Tensions heat up over the potential sale of KUSF to USC

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San Francisco volunteers from Save KUSF recently raised enough money for a lawyer to be able to petition the proposed sale of KUSF to the University of Southern California before, they say, it's too late.

"Something that I've given my heart and time for over a decade to has been taken away," Save KUSF media director Irwin Swirnoff said. "This is a deal that doesn't respect the idea of localism that's so important in our culture and for our community here in San Francisco."

The Federal Communications Commission has yet to approve the transfer of license, but the consideration will begin after February 26th.

"What they're looking at in a license-transfer situation like this one is, is the entity that the license would be transferred to fit to operate a radio station," USC Radio president Brenda Barnes said. "And that's the only issue they really consider when making these decisions."

But Swirnoff fears the impact that losing the station would have on the community.

"It would have a drastic impact on the community here in San Francisco," Swirnoff said. "KUSF not only programmed amazing and diverse music, but it also had really rich cultural programming, which reached so many of the diverse cultures and communities that make us our vibrant city, including Chinese Star Radio, which is one of the only news sources in Cantonese for our large Chinese population here in San Francisco."