KPFA on the Air - KPFA Highlights

Broadcast Schedule

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1970
KPFT in Houston is bombed off the air twice during its first year by Ku Klux Klan attacks on its transmitter tower. After months of inactivity by federal agents and Houston police, Pacifica mounts a media campaign. Federal agents ultimately arrest a Klansman and charge him with the KPFT bombing and plotting to blow up KPFA and KPFK.

1974

Members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) deliver audio tapes of kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst to KPFA/Berkeley and KPFK/Los Angeles. Hearst's famous quote, "Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people," was first heard on KPFA. Although the station has no alliance with the SLA, KPFK manager Will Lewis is jailed for protecting his sources by refusing to turn tapes over to the FBI.

From news footage of Patty Hearst (A.K.A. Tania)

KPFA staff walk out, forcing KPFA off the air. Strikers demand the creation of a third world department to ensure that people of color are adequately represented in programming and paid staff. They request more control over programming and ask for new station management. Third world programmers file a challenge on the grounds of discrimination in hiring practices and win.

1978
KPFA's public affairs department wins a Peabody Award for a five-part series investigating the swine flu program controversy.

KPFA's news department reports on a radiation leak at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Using accurate testimony from nuclear experts, KPFA's reports contradict early coverage by mainstream media.

1981
Although the collective "Unlearning to Not Speak" featured women's programming on KPFA since the early1970s, a decade later, KPFA creates its first official women's department with a paid director.

1982
The KPFA apprentice program is formally established as an intensive training program in broadcast skills geared towards women and people of color. It continues to be the most comprehensive program of its kind in the country.

1987

KPFA-based National Affairs Correspondent Larry Bensky anchors gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Iran-Contra Hearings and wins two major journalism awards. Bensky's coverage is heard throughout the Pacifica Network (KPFA/Berkeley, KPFK/Los Angeles, KPFT/Houston, WBAI/New York and WPFW/Washington, D.C.) and 33 affiliate stations.

1989
The KPFA news department wins national awards for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake, lauded as the "best coverage to the community of an unfolding news event."

1991

KPFA moves into a newly constructed, state-of-the-art broadcasting facility in Berkeley. Two million dollars is donated by the loyal KPFA listening community.

1999
In KPFA's 50th year, new officers heading the Pacifica Foundation begin to make decisions with which staff and listeners disagree. News spreads of the station's possible sale and more than 10,000 KPFA supporters hold vigils and take to the streets in protest.

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