Since 1961, KCSB-FM (broadcasting on 91.9 FM in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties) has offered the opportunity to develop broadcast content for air and to learn technical and communications skills.
The oldest of all of UC radio stations, our studios are located beneath Storke Tower at UC Santa Barbara. More than a university radio station, KCSB is a hybrid of college and community radio, where students learn leadership and organizational skills as they work with an eclectic group of personalities of all ages and backgrounds in a student operated, multi-generational, volunteer-collective organization.
KCSB has been recognized as a champion of free speech and a key advocate for civil liberties by challenging excessive government limits on creative expression and by providing in-depth coverage of antiwar, social, racial, and economic justice activism.
Our news team delivered daily COVID-19 pandemic email updates for Santa Barbara County and earned praise by Gauchos and their parents for keeping them informed. In 2020, KCSB was named ‘Best Radio Station’ by readers of the SB Independent.
Now through February 24, KCSB is hosting our annual fund drive. It’s an opportunity for listeners and the greater community to learn more about KCSB’s mission on campus and beyond, and also to provide financial support for independent, educational, non commercial, freeform radio.
KCSB’s primary funding comes from student fees, which cover student and career staff salaries and most operating costs. Listener support supplements that generous student financing and is directed towards public events that serve our greater community. These donations also provide discretionary funds as needs arise.
Much of our local history, observed from the rarely-heard youth perspective, has been captured on open reels, cassettes, and other at-risk, physical media formats, and we're working towards preserving them for posterity.
Some of the audio archives have been chronicled in radio documentaries such as There where the Bank Burned,commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Isla Vista riots of 1969-70.
You don’t have to take our word for it. Read why KCSB rocks by the SB Independent’s Josef Woodard, who once had his own show on KCSB. DJ Palladino recounts our 50th anniversary celebration here. And, this Radio Survivor storytakes you inside KCSB.
PS: You can meet some of our KCSB DJs, broadcasting live at Old Town Coffee in Goleta, 4-7pm, on Friday February 24th.
PPS: Visit https://www.kcsb.org/fund-drive-2023 to learn more, or call (805) 893-2424 to pledge your support to 91.9 KCSB-FM. You will have the opportunity to select a cool thank you gift for your donation.
By Lisa Osborn, Ted Coe, Jennifer Kiser and Keith Rozendal for KCSB FM.