KRVM Mission
"To provide quality community radio while educating area high school students and volunteers in the techniques of broadcasting."
It is the mission of KRVM to serve the community interest by producing an innovative, unique and diverse radio program of both entertainment and information. It is also the mission of KRVM to provide access to all ages of the community who wish to add to their communication experience. KRVM's mission is to deliver a consistently professional program, utilizing students and a volunteer staff.
Weekday programming on KRVM is an Adult Album Alternative (Triple A) mix from new and established performers. Each weekday, you'll never hear the same song between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. In addition to our daytime programming of Adult Album Alternative music, we feature a wide variety of specialty shows in the evening and on weekends.
KRVM is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, halfway between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascades, about midpoint in the western half of the state of Oregon, smack dab in the center of Lane County. Our broadcast signal covers the southern half of the Willamette Valley and a section of the Oregon Coast from Florence (where you can reach us on K211BP at 90.1 FM) to the Reedsport-Coos Bay and North Bend area (on KSYD at 92.1 FM). We are heard by more than 20,000 people, mostly adults 19-54.
Licensed to and owned by School District 4J, Lane County's largest school district, KRVM offers an opportunity for students to learn radio broadcasting in a real working environment. Our mix of education in public broadcasting and an adult listenership provides a marketable service that generates about 40% of our funds from underwriter support. The remaining funds are provided by listener support and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, our most recent funding source.
Our History
Educational radio stations were among the first to take to the air in the early twenties when public interest in broadcasting reached its peak; ironically, they were among the first of the licensees to be forced off the air as the federal government sharply tightened its regulations governing hours of operation, technical equipment required, and the need for licensed operators.
Not until the close of WW II did the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) make a conciliatory gesture to educational stations. After 1945, the opening of a new FM broadcast band by the FCC extended FM from 88 to 108 megahertz. The first 20 channels were reserved exclusively for educational station use!
KRVM was the thirteenth in the nation to take to the air using the aforementioned new mode of broadcasting; the first in the entire Pacific Northwest.
Since 1942, the concept of an educational radio station to be located in Eugene had been thoroughly discussed. If established, KRVM would have a dual function. The first purpose was to use KRVM as a training laboratory for men and women eager to qualify for technical and programming jobs; the second purpose was to use KRVM for the transmission of educational and informational programs for use in the classrooms of Eugene's elementary and junior high schools. (The senior high schools offered too many scheduling problems.)
KRVM no longer broadcasts educational programs to the schools for in-classroom instruction. Instead, it focuses on the training of high school students for careers in radio broadcasting, and also produces many programs for the general public.
KRVM went "live" promptly at 10:00 a.m., December 6, 1947 broadcast from the studios at 4th and Madison in Eugene, Oregon. KRVM was the first of 3 educational stations in Lane County. KRVM was Eugene's first FM station and Eugene's fourth radio station.
Broadcast Coverage Area
KRVM 91.9 FM provides a strong signal throughout the southern Willamette Valley. In addition, FM radio repeaters serve Reedsport and Coos Bay on the Oregon coast, and listeners worldwide can tune in via the Internet.