KPCA, local radio station, goes live this month

The station will debut with interview, call-in and politcal commentary shows.|

KPCA, a Petaluma low-power community radio station is debuting this month, streaming at kpca.fm, with radio broadcasting at 103.3 FM expected no later than June.

“We’ll have a lot of content, a lot of excitement,” said Executive Director John Bertucci in a late January phone interview with the Argus-Courier.

The initial broadcasts will be tests by people who want to produce shows.

“It’ll be haphazard, a trial run for internet connectivity,” Bertucci said adding there won’t be a schedule available until the impending radio website is completed. “It’ll be an unfolding adventure.”

Bertucci, a native Petaluman, has an exciting history as a producer, director and editor of independent films throughout the United States and Europe for almost 40 years.

He lived in France, while working in French TV for 15 years. His travels for video media, included covering Formula 1 racing in Bologna, rock ’n’ roll attitudes in London, a street under siege in Sarajevo, and ceremonial life in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

In Petaluma, he’s worked in various capacities at Petaluma Community Access (PCA), since 1999, becoming the executive director in 2008.

“I believe in communication and creativity,” he said. “Facilitating other people’s creativity is a thrill to me.”

PCA is a public membership TV and radio nonprofit resource. Its mission is to promote freedom of expression in a public voice, provide access to communication tools and foster the use of media.

Its first attempt at a radio station, almost 20 years ago, failed, due to lack of hands-on support and financial resources. Its current Federal Communications Commission license, granted in early 2015, expires this September, but Bertucci said “I’m not worried.”

KPCA now has a functioning broadcast studio, but finding a good antenna site for radio broadcasting is a complicated process. Right now, the station has a memorandum of understanding with Petaluma Junior College to install an antenna on its campus, though Bertucci said, “We haven’t taken out a hammer yet.”

The range of the junior college’s signal will include the majority of Petaluma, but to get up and running, KPCA needs backing.

“We’re going to need considerable community support. We’re starting to establish a volunteer pool and already have a list of 85 people who have shows they want to develop,” said Bertucci adding that amateurs are also welcome, with all necessary training provided, but on a first come-first served basis. “We highly value anybody who walks in the door and says they want to make television or radio. We’ll mentor them and help them get their show on the air.”

A poll of these 85 applicants points toward a schedule that will include approximately 65 percent music programs. Filling out the lineup will likely be interview and call-in shows, religious shows and possibly political commentary.

One program being discussed would be produced by the Petaluma Radio Players, who do “dramatic radio performances, like old-time radio with sound effects,” Bertucci indicated. “As a public access station, we’re not responsible for the content. We’re restricted from getting too involved.”

Sunday, Feb. 26, is the second-annual gala benefit for KPCA - “The Envelope Please,” promoted as a way to raise funds and celebrate the success of PCA. Petaluma’s Mystic Theatre will host the event starting at 4 p.m., with a red carpet welcome leading to a big-screen viewing of the 89th Academy Awards at 5:30 p.m.

The admission price of $60 includes a champagne toast. There will also be raffles, door prizes, appetizers and a no-host bar. Guests are invited to dress up, and the tuxedo-clad Tom Gaffey, the Phoenix Theater’s general manager, will emcee.

“We could fill up real quick,” Bertucci said. “We can handle about 100 people.”

Tickets are now available at www.pca.tv or at the PCA office at 205 Keller St., Suite 102, where visitors are always welcome. For further questions, or if you want to donate in other ways, email contact@pca.tv or call 773-3190.

“We will not succeed without support from the community,” Bertucci said. “This is about learning to work with others, to work with new technology, to express yourself, to share your interests, to shine a light on our community.”

(Contact Robert Feuer at argus@arguscourier.com)

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