History of KPNI - SMU Radio

KSMU (now KPNI) first hit the airwaves in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II. By 1955, KSMU had taken over a former troop barrack located behind the Natatorium (currently the Mustang Band Hall) and broadcast on both the AM and FM dials.

Operating on a carrier current system, KSMU's signal became unbalanced, creating an annoying hum heard over the campus airwaves. In 1957, the station alleviated the problem by installing an antenna that caused the AM signal to wander off campus. Unfortunately for KSMU, the signal interfered with the signal of KSKY, who immediately complained to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC quickly revoked KSMU's FM license, making 1957 the last year for KSMU to legally be heard off campus.

The station fell into a state of disrepair and much of the idle equipment was stolen. In 1964, electrical engineer Dr. H. Charles Baker rebuilt the system in conjunction with Low Power Broadcasting Co., providing the station with another opportunity to prosper. Housed in the basement of the Umphrey Lee Student Center, the Student Media Company, Inc. financially supported KSMU. Station manager Marc McKinney and Dr. Baker brought the station back to life after almost two decades of silence.

Although KSMU enjoyed time on the air for the following three years, the music format was mediocre and had few listeners. Upon the leaders' graduation, the station's popularity plummeted. The lull was brief and, in 1969, under the leadership of station manager Chuck Conrad, program director Tom Albreitht, news director Glenn Mitchell, and Mike Howe, the station was quickly rebuilt.

Albreitht had been credited with initiating the enthusiasm needed to rebuild the station. Several other factors played in a role in KSMU's unprecedented success from 1969 to 1970, namely the fact that the radio scene was still AM-oriented and fairly competition-free.

The station's format was exclusively "progressive" and play lists were strictly regimented. The station and its members were, however, by no means conservative. In fact, Conrad said it became almost "naughty" to listen to the station in late 1970. At the same time, KSMU began to broadcast the signal on 98.3 FM in addition to broadcasting on a licensed AM frequency.

When the new leaders graduated, the FM station ceased to exist and without it, the station's listenership died. Success followed by failure seemed to have become an inevitable cycle for KSMU.

In late 1972, FM gained popularity, and KSMU applied for an FM license. The FCC granted it, but Willis Tate, then president of SMU, refused to provide his needed signature. University approval was finally obtained too late in 1975. The dial was overloaded, and the station's call letters were identical to those of Southwest Missouri State's licensed radio station.

KSMU's request was denied by the FCC, and it appeared KSMU would be confined to the campus and the AM dial. The station members did not like it, so in 1979, an FM system was installed using Park Cities Cable. Before the year ended, however, the system began to cause problems. Members of the station boosted the weak signal, causing it to run off campus. In 1980, an irate radio operator was refused airtime and as revenge, reported the wandering signal to the FCC. The FCC confiscated KSMU's transmitter.

From 1987 to 2003, KPNI (the call letters were changed in 1994 under station manager Sandra Garrison) was housed on the third floor of the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. KPNI was chartered as a student organization in 1989, thereby leaving the Student Media Company, Inc. With the help of the Student Senate and the Student Center, KPNI was broadcast in Hughes-Trigg via a direct connection to the PA system.

Between 1991 and 1994, an attempt was made to use the old carrier current system to inject the radio signal back into the dorms, but it wasn't long before the transmitters broke down completely. By the end of 1995, under the leadership of Pennington Ingley and with the support of Student Media Executive Director Dick Lytle, KPNI rejoined the Student Media Company, Inc. The move was most beneficial to the station, and in 1997, Lytle and Station Manager Jen Bradley devised another plan to broadcast campus wide, this time using AM and FM transmitters in nine residence halls, and began installing the necessary equipment.

In 2000, the FCC approved the use and registration of Low Power FM broadcasting, the staff of Student Media, Inc. and KPNI were hopeful the station could take advantage of the new legislation. Since a LPFM license would have to be held in the name of the university, members of the student and professional staffs began successfully gathering support from university officials and developing the necessary technical information.

Student Media Company, Inc. hired a firm to conduct a frequency search and identified one FM frequency available in the Dallas area that met the FCC's requirements. Shortly following the company's frequency search, Congress changed the criteria for Low Power FM signals before the filing window for Texas applications took place, eliminating the one available frequency in Dallas. After much deliberation, Student Media Company, Inc.'s Board of Directors chose not to pursue the application.

After the disappointing legislation eliminated KPNI's chance at a Low Power FM frequency in Dallas, Student Media Company, Inc. used a $20,000 grant from the Rapp Foundation of Oklahoma City to upgrade existing broadcast equipment and facilities and purchased the equipment necessary to stream KPNI's signal online. The station was able to stream for one month before conflicting developments in Washington D.C. made the Internet broadcasting too expensive to maintain.

Despite the many attempts to broadcast in the residence halls, many students could still not hear the station's broadcasts. Listenership again dwindled, and in 2003, the station - faced with few listeners and few interested participants - left Student Media Company, Inc. again to join the Meadows Division of Journalism.

In the fall of 2003, in an attempt to reach more listeners, Station Manager Emily Powell and Assistant Manager and Webmaster Brian Fox focused on revamping KPNI by obtaining a solid presence on the Internet. Fox created the station's new web page, and the station began broadcasting on the Internet shortly afterwards, on Oct. 18, 2003, to entertain a new worldwide audience.

Now, the station is part of the division's media convergence curriculum and broadcasts in the residence halls and on the Internet from the Belo-funded digital wing of the Journalism Division on the second floor of the Umphrey Lee Center in room 274. The station's eclectic format allows students, faculty and professors from all over the university to create, produce and edit their own shows after completing the DJ application process. KPNI also broadcasts shows on SMU-TV, channel 7 via Charter Communications in the Park Cities.