South Seattle Radio Station KVRU 105.7 Has New, Community-Based Owners

After seven years of operation, South Seattle radio station KVRU 105.7 FM has a new owner and operator.

Media for Informed Communities, headed by political consultant and Hacks & Wonks podcast host Crystal Fincher and King County director of equity, racial and social justice Monisha Harrell, is taking the reins from Seattle arts organization SouthEast Effective Development (SEED) and SEEDArts. Continuing to broadcast from KVRU's station on Rainier and 33rd Avenue South, the new leadership is bringing the low-power radio station into this year with fresh eyes, fresh goals, and an even greater focus on community during a trying political and social climate.

"KVRU has been a great asset for the community," said Harrell in a recent interview. "Particularly at a time when there's a lot of disinformation and misinformation … to be able to have a resource [like KVRU] that can be trusted and humanizing, that can uplift the community versus using the community as a commodity in a for-profit effort."

"We see ourselves as a part of this community and a hub for connection," said Fincher, a former KVRU programmer. "I think connection is something we are sorely lacking. We've lost so many spaces and have gotten away from connecting with each other in real life. I think the station's ability to do that is really important."

KVRU 105.7 FM's bedrock has always been about reflecting the diversity of the 98144 ZIP code. As one of the 15 hyperlocal (meaning a broadcast radius of around 3.5 miles) Puget Sound-area radio stations formed after the Obama administration made FCC-approved low-power frequencies more available in 2015, SEED has invested $750,000 in getting KVRU up and running. Since its first broadcast in 2017, the radio station has programmed shows dedicated to local politics, music, culture, and sports, as well as hosted podcasting workshops and media classes for the community.

Last year, SEED decided to formally transition ownership and operations of the radio station out of its organization's hands and into the community-owned and -operated venture, which had been its goal since it first acquired the frequency.

"We really wanted to ensure that the new owners and operators were going to be responsive to the Southeast Seattle community — that they were from the community and would keep the station for the benefit of this community," said Kathy Fowells, SEEDArts director, who added that it was particularly challenging to find a group that wanted to use the station on Rainier Avenue.

"We wanted to make sure that it would be accessible to any community member who wanted to take a media arts class or a podcasting workshop," she continued. "We were so excited with the new group, Media for Informed Communities, that just really ticked all our boxes."

In this new iteration of KVRU, Fincher and Harrell want to expand the station's coverage to include local high school sports coverage and multilingual talk shows, and continue to showcase and platform cultures in and around South Seattle. Aiding them in this handoff is KVRU programming director Maurice Jones Jr., who has been with the station since 2018 and will continue his role in this new era.

Toward the end of last year, KVRU went on a hiatus and has been broadcasting mostly preprogrammed shows as SEED and Media for Informed Communities figured out the nuts and bolts of the transition. Right now, Fincher and Harrell are putting out an all-call to South Seattleites who are interested in becoming involved with KVRU, whether through hosting, volunteering, or both.

"We're open to talk about all ideas — interesting, unique, a different spin on something common," said Fincher. "If it's coming from the community, and especially if it can help serve, entertain, and inform the community, then we absolutely want to talk about that."

"Our community has so many facets and so many different interests, and so that's part of what we want to showcase," Harrell added. "We want people to bring the weird. We want people to bring the funky, the different. Because what they'll find is that they will find others who share those interests at the station."

As for timing, both Fincher and Harrell are keen to get the new KVRU up and running as soon as possible. Rather than having a concrete broadcasting date, they intend to build and debut shows as they come through, with a programming showcase coming at a later date.

Follow KVRU 105.7 FM's Instagram or go to its website for updates.