KNOM

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KNOM-AM/FM
City of license	Nome, Alaska
Broadcast area	Western Alaska
Branding	KNOM
Slogan	Alaska Radio Mission
First air date	AM: 1971 FM: 1993
Frequency	AM 780 (kHz) FM 96.1 (MHz)
Format	News, Regional, Country, Pop, Inspirational
ERP	AM: 25,000 watts day 14,000 watts night FM: 1,000 watts
Class	N
Owner	Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska
Website	[1]

KNOM is a non-commercial Catholic radio station in Nome, Alaska, broadcasting at 780 AM and 96.1 FM. The station owner and licensee is the Catholic Bishop of Northern Alaska. The FM signal is 1000 watts and covers the city of Nome and immediately surrounding environs. The AM signal is 25 kilowatts and can be heard as far north as Barter Island and as far south as the Alaska Peninsula, with regular coverage of approximately 100,000 square miles. Its signal penetrates deep into the Russian Far East.

Contents 1 KNOM and the People of KNOM's Coverage Area 2 History 3 Facts about KNOM 4 Controversy

[edit] KNOM and the People of KNOM's Coverage Area

Western Alaska is a vast, remote region, dotted by small Eskimo, Athabascan Indian and Aleut villages, ranging in size from a few dozen occupants to upward of one thousand. A varying but high percentage of residents, depending upon the individual village, hunt, trap and fish and gather plants to feed their families. The majority of adults are unemployed, and poverty levels generally exceed 35%. The incidence of alcoholism, accidental death, suicide, child sexual abuse and domestic violence are the highest in the United States. Median age of death is 43.

Villages in KNOM's coverage area lie 300 to 700 miles from the nearest highway. All transportation is by air; during the summer by boat, or during the winter by snowmobile.

Even in 1971, when KNOM signed on the air, there were too few priests, nuns and volunteers to serve the widely scattered, largely Roman Catholic population of the Yukon River Delta, and other points of Catholicism, such as remote Little Diomede, on the International Date Line. Among KNOM's objectives is to bring Mass and the Rosary into homes in places which rarely saw a Church worker.

Another element is shorter, frequent religious programming that is designed to inspire, along with elements that address the terrible social burdens which Western Alaskans suffer, that are aimed to help them improve their lives, while providing positive entertainment, important information, encouragement and companionship.

[edit] History

KNOM-AM went on air with 10,000 Watts on July 14, 1971, after several years of work by volunteers, who gathered the money for the equipment, filled out the paperwork with Federal Communications Commission, built the station, and assembled its broadcasting equipment.

The station is a mission of the Catholic church and exists to educate, entertain, and inspire its listeners. When it began, it was staffed entirely by volunteers. Approximately 90% of the funding came from full-time volunteers, chiefly nurses who worked at the hospital in Nome and donated their salaries. While the senior positions are now filled by salaried staff, there is still a core group of dedicated full-time volunteers. In the mission's history, nearly 300 volunteers have served the station.

The original studio building was an old remodeled house, and the original AM transmitter building, three miles east of Nome, was a retired construction trailer which the station bought for $300. Volunteer dormitories were "K-D" (knock-down) structures. Intended as temporary offices and housing for the military in World War II, these leaky and unsafe dorms were considered an extreme fire risk. From the station's earliest days, it was clear that these facilities were deteriorating and becoming dangerous. Further, poor insulation at the studio was sapping up to 5,000 gallons of fuel oil a year.

In 1992, contributors gave the station the money to construct a new, super-insulated dormitory, and that year, donated the $438,000 it would cost to replace the studio.

May 17, 1993 saw KNOM's first broadcast from the new building. That same morning, low power KNOM-FM signed on, providing Nome area listeners with a high fidelity stereo signal.

Like the dormitory, the studio's walls are fifteen inches thick. Floor and ceiling have 38 inches of insulation.

On January 9, 1996, KNOM increased its hours of daily operation from 18 to 24.

August 16, 1997, in a newly constructed transmitter building, KNOM-AM increased power to 25,000 Watts.

From 1975 - 2005, the mission station was managed by Tom Busch, KNOM's original volunteer chief engineer. In April 2005, Busch stepped down to move to Anchorage as KNOM's development director, replaced by ten-year director of programming Ric Schmidt, 7-year manager of Catholic station KBVM-FM, Portland, Oregon, also a former KNOM volunteer.

[edit] Facts about KNOM

Ninety-seven percent (2005-2006) of the station's income is gifts from individual donors across the country, who respond to appeals and the monthly newsletter, known as The Nome Static, which has been published every month since September 1966. KNOM does not air commercials and does not ask listeners for money. Instead, the station plays a variety of educational, informational, inspirational spots, and segment sponsors from local businesses.

The oldest Catholic radio station in the United States, KNOM broadcasts the Mass and Rosary and many other religious programs.

From its first day on the air, however, its general format has been one that is designed to attract a huge audience, particularly people who would never listen to a religious radio station — people who might need one the most. Most programs are deejayed popular music from many genres, with educational and inspirational spots sprinkled among the music like commercials.

A high percentage of these spots are produced by the station. Approximately 1,000 individual spots air yearly. Most spots receive about 68 airings over a monthly period.

The station is also dedicated to honest, accurate news, with 2-1/2 persons responsible for reporting and anchoring news and public affairs interviews and programs. The majority of these programs discuss vital regional issues.

According to a professional audience measurement survey by Eastlan and Associates of Seattle, while most villages which can hear KNOM can also pick up one or more other stations, listenership ranges from 76% to 100%, depending on the village.

KNOM has won numerous awards, including four National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Awards for Excellence, Fourteen Gabriel awards for Station of the Year from the Catholic Academy of Communications Arts Professionals, two Marconi awards for religious station of the year from the National Association of Broadcasters, and numerous Goldie awards from the Alaska Broadcasters Association.

[edit] Controversy

Father James Poole, the radio stations founder is currently retired, and living in Spokane Washington. Father Poole has faced six accusations from young women throughout the region in Alaska where he worked during his ministry. The most recent allegation was filed in 2006 from a young woman who claims to have been abused for eight years during her childhood. The woman alleges the abuse — including sexual intercourse — occurred on "innumerable occasions" over the eight-year period. Poole told Jane Doe 5 not to tell anyone and threatened her with consequences if she did, according to the complaint, which is seeking at least $100,000. The plaintiff is identified as Jane Doe 5. She is the latest of six women to allege abuse by the Rev. James Poole. Jane Doe 1, who later identified herself as Elsie Boudreau, and another woman, Patricia Hess, have reached monetary settlements with the Jesuits and the Fairbanks diocese.