3 generations of dissent - KPFA at 61Join us for a one day fund drive on April, 15, 2010  1946 Lewis Hill moves from Washington DC to the San Francisco Bay Area and begins work toward creating the first listener supported non-commercial radio station in the United States. 1949 Pacifica first goes on the air April 15 as KPFA 94.1 fm in Berkeley CA. 1950 Hill and others criticize the Korean War. Hill pledges on air not to cooperate with the war and to resist if drafted.1955 Poets Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti bring the Beat Generation to the airwaves. A few years later the FCC questions Pacifica's broadcast of some of their works as "vulgar, obscene and in bad taste."1957 Pacifica/KPFA wins its first George Foster Peabody Award for "distinguished service and meritorious public service" for programming that takes strong issue with McCarthyism.1958 Nuclear war and the arms race are debated on the air by Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling and Edward Teller, the "Father of the H-Bomb."Thank you for your continuous support, please make a donation   1960 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requests a tape of a Pacifica broadcast of poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti that it found "in bad taste" with "strong implications against religion, government, the president, law-enforcement and racial groups"-- and demands full information on Pacifica finances and governance.1962 KPFK broadcasts women's history profiles of Dorothy Healey and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn--programs that are later used in SISS Hearings charging Pacifica is communist infiltrated. 1962 WBAI is the first station to publicly broadcast former FBI agent Jack Levine's expose of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. The program is followed by threats of arrests and bombings, as well as pressure from the FBI, the Justice Department, and major broadcast networks. The FBI produces a dossier of all Pacifica station staff and board members, which it gives to the Senate Internal Security Committee (SISS) to assist in its investigation of Pacifica.1965 WBAI reporter Chris Koch is the first U.S. citizen to cover the war from North Vietnam.1967 Pacifica broadcasts a live interview with Latin American leader Che Guevara months before he is killed in Bolivia.Thank you for your continuous support, please make a donation  1973 Pacifica provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Senate Watergate hearings.1974 The Symbionese Liberation Army delivers the Patty hearts tapes to KPFA/Berkeley and KPFK/Los Angeles. KPFK manager Will Lewis is jailed for refusing to turn the tapes over to the FBI.1975 Comedian George Carlin's "dirty words you can't say on television" routine, broadcast by WBAI/New York in 1973, leads to several years of First Amendment litigation and a hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court. No sanctions are imposed, but the Carlin Case sets the limits of broadcasting for over a decade. 1976 Saul Landau's Pacfica documentary on the assassination of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier is instrumental in piecing together evidence that later convicts the murderers.1978 The Pacifica Radio News begins to distribute news services to 20 non-Pacifica stations across the U.S. and Canada and expands international coverage by establishing correspondents in a number of foreign capitals.Thank you for your continuous support, please make a donation  1980 Pacifica interviews Sister Ita Ford a few days before she is murdered in El Salvador.1982 After years of development by women and people of color, the KPFA Apprentice Program is formally established as an intensive training program in broadcast skills. It is now the most comprehensive program of its kind in the country.1985 Pacifica broadcasts its first editorial, condemning the apartheid South African government. Pacifica Chair Jack O'Dell calls upon U.S. citizens to bring pressure on the White House to cut all ties with South Africa on the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising.1987 Pacifica's coverage of the Iran-Contra affair is carried by 33 stations and wins two national journalism awards.Thank you for your continuous support, please make a donation  1990 Pacifica declines two NEA grants because of content restrictions attached to the funds.1993 Pacifica wins its third Court of Appeals ruling in six years, overturning the FCC restrictions on "indecent" programming as unconstitutional restrictions of the First Amendment rights of the radio audience.1993 Amy Goodman, WBAI News Director and co-anchor of WBAI's Morning Show, wins the following awards for the program "Massacre: The Story of East Timor": Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Award for International Reporting; Unda-Gabriel Award for Nationally Distributed News and Information; Radio &Television News Directors Award; and the Unity in Media Award from Lincoln University.1996 Pacifica launches Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez's Democracy Now! as the only daily election show in public broadcasting. Due to popular demand, Democracy Now! continues beyond the presidential elections, soon becoming Pacificaâ€TMs flagship news and public affairs program.1996 Former California Governor and future mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown hosts "We the People" on KPFA, a daily talk show that features interviews with Noam Chomsky, Paolo Soleri, Ivan Illich, and Gore Vidal.2001 On December 12th the Pacifica board and dissident groups sign a settlement that leads to the democratization of the Pacifica radio network. KPFA listener-subscribers win the right to vote for representatives on their local station board.... and the legacy continues. More at www.kpfa.org/history  Thank you for the crucial role you have played in helping KPFA thrive for half a century with your financial support! Please give today so KPFA can remain independent for generations to come.  Visit our donations page .  Its fast, easy and secure!