Organizers envision KSKQ will become a home for Rogue Valley artists to showcase their talents

Aletha Nowitzky burst into a song about imagination and its power to change the world as she introduced herself to a group of people working to create a low-power FM station for the Rogue Valley.

She and about 30 other people gathered in the basement of the Ashland library Saturday afternoon to envision what a community owned-and-operated radio station might look like.

A singer and performance artist, Nowitzky imagines doing a variety show with lots of singing. She’d also be willing to sing theme songs for other shows or appear on folk shows.

Others in the group have ideas for shows, too. They’ve also got technical expertise about towers and transmitters and mixing boards and other equipment. They’ve even got plans and knowledge to power the little station with wind-generated electricity.

And now they’ve got nearly a year and half to make their dreams come true.

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The Multicultural Association of Southern Oregon, in cooperation with other nonprofit groups, received a license for a low-power station last month. The license gives them 18 months to begin broadcasts.

The station, which will broadcast at 94.9 FM and use the call letters KSKQ, can have a signal strength of no more than 100 watts, limiting its audience to a 3.5-mile range from its transmitter. The transmitter is planned for the Emigrant Lake area.

Getting the license caps years of work and opens the door on the next stage of planning, said Suzia Aufderheide, one of the organizers who helped land the license.

Ashland-based Media Eye learned about the availability of low-power FM stations nationwide in 2001 and encouraged qualifying nonprofit groups to apply.

"We wanted to weave together the cultural, political and spiritual aspects," Aufderheide said.

The station will strive to include diverse voices, especially those that often feel left out of mainstream media.

It will need at least $10,000 to start broadcasting and some estimates range up to five times that high. Supporters plan to sell T-shirts, seek grants and have events such as benefit concerts, auctions or raffles.

The idealistic group that gathered Saturday included Southern Oregon University students and a professor, businessmen, an alternative health-care practitioner, broadcast engineers and radio professionals and volunteers who had worked at other stations.

They gave advice on fund raising, on organizing the station, on media ethics. They offered up space in their garage, inexpensive broadcast gear, a donated tower that just needed to be transported from the high plains of Montana.

Artist Sandra Basudde, originally from Uganda, is excited about the opportunity to create a forum for discussing ideas and finding common threads among diverse people.

"We can demonstrate how to have a place not to agree, but to discuss," she said, echoing the hopes of many that the station can feature the voices of people and groups often left on the fringe and still reach a broad audience.

Media Eye member Terry Hill said station supporters plan to meet monthly. Sub-groups will focus on fund raising, organization, programming, technical issues and alternative energy.

For more information about the efforts and how to get involved, call Aufderheide at 482-0102.

Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail aburke@mailtribune.com.