KZSO loses its frequency

Outlaw radio is off the air. The local low-power community radio station KZSO 94.9 lost its frequency to a commercial radio station based out of Sunriver.

Michael Richards, general manager of KZSO, housed at Sisters Art Works, explained: "The bottom line is that commercial stations trump the low-power FM license."

Richards said that he would have expected that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would have provided notice that a commercial user was taking 94.9, but for some reason that did not occur.

Richards noted that KZSO originally had to switch from 106.5 to 94.9 when a commercial operation out of Terrebonne took the 106.5 frequency. However, the radio station was never inaugurated. The rights were sold to a commercial user operating out of Sunriver. But the 106.5 frequency interfered with communications for air traffic into the Redmond airport, Richards said.

"The FCC said the only frequency that's available is 94.9," Richards said.

The first Richards heard of the change was when the Sunriver operator called to let him know he was firing up and that it might interfere with KZSO's broadcast. With significantly more power, the commercial signal overwhelmed the low-power Sisters signal and KZSO was forced to shut down earlier this month.

A Facebook message on October 14 notes, "We will continue streaming online through the http://www.kzsoradio.org website or you can get us on the Tune-in app."

KZSO has featured local talk programming and music, as well as serving as an emergency information resource for the Sisters community. Richards said that the ratings outfit Nielsen projects that a low-power community radio station like KZSO should draw about 400 listeners. There's no real way to track that, but anecdotal evidence and Facebook "likes" indicate that KZSO probably has in the neighborhood of 1,200 listeners, Richards said.

"We're providing at least what Nielsen would project," Richards said.

Richards believes that it would be relatively easy to regain the 106.5 frequency and return the station to the air. However, it has taken a lot of effort and expense to keep KZSO up and running, in a variety of different homes, over the years. Richards is uncertain whether the station should continue.

"I'm reluctant to go out and ask people to support the radio station if there's not a bona fide need, quite frankly," he said.

Program director Rick Olson said that the Sisters School District contributes about $10,000 per year to the program, but expenses are expected to run to three or four times that amount, including reconfiguration of equipment, licensing and paying employees to operate the station.

"Me and Nick (Newport) have kind of been doing it for a song," Olson said.

He also noted that the school district will have to assess the station's value in allocating always-tight funds.

"We're at a crossroads here," he said.

Richards will gauge the value of the station to emergency services providers like the Forest Service and the local fire and police departments. He's also seeking community input. Contact him to weigh in on the station's value at [email protected] or search KZSO Radio on Facebook.