A LOOK THROUGH THE ADVOCATE’S ARCHIVES

Learning from the past is a big part of why we study history: It can help inform decisions made about the future.

The Advocate is in its 53rd year, and after digging through our newspaper archives, previous reporting on Mt. Hood’s KMHD FM radio station was uncovered from the 1980s when it first went live on, as well as articles from 2009 when the station moved to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) offices in Southwest Portland.

More context has also been uncovered from board meeting minutes from the spring of 2009, when the MHCC-OPB partnership was initially proposed.

KMHD’S FOUNDING

In the Jan. 13, 1984 issue of the Advocate, it was reported that KMHD went live on Jan. 2, following the many years of planning and learning that went into getting approved for an FM license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The jazz format was chosen to complement the college’s annual Festival of Jazz and, according to John Rice, then KMHD manager, also to avoid competition with other local radio stations. However, this formatting didn’t reflect the listening habits of students at the time, who reportedly preferred variations of rock.

In the April 24, 2009 issue, Rice said that the station was founded in 1977 as an assignment from then-MHCC President R. Stephen Nicholson to help promote MHCC beyond its service district in east Multnomah County.

Rice also mentioned in the May 1, 2009 Advocate that part of Nicholson’s assignment was for broadcasting students to work for KMHD. Students were involved from Day One, and outside volunteers weren’t needed the first few years. The Jan. 6, 1984 issue of the Advocate referred to KMHD-FM as the “live laboratory” for MHCC radio students.

MANAGEMENT STRUGGLES

Before KMHD moved to OPB, the station was without a true manager for the 2008-09 school year, and as reported in the April 24, 2009 issue, tensions were high between volunteers, staff, and students.

According to the article, one volunteer DJ, Tom D’Antoni, wanted the whole staff fired and a major overhaul made in order to solve personnel relations. This falls in line with what former KMHD employees have recently said about the differences between how volunteers thought the station should be run, and how the college thought it should be run. Without a manager, the tensions weren’t resolved.

It’s unclear why that management position was never filled following Doug Sweet’s departure in the summer of 2008.

Despite strained relationships and a lack of leadership, KMHD continued to have student involvement through its last term on campus.

PAST PROCESS

The proposal to partner with OPB came at the April 8, 2009 MHCC District Board meeting where 29 people addressed the board, both for and against the proposal.

Included in those meeting minutes is a letter dated April 1, 2009 from Steve Bass, president and CEO of OPB to then-MHCC President John “Ski” Sygielski. It summarized the main goals of the partnership, which included a paragraph about Mt. Hood students.

Bass wrote, “We are eager to engage MHCC students as interns in various areas of OPB, including television and radio production, web design, journalism, interactive and educational services and other areas. These avenues will give them significant real world experience which will help in their employment prospects.”

The letter concludes with Bass looking forward to “working with MHCC to enhance its core educational mission to the East County region.”

As explained in recent Advocate articles on the matter, MHCC students have in fact had no involvement with KMHD since its move to OPB.

Also included in the board meeting minutes was a ‘Challenges’ and ‘Benefits’ table regarding the partnership. “Lack of integration with academic programs” is listed as a challenge, while its counterpart was the internship opportunity potential at OPB.

Another challenge listed was, “Lack of adequate physical space for operations (at MHCC).” In the April 3, 2009 issue of the Advocate, Mary Burlingame, KMHD development associate (a fundraising position) said the radio station had been made to give up more and more campus space over the years until it was “located in the smallest amount of space possible.”

That said, the operating space still exists on Mt. Hood’s campus and is fully functional to run KMHD if it were to return to campus, said JD Kiggins, who heads the Integrated Media broadcast program.

In the April 3, 2009 issue of the Advocate, it was reported that Burlingame and Gregory Gomez, then-KMHD music director, met with Sygielski, who told them he’d come to them for input if the proposal failed.

Gomez told the Advocate last month (October 2018) about another meeting in 2009, where Sygielski told KMHD staff what was happening with the relocation and why it was happening, without much choice.

Burlingame and Gomez spoke during the public comments portion of the April 2009 MHCC board meeting, but were denied the opportunity to speak at the May board meeting, according to the May 15, 2009 issue of the Advocate. Before the latter meeting, the board announced that anyone who spoke in April would not be allowed to speak again at the May meeting.

CURRENT PROCESS

Currently, Mt. Hood’s board members are giving time and consideration in how to move KMHD forward. The history of the station is just one of the many things they will need to consider in shaping its future.