Public radio's local signal will cease April 18

SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PRESS

KRVS-FM, an NPR affiliate that broadcasts from the Univer-sity of Louisiana at Lafayette, will involuntarily cease serving Lake Charles on the 90.5 FM frequency by April 18, station manager Dave Spizale said.

When KRVS removes its translator antenna from the roof of City Hall, the local signal for such popular National Public Radio shows as "Morning Edition," "Marketplace," "All Things Considered" and "Car Talk" will go, too.

Lamar University's KVLU-FM, which carried several of the NPR shows on the 90.9 FM frequency, was forced to close down its translator in January.

The disappearance of a Lake Charles signal for the noncommercial, listener-sponsored stations takes away classical music programming — KVLU's specialty — and French-language shows featuring Cajun and zydeco music — KRVS's specialty.

Both stations have been replaced by the Tupelo, Miss.-based Christian broadcast network American Family Radio. The network bought the KBAN-FM station last fall and began to broadcast on 91.1 FM.

AFR then applied for a construction permit to build KYLC-FM and will soon begin to broadcast on 90.3 FM.

The station has been testing its transmitter for some time, causing interference with the KRVS signal in many parts of Lake Charles.

Under Federal Communications Commission regulations, the "unprotected class" license under which KRVS operated requires that the station give way to protected-class licensees if their radio signals conflict.

AFR General Manager Marvin Sanders, reached by telephone at his Tupelo office on Tuesday, said the network's move to Lake Charles was not intended to eliminate the public radio stations. He said it was simply an unfortunate consequence of the stations' overlapping signals.

AFR will not broadcast NPR programming. Sanders described his network's national formats as "traditional gospel" and "adult contemporary Christian." He said it would be a while, if ever, before any locally produced programs would be broadcast from either of its Lake Charles stations. Sanders said AFR programs must be of a "high technical standard" and must fit seamlessly into the network's recognizable sound.

When asked if the local AFR stations would be capable of producing local shows of a sufficiently high standard, Sanders declined to comment on the Dry Creek site's facilities.

Neither AFR station is required to produce local shows. Although all full-service radio station licensees are required to operate a main studio with production capabilities, AFR has received a waiver of this requirement for its KBAN frequency, and is expected to receive a similar waiver for the new KYLC, according to FCC Communications Analyst Allen Myers, who is handling the recent Lake Charles request.

As unprotected class radio license holders, KRVS and KVLU have always been vulnerable to the sudden stoppage of their Lake Charles translator signals. A protected licensor can remain on its frequency even if it interferes with other stations' broadcast signals. But Class D licensees such as KRVS and KVLU may not interfere with any other licensees signals, and if they do so, are subject to summary removal from the air, said KVLU Station Manager George Beverley.

Both Beverley and KRVS's Spizale indicated an interest in locating a full-service station in the Lake Charles area.

"We're soon going to have our first fund-raiser since we took out the translator," Beverley said. "It will probably cost us some listener revenue."

Attorney Edwin Hunter, who supports KRVS's daily broadcast of "Marketplace," said he will probably continue to fund the program and the station, although he will no longer be able to tune it in himself.

Hunter, a long-time supporter of public broadcasting in Louisiana, is dismayed by the proliferation of faith-based sectarian stations, as he believes each serves only its own sect. "Together, the numerous sectarian stations absorb so much of the broadcast spectrum that they crowd out generalized programming aimed at the widest possible market, like public radio," Hunter said.

KRVS's Spizale has written to Lake Charles area subscribers urging them to call or write city, state and FCC officials, and ask for their support in locating a new full-service public radio station to serve the city.

In the meantime, he will be pursuing other methods for delivering KRVS's signal to the city, perhaps through a cable service provider.

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