NPR fund raiser
Alex Chadwick, host of NPR’s new daily
radio news magazine called "Day to Day," will host a surround-sound "radio
expedition" Friday, Aug. 22, at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey to support a new
transmitter for NPR News 91 in the Wood River Valley.
The event—which will start at 8:30
p.m.—will present audio from a variety of global travel adventures, including
diving with humpback whales and tramping through a forest clearing with wild
elephants.
For more information on the event, call
1-888-859-5278, extension 663.
NPR News 91 seeks increased presence
for valley service
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Boise State Radio, the Boise-based
affiliate of National Public Radio, is proceeding with plans to establish in the
Wood River Valley a full-power broadcasting station for its NPR News 91
programming.
Boise State Radio in June received
permission from the Federal Communications Commission to convert its existing
low-wattage radio transmitter on Bald Mountain’s Seattle Ridge into a full-power
radio station, said Jim Paluzzi, general manager of the radio group.
"We anticipated the need for a full-power
station for the Wood River Valley ever since we turned on our first translator
in Ketchum in 1991," Paluzzi said. "We applied to the FCC for this permit in
1997; it took over five years to get it granted."
The new radio station is slated to be
called KBSS.
KBSX, Boise State Radio’s flagship station
for its NPR News 91 broadcasts, currently transmits to the Wood River Valley
area on FM channel 91.1 from the Bald Mountain repeater station, called
K216CY-Sun Valley.
Boise State Radio plans to replace the
existing 8-watt translator with a new 700-watt transmitter on Seattle Ridge. As
planned, the new transmitter would utilize Boise State Radio’s standing
broadcast tower, company officials have noted.
Paluzzi said it is imperative for Boise
State Radio to replace the existing translator to ensure the 91.1 FM frequency
is not bumped off the air by a competitor. "Recently, other communities across
the country have lost their NPR services because the FCC is forcing low-power
translators to shut down to make room for full-power broadcasters," he noted.
The KBSS station is not planned to include
on-site staff. The station is planned to broadcast KBSX programs and an array of
NPR programs, plus local and regional news stories that would be generated by a
new central Idaho news bureau in Twin Falls.
Boise State Radio has announced that it is
seeking to raise $120,000 by October to fund the project.
Paluzzi said a local task force has been
established to guide the local fund-raising efforts. The group includes state
Rep. Wendy Jaquet, arts advocate Dan Drackett and four other Wood River Valley
residents.
In addition to clearer and more reliable
reception, the new station would offer listeners a variety of modern features
through a digital "high-definition" radio system.
The HD system would give listeners with
compatible receivers the options of viewing program details on a screen, storing
programs for later playback and listening to a second program service on the
same frequency. The second program service to be offered by Boise State Radio is
called "Idaho’s Jazz Station," featuring an assortment of jazz music.
If adequate funds are raised, work on the
project will start "as soon as the snow melts next spring," Paluzzi said.
Installation of the new transmitter and a new antenna is expected to take
approximately two weeks, he noted.