The public radio station that serves Fairbanks and interior Alaska, KUAC-FM, held its annual on-air fund-raising drive this past week.
            KUAC-FM, located at 89.9FM on the radio spectrum, is headquartered on campus with its broadcast television department, is located in the basement of the Great Hall, and enjoys broad support throughout the community.  KUAC's broadcast range extends to Healy and Delta Junction, and is supplemented with translator stations extending out to Tok, Eagle, and Nome.
            The annual fund-raising drive and other private giving provides approximately 25 percent of the radio station's annual budget and is appended with federal grants through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, state grants through the Department of Administration, along with some funds provided by the University of Alaska's budget.  Another source of funding for the station comes from business support in the form of underwriting, a form of information-based advertising allowed on non-commercial radio formats.  This form allows a business to have its name and the service they provide attached to programming without the traditional banter found in commercial formats.
            These funds are used to cover the cost of staffing, broadcast equipment maintenance and upgrades, and program acquisition.  All programming on KUAC that is produced by outside entities such as National Public Radio, Public Radio International, etc. must be purchased by local public radio stations for the rights to broadcast the programs, such as Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, Mountain Stage, and Jazz with Bob Parlocha.
            KUAC also airs a variety of locally-produced programming and has a number of live, free-format shows, ranging from weekday classical music shows to evening shows that feature jazz, folk, bluegrass and easy listening.  The station also offers a wealth of news programs, ranging from daily local news stories, news from National Public Radio, world news from the BBC World Service, statewide news from the Alaska Public Radio Network and National Native News for stories with an indigenous focus.
            University of Alaska students, both current and graduates, fill many paid and volunteer positions at the station.  Their backgrounds range anywhere from business to broadcast journalism.
            KUAC as a broadcasting entity also includes a television station, found in the traditional broadcast spectrum at channel nine, is part of the Alaska One network and features usual public television fare such as children's programming such as Sesame Street, political interest programs like The McLaughlin Group and Washington Week, nature shows, and local interest programs.
            “We are pleased to have such a strong show of support from Fairbanks and interior Alaska and having this many people pledging their support, coming in to volunteer [their time for the fund-raising drive], people walking in pledges. [It] shows that the interior of Alaska really values public radio, I think probably more so than a lot of other places in the country because the public radio in many cases is the only service anybody gets so they are really linked to the community through KUAC,” stated Greg Petrowich, general manager of KUAC-FM.  Petrowich had worked several years for public radio stations in Missouri and Illinois before joining KUAC in his current capacity in 2002.
            “It's a pleasure to work somewhere where you get such an affirmation of the work you do everyday,” Petrowich added.

            Students or community members interested in volunteering their time for station operations or on-air shifts can direct their energies to KUAC's volunteer coordinator Lori Neufeld.  Anyone interested in contributing financially to public broadcasting may do so by visiting the offices of KUAC in the basement of the Great Hall, which is the building adjoining the Rasmuson Library and the Charles Davis Concert Hall.