Stars Help Keep Radio Station on the Air

Hollywood came to the rescue of a small, struggling radio station that went into debt trying to cover the Exxon Valdez oil spill and emerged from a celebrity auction Sunday in the black.

Ironically, two items touting Exxon safety raised more money in a Saturday night auction benefiting radio station KCHU than Jane Fonda’s leotards or Robert Redford’s autographed picture or other items donated by film and television stars.

But nothing beat the $5,000 pledged by Barbra Streisand during an earlier, weeklong pledge drive to help the 1,000-watt public station stay on the air and continue to cover the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Staff Covered Spill

A few weeks after the March 24 grounding of the Exxon Valdez, the station serving the Prince William Sound communities had spent money budgeted to last until June 30, the end of its fiscal year, by extensively covering spill events. Temporary news director Claire Richardson not only covered the story for KCHU but also provided reports to stations around the country, and station manager Dave Hammock anchored live statewide broadcasts of spill-related news conferences.

Operations manager Mary Beth Joyce said the station was in danger of going off the air, despite an emergency grant from the city of Valdez to pay salaries, staff help from the Alaska Public Radio Network and pledges of support from listeners.

Exxon offered $32,000 to the network, with one-third going to the Valdez station, but public radio officials rejected the donation to avoid a conflict of interest.

Autographed items from celebrities that were auctioned off included a book from Jeff Bridges that earned $155; a sweat shirt from “Cheers” star Ted Danson that brought $100; Redford’s picture, which went for $50; Fonda’s tights, which fetched $100, and a Patrick Swayze poster that was good for $45. The “L.A. Law” cast sent pictures and a hat.

Exxon Items Auctioned

But two minor, once-innocuous Exxon items proved valuable collector’s items when auctioned. A 1987 Exxon safety award belt buckle earned $250. And a prized 1989 mint-condition Exxon calendar, donated anonymously and featuring the wrecked tanker, drew a winning bid of $200. Each month featured an Exxon ship, and March proudly featured the Exxon Valdez under the heading, “Take Time to Be Careful Now.”

Joyce said the station needed to raise $25,000 to make it to the July 1 start of the next fiscal year. When all the money was added up Sunday, the station had raised $40,000--$27,000 from the weeklong, on-air pledge drive, $8,000 from the auction and $5,000 from Streisand.