Launching a radio station from the ground up is no easy task and delays can be expected. The long awaited local station KBU 97.5 FM hoped to be on the air mid January, but the ambitious project has encountered a few technical glitches along the way.
KBU general manager Hans Laetz plans to create not one, but two local radio stations in reception-starved Malibu. The first (and the one closest to becoming a reality) will serve western Malibu, with plans for a sister station, 107.9, for eastern parts of the city.
But the course to clear radio reception never did run smooth. KBU 97.5’s launch was delayed by a malfunctioning signal splitter, which is an instrumental piece of equipment.
“These things happen,” Laetz, who does not expect a few delays to affect his overall vision, told The Malibu Times. Laetz, a longtime Malibu resident and experienced newsman, expects to have both stations up and running this year, with the western station broadcasting “Friday or earlier.”
The goal is to provide music, local news and information, as well as community programming.
Perhaps no one would find this more welcoming than Malibu residents who often find themselves at ground zero when it comes to raging fires, Santa Ana winds, flooding and traffic nightmares, living in a 27-mile long community with only one direct way in and one way out.
Laetz has put his heart and soul into the project, working with the FCC, trying to acquire NPR programming and now gaining registry as a nonprofit 501(c) 3 status. As KBU general manager, he has even thrown his own money behind the station, which he is currently operating out of his home.
He seems to be off to a solid start with equipment donated by Santa Monica-based NPR affiliate KCRW, a $7,500 transmitter and $7,300 worth of hardware and software, and boasts that the station will not accept “one penny” of government money.
Locals like Erika Brunson said they would enjoy better reception, quality programming like Morning Edition, world music and community forums on the city’s often complicated issues. For Barry Glaser, who makes a commute from Malibu to his Downtown Los Angeles law offices on a daily basis, traffic updates on driving conditions are a must.
Other plans down the road may include additional programming, like a “Malibu Minute” or talk show according to board members, such as The Malibu Times publisher Arnold York.
Having run the newspaper of record for decades, York said early on he expected a few speed bumps along the way, adding “NPR makes its shows available at a very modest cost,” saying expenses will go down once the initial setup is complete.
While western Malibu is poised to play, the eastern sister station has hit a setback with the FCC citing “a paperwork error.”
Laetz has described the issue as “political” and suggests residents of eastern Malibu who would like to see the station take off contact the FCC in Washington. He points out that both stations are totally separate entities and he is “very optimistic NPR stations will be happy if we expand NPR to Malibu. Malibu is the only entity that doesn’t get NPR. That’s not good for us in Malibu, that’s not good for NPR,” he says.
While talks are going on, look for KBU to be on the air in Malibu in what Laetz calls a win-win situation.