About: A Story                   Belongs To Our                 Community

 

 

                                                                                  Being on the air since March 3, 1973, KOPN/89.5 FM has served the                                                                                        community for 42 years.

                                                                                  To establish a listener-supported public radio station for Columbia, KOPN's                                                                            founders drew upon a tradition that had begun in 1950 with Lew Hill's creation                                                                            of KPFA for Berkeley, California.  Hill had concluded that the broadcasts of                                                                                    existing radio stations and networks were narrow and homogeneous and did                                                                              not serve the varied needs of Berkeley's diverse population. His ambition was to build a station that would be non-profit, non-institutional, listener-supported and would broadcast programming not heard elsewhere, produced by members of the community.

      “It's more than radio, it's community radio.” This is the slogan of KOPN.

 

       A community radio serves its community.

      Open access makes KOPN special than other radio stations.

      At the front door of KOPN, there is a note says: “The OPN in KOPN stands for open - open access.” The note also says that open access is one of the primary purposes and objectives of those who created New Wave Corporation, which is a nonprofit corporation that owns KOPN.

       “People say that I have good taste to music. That’s not true,” Kevin Walsh, a disc jockey of KOPN, said. “I just like what music does to people really.”

       “One of the missions of a community radio is that, everyday citizens can walk in off the street and get on the air, since it’s kind of one of the backbones of um, American um, media culture anyway I think,” Walsh added.

       KOPN plays an important role in local music.

       “They (people in KOPN) sponsor festivals and events and film those events; they document all of their interviews,” Heather Wilson, an local musician, said. “A hundred years from now, somebody might be on there, watching me and Dave & Dyno on the Kevin Walsh’s show, you know, laughing and having a good time.”

 

         A community supports its community radio.

        “There are a little over 100 on our contact list,” Jill Sheets, the office coordinator of KOPN, said. She said the volunteers in KOPN includes people who have their own shows, work out reaching events, help with station’s pledge drive, help in music library, checks in music and help in many other aspects.

         Ian Thomas (KOPN DJ): “I’ve been a listener to KOPN for 25 years, probably. And been in the area and also a donor for about 10 years, and a volunteer for about five (years) and I’ve been on the air for about two (years).”

         Caron Greenspan (KOPN DJ): “I am retired now. I was a professor of biochemistry for many years. I’m one of about 150 KOPN volunteers.”

         Tunde Ojewola (KOPN DJ): “Actually, I’m a graduate student in MU. And I volunteer in KOPN to play music. And, basically what I do is, my duty is African show, African music show.” “I’ve been doing something for my community. It’s just not music, it’s like trying to promote my culture, African culture and people and the good things in Africa.”

         Samuel Schwartzkopf (KOPN DJ): “I’m a contractor. I fix houses and fix broken things. One time, I had to do community service and then after that I kind of continued doing it because I like doing it and I met some people. And I really liked the show I was doing.”

         Jill Sheets (office coordinator, KOPN DJ): “I was going through some hard times with health wise , and this pretty much was my sanity, so I stayed.”