KPFK Mission and History

Pacifica History: Brief Overview

Pacifica Foundation Radio (Pacifica) was born in the late 1940's out of the (now nearly forgotten) peace movement surrounding World War Two. Lewis Hill, a conscientious objector and Washington, D.C. newsman, was fired from his mainstream reporting job when he refused to misrepresent the facts.

This was a time when the idea of a listener-sponsored radio station was a new one which had never been implemented. Many people doubted the viability of a broadcast model which didn't rely on some kind of corporate or government funding. But the idea was too compelling for Hill and others who agreed with him. Pacifica was born and in 1949 KPFA went on the air from Berkeley, California.

KPFK, in Los Angeles, was the second of what would eventually become five Pacifica Stations to go on the air. It was 1959 and Terry Drinkwater was the first General Manager. Blessed with an enormous transmitter in a prime location, KPFK is the most powerful of the Pacifica stations and indeed is the most powerful public radio station in the Western United States. Pacifica Mission Statement

Pledge Now!
KPFK is a progressive media outlet challenging corporate media perspectives and providing a voice to voiceless communities. Help keep KPFK a strong and independent source of music, arts, news and information.

Schedule

  • Aware with Lisa Garr

    1:00pm - 2:00pm

    Aware is dedicated to communicating information to inspire positive growth and change

  • Poets Cafe

    2:00pm - 2:30pm

    Poetry interviews and conversations

  • Laura Flanders

    2:30pm - 3:00pm

    The Laura Flanders Show is a TV and radio program that seeks to raise radical spirits by interviewing forward-thinking people who have real experience of shifting power, from the few to the many, in the worlds of arts, entrepreneurship and politics.

  • The National Lawyer's Guild with Jim Lafferty

    3:00pm - 4:00pm

    A public affairs program where political activists and experts discuss current political developments and progressive movements for social change. Also listener calls.

Events

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