About
An Overview of KCHU Public Radio
KCHU is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and is publicly supported by the listeners throughout a 46,000 square mile broadcast area. The station serves seven communities around Prince William Sound and the Copper River Basin. KCHU is repeated by translators in Cordova, Whittier, Tatitlek, Chenega Bay and Chitina, and is carried by two full-service licensed stations in McCarthy and Glennallen.
The mission of KCHU is to make public radio available to everyone in the Prince William Sound and Copper River regions through the most appropriate technology.
As a public station in Alaska, KCHU may broadcast messages and announcements for remote listeners who do not have phones or other methods of communication known as “bush messages.” Because KCHU is the only radio station available in some of the listening area, KCHU tries to offer a wide variety of entertainment, including diverse music options, news and educational programs. KCHU also participates in the Emergency Broadcast System.
KCHU presently serves Valdez, Glennallen, Copper Center, Cordova, the Native Village of Tatitlek, Ellamar, Chenega Bay, Whittier, McCarthy, Tok, and all of the Wrangell St Elias National Park.
Programming Sources
National and International News. Available from National Public Radio and other national networks and local affiliates.
Statewide News and Regional Call-Ins. Alaska Public Radio Network and COAST Alaska.
Local News, Public Service Announcements, and Programs. Local staff and volunteers.
Timeline
1980: Formation
KCHU incorporated as a 501(c)3 October 12, 1980 as Prince William Sound Public Broadcasting, Inc.
1982: Name Change
The corporation changed its name to Terminal Radio, Inc. (TRI) and began receiving funds from the Alaska Public Radio Commission.
1984: Site Donation
A construction permit, frequency allocation and a transmitter site lease with the City of Valdez were donated to TRI.
1985: Transmitter
Work on the transmitter site began in September.
1986: On the Air
KCHU signed on August 2, 1986 at 1,000 watts as a repeater for KSKA in Anchorage. Independent broadcast began in October 1986.
1990: Upgrade
KCHU upgraded to 10,000 watts, which allowed for a strong 770 AM signal. The station chose AM to better serve the maritime operations in the region as that frequency carries more effectively across the waters of Prince William Sound. The 10,000 Watts carries KCHU to the barrier islands and throughout the sound.
2025: 770 AM Goes Dark
On August 6, the AM tower had to be removed for safety reasons. Stream bank erosion by the Valdez Glacier stream caused the tower to be permanently damaged. Two days later, broadcasting began on FM 91.3 from the Valdez in-town tower.
Staff
James Devens
Director of Programming and Operations
This position is responsible for what’s on the air, scheduling, production, programming, emergency broadcast, and equipment
James Smith (Valdez)
President – Term Expires 2026
Dennis Humphrey (Valdez)
Vice-President – Term expires 2028
VACANT
Member – Term expires 2026
John Anderson (Valdez)
Member – Term expires 2027
Mason Mullen (Valdez)
Member – Term expires 2026
VACANT
Member – Term expires 2027
Pete Carter (Valdez)
Member- – Term expires 2027
Donna Lane (Valdez)
Member – Term expires 2028
Janis Johnson (Valdez)
Member – Term expires 2028
Board of Directors
The KCHU Board of Directors meets monthly at the KCHU business office at 128 Pioneer Drive in Valdez and via teleconference. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information call 907-831-6801 or email bod@kchu.org (Note, public attendance is meant to be an opportunity to observe.)
If you would like to address the board at a meeting, please use the email above to contact the Board President well in advance so that your topic and name can be added to the agenda.)
Community Advisory Board
The Community Advisory Board Members are KCHU’s ears in the community. The CAB takes input from KCHU membership and members of the communities in our listening area and uses it to advise our General Manager on programming decisions such as new programs, changing broadcast times of specific programs, replacing one program with another, etc.
All public radio stations that receive federal funds are required to have a Community Advisory Board. Ours meets about once per quarter. If you are interested in joining the Community Advisory Board, email cab@kchu.org or call 835-4665
Legal Description
Grantees other than those owned by a state, a political or special purpose subdivision of a state or a public agency must have a CAB. The CAB responsibilities include:
- The right to review the station’s programming goals
- The right to review the service provided by the station
- The right to review significant policy decisions rendered by the station
- The obligation to advise the station’s governing body on whether the station’s programming and other significant policies are meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station, and to make recommendations that the CAB deems appropriate to meet such needs (47 U.S.C. § 396(k)(8)).
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between public and commercial radio?
That’s a big question, but it’s an important one. We are definitely two different animals. In fact, the only similarity is that we use radio waves and streaming to broadcast our content.
Why should I become a member?
Members are vital to radio. You’re our source of:
- Funds unrestricted by grant requirements. These funds are available for emergencies as well as items not covered by our grants
- Required Local Match-Federal grants require a specific amount of local support as an indication of local interest and commitment.
- Our membership is the top of the Organizational Chart-Members elect the Board of Directors from among their number. They serve on our Community Advisory Board. A quorum of the membership is required to change our by laws.
- Members supply our volunteer pool, whithout which we couldn’t operate.
How do I put something on the Billboard?
The billboard is a daily listing of community events and messages. To include something in the KCHU Billboard send an email listing Who, What, When and Where to billboard@kchu.org, fax to 835-2847 or call 835-5080 or 800-478-5080. There is an answering machine on that line if no one is here to take your call. Items are listed first come, first serve, usually beginning a week before the listed date. Time on the Billboard is limited, so please get your item in as early as possible.
What’s wrong with my reception?
Terminal Radio Inc broadcasts in AM in Valdez to better serve the maritime and vessels in Prince William Sound. AM transmits more efficiently over water than FM which has a limited in range. There are repeaters for the FM signals in Glennallen & McCarthy, these act to cover the listening area but due to the Mountainous terrain combined with low valleys reception is impacted by your surroundings. If you live in a dense, rural or mountainous portion of the listening area it is possible peaks or hills may block or divert your signal.
Weather can impact our service to your area. If you normally have clear reception and have a break in service, Call us! At 907-835-4665 During business hours Monday through Friday and 1-800-478-5080.
Anyone can stream KCHU Live! online, and on mobile devices. Go to kchu.org/listen
What do I do if you go off the air?
Call us, please! It’s possible you are the first to notice and you can improve response time on an outage by calling 835-4665 or 1-800-478-5080. If there is no one at the station, please leave a message.
Please leave these important details:
- Where you are listening
- When you noticed the break in service
- and any other information you might have.
- We appreciate you!
There are many different reasons why your radio has dead air;
- It could be a problem with the program we download or air live from national distributors
- There could be a failure of equipment in the station
- There may be problems with the translators,
- Or a myriad of other variables and possibilities, you’d be surprised!
It may take time to troubleshoot and fix the problem. Thank you for your patience in advance! We also thank our devoted members, listeners, volunteers and community for the support they offer KCHU annually.
Message us on Facebook to let us know when there’s a problem or contact us via phone or email. You can leave a message on the phone outside of business hours.
What if I hear a program I’ve heard already?
There are many reasons why a particular program may repeat.
- Sometimes the program itself has scheduled an ‘encore presentation’. There’s nothing we can do about that.
- Sometimes there is no new content available. In this case we will continue to repeat what we have until either new content becomes available or we replace whatever it is with a different program.
- Sometimes due to technical problems somewhere along the line, a program doesn’t download and our automated system airs the one that is there from the previous broadcast.
If what you are hearing is for the wrong day or date or is the same episode you heard the last time the program was on, give us a call and let us know so we can check out what happened if we haven’t already.
You can call 255-KCHU (5248) or 1-800-478-5080 any time day or night. If it’s outside normal business hours, you can leave a message.
What is Terminal Radio Inc?
Terminal Radio Inc. is the legal corporate name for KCHU, KXGA, KXKM, and the translators in the Copper River Basin and Prince William Sound. Terminal Radio is often referred to as KCHU alone, but that is just a small part of the reach of the station. Terminal Radio Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) with the main office located in Valdez and repeater stations in Glennallen (KXGA 90.5FM), and McCarthy (KXKM 89.7FM), and translators in Cordova (88.1FM), Chenega Bay (88.1FM), Tatitlek (88.1FM), and Whittier (88.3FM).
The broadcast range is almost the size of the State of Ohio or 48,000 Square Miles. The repeater stations in Glennallen and McCarthy are fully licensed and when the population in those areas can support them, they have the potential to operate as stand-alone stations with staff and locally produced programs. At the moment, there are portable studios (a laptop & microphone) located in Cordova, Whittier, Glennallen and McCarthy.