KGHP undergoes changes, gears up to host state event

By Rick Sorrels
Special to KP News

 

The local radio station, KGHP, has made several big changes recently. The station is owned and operated by the local school district at Peninsula High School.

New manager, new programming

Last September Spencer Abersold was hired as general manager. Prior to that, the broadcast journalism instructor, Leland Smith, was stretched thin, managing both the  program and the radio station, which is on the air 24/7.

Abersold presents his own program on Friday evenings, like the 13 other volunteers from the community who work outside of regular school hours when the high school students aren’t manning the microphones. Abersold reluctantly admitted he works in excess of 55 hours per week for the station. His enthusiasm is infectious.

“The general manager’s responsibilities include all activities in the station, managing the volunteers, programs and formatting, the music library, the recording studio, computers and automation, relations with underwriters, licensing requirements, public appearances representing the station, etc,” he says.

The station’s programming included a lot of Americana, grass roots, and blue grass. “Starting in January 2008, we changed our late night and weekend automated programs to hit music since the 1950s in order to appeal to a broader spectrum of our listeners,” Abersold says. “There are approximately one million persons living within our broadcast range that could tune in.”

In April, a computer upgrade was finished and changes were planned, including “a ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (Pink Floyd) program after midnight on Fridays, dance music on Saturdays after 9:30 p.m., concerts after midnight on Saturdays, and a return to 1950s radio shows on Sundays,” he says. Students (during school hours) and volunteers (after school hours) welcome requests and comments from listeners, who may call them in to 857-3589.

Radio awards

Currently, Smith is busy arranging the first-ever Washington State High School Radio Awards and Convention, to be held on May 15 at Peninsula High School. “There are awards presentations for students in many academic areas, but never before in broadcast journalism,” he says. “This will give long-overdue recognition to some truly outstanding students from the nine high schools in Washington state with radio stations.”

Students will be nominated by their schools for the awards, with judging to be done by industry professionals. Among the 10 award categories will be best individual newscast, best team newscast, best news service, best sportscast, best production elements, best public service announcements.

“The day will start out with the opening speaker, Andy Harms, a Seattle rock jock very popular with teenagers at radio station KNDD 107.7FM. Then we move on to a series of 45-minute seminars sessions, followed by lunch and the awards,” Smith says.

The event will take place during regular school hours and will not be open to the general public.

Another recent change is the addition of an emergency command post for KGHP at the Fire District 5 Emergency Operations Center in Gig Harbor. Keith Stiles, the station engineer and one of the original founders of KGHP, says, “This will greatly facilitate the services that we can provide during emergency operations for the community.”

The synergism of teachers, students, school administrators, management, dedicated citizens, government officials, and underwriters has created a highly functional public service radio station that serves the community.

“We are still not quite self-sufficient,” Stiles says. “We could use some more underwriters. They’re called something different than advertisers because we are nonprofit. It’s one of the rules.”

 

 

 

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