
For those of you that haven’t listened to the show, I urge you to download the mp3 and listen to the entire show and not just 3 lines: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
The show is 2 hours long, so please listen to it and form your own opinion. If you do listen I am sure you will find it to be a very educational show that highlights many important issues locally, nationally and internationally.
A last note is that I am very sad that some people in the Portland Community would fight so hard to censure both free speech and open debate on sensitive issues.
The following is the show email and the show facebook page. I am open to hearing any opinions from you. That is what my show is all about: Openness and discussion.
Thank you,
Captain AP
email: kpsudebate@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KPSU-Debate-…
Show Archive: http://archive.kpsu.org/station/archives/3…
Retired senior editor of The Oregonian Judson Randall is too busy regulating his blood alcohol level to advise the poor PSU newspapers Vanguard and Rearguard and KPSU. I’d very very surprised if he advocated for 98.1 FM, and am underwhelmed by KBPS Managing Director Bill Cooper’s asinine quip, “In the world of radio, people going away don’t know they’re getting fired until after their last broadcast.” If he desires to run public school/university radio like Clear Channel just to show the kids what it’s like in the real world, I recommend he continue the mediocritization of academia by canceling and/or censoring all extracurriculars/pre-employment programs. Wait, already done. Notice that canceling university programming will “clear the way for more school district programming.” ie: dreck
♫ Sodomy – why not say “sodomy”?
“Last night’s Debate Hour. Still pushing buttons, since good discussion can happen even when people are being sarcastic. It’s true. I read that somewhere.”
NO! Sarcasm is the same thing as racism!!!!
I read that somewhere as well.
The problem is less to do with the complaint, and more to do with Jud Randall. He wasn’t always the advisor (read: President/CEO) of KPSU, and when the station had an advisor in Student Activities these squabbles with PPS would get ironed-out because the advisor cared.
The dialog between PSU and PPS about killing the contract has been ongoing for many years, and the advisor at PSU would have to go and weave a solution that would appease the middle-aged radio nerds at Benson High (where Cooper and the station are location) and the PPS brass.
Cooper is old-school radio, and thinks that playing Carlin would summon a SWAT team, while Randall just doesn’t have the will to fight PSU losing its claim to Portland’s *only* freeform broadcast radio station.
I understand why the radio comptroller was so upset, he was told he’d be airing a “debate” show, but then they are debating things like “sodomy is great!”
Well of course it is that isn’t a debate it is a love fest for awesome things. Radio Comptrollers are always getting their panties in a bunch when people go off format, I am surprised no one was deafened by the roar of the comptroller when he heard these off formate comments.
no they got kicked off the air because they were condoning Homosexual behavior, and sexual behaviour of minors…all still crimes…so get a clue queer baits…WE still dont except you as a class of people…rather, we view and tolerate your lifestyle as a necessary evil….and we just are’nt ready to make the final push (no puhn intended) to out law your diviant ways. clear enough? did i mence any words on the subject…can there be a clear understanding that WE dont need queers, we need normal families.
wow, wow, wow, wow, wow…….so much creepy stuff in portland…Im surprised there is any support for any deviant activity in the sess pool of herion junkies and fudge packers. ya’ll need to become a productive part of society or get the hell out of MY country….what a waste of human flesh and blood!