CREATE Now on Cable Channel #94

Mon, March 8, 2010

KAKM is pleased tonow provide CREATE on Cable Channel #94.

Tune in for all your favorite shows on gardening, cooking, sewing, painting, crafts and home repair.

And remember this the time to show your support for KAKM, now celebrating 35 years of serving Southcentral Alaska.

You can find the schedule for CREATE by clicking on TV Schedule above. Look for the CREATE schedule under KAKM 7.2.

Or you can find the entire month by clicking here. Remember, the times reflected on the monthly schedule, are Eastern Time Zone.

KAKM’ Anniversary Mug Highlights the Mat-Su

Mon, March 8, 2010

The image of the Pioneer Peak with Colony Barn & Silo was chosen to highlight KAKM’s service to the Mat-Su valleys.

The idea of the “pioneer” is especially important during our 35th Anniversary – as we reflect upon our past, and look toward an exciting future. It was designed by well-known Alaskan artist, Marianne Wieland.

Marianne came to Alaska in 1949 with her father, Buell A. Nesbett, Alaska first supreme court chief justice. She studied art at the University of Alaska, California College of Arts and Crafts, and San Francisco State College, receiving degrees in Fine Arts and Science.

Arctic themes pervade Marianne’s work – visual impressions of the far north, honed to their essential elements. Her style captures a sense of Alaska’s vast landscape and unique inhabitants through archetypal forms.

This mug marks the 20th Anniversary of Marianne Wieland designed KAKM etched coffee mugs.

KAKM Art Showcase Auction – 2010

Wed, March 3, 2010

Many thanks to our artists who contributed their works and to our volunteers and to our supporters for making this year’s auction a huge success.

The Winemakers: New Series for KAKM

Wed, November 18, 2009

THE WINE MAKERS is an exciting new television series for Public Television that leaves behind the predictable world of food and travel programs for the unscripted territory of real life wine makers.

Following in the tradition of hit series such as NBC’s “The Apprentice”, PBS’s “Frontier House” and Bravo’s “Top Chef” this premier season of THE WINE MAKERS joins twelve men and women from all walks of life, as they compete for a chance to create and launch their very own wine label. The stakes are high as this diverse group of men and women are plunged head first into one of the most uniquely challenging yet rewarding professions in the world. The contestants will experience every aspect of wine making from viticulture and enology to sales and marketing, but only one will launch their own wine label nationwide.

Part 1 and Part 2. Thursday, November 19. 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Part 3 and Part 4. Thursday, November 26. 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Part 5 and Conclusion. Thursday, December 3. 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Find out who wins and what local experts say about the winning wine: Thursday, December 3 at 7:00 p.m.

How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin

Fri, October 30, 2009

How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin is the extraordinary and untold story of how the Beatles punctured the Iron Curtain.

Monday, November 9. 9:00 p.m.

In August 1962, award-winning director Leslie Woodhead made a two-minute film, in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, with a raw and unrecorded group of unknown rockers — the Beatles.

Twenty-five years later, while making a series of films in Russia, Woodhead learned just how powerful Beatlemania was in the Soviet Union. Even though the Beatles never performed there, their music and rebellious style had soaked into the lives of a generation of Russian kids.

This film features personal stories from members of Russia’s Beatles generation, who talk about how the Fab Four changed their lives, gave them hope and helped to undermine the foundations of the Soviet system.

THE COMPLETE NOVEMBER SCHEDULE (Revised):

Nova: Becoming Human – Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors

Fri, October 30, 2009

Nova’s Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors, examines what the latest scientific research reveals about our hominid relatives—putting together the pieces of our human past and transforming our understanding of our earliest ancestors.

Part 1. Tuesday, November 3. 7:00 p.m.
Part 2. Tuesday, November 10. 7:00 p.m.
Part 3. Tuesday, November, 17. 7:00 p.m.

The three-part series is the first in-depth televised investigation documenting an explosion of recent discoveries. Featuring interviews with world-renowned scientists, each hour unfolds with a CSI-like forensic investigation into the life and death of a specific hominid ancestor.

Alaska Weather Specials: October

Thu, October 15, 2009

Each day during Alaska Weather (5:30pm, 7 days a week), our local National Weather Service meteorologists share weather updates with a statewide perspective, but they also share brief video “extras” that cover astronomy, aviation and aeronautics, weather, boating safety, navigation and emergency preparedness.

Here are the “Alaska Weather Extras” planned for October 5 through November 1, 2009 if you’d like to plan your viewing:

READ MORE →

Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings: Full coverage on channel 7.2

Tue, July 14, 2009

Beginning July 13, 2009 at 5:30 am (9:30 am ET) on KAKM Channel 7.2, PBS will provide full coverage of the Senate Confirmation Hearings for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor. NewsHour Senior Correspondent Judy Woodruff will anchor live coverage from the hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building, with analysis from Marcia Coyle of the National Law Journal. PBS will provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the days when Sotomayor is scheduled to testify before the committee.

You can watch the live stream of PBS’ NewsHour feed of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s Senate confirmation hearings, translated to Spanish, on impreMedia’s website: Sonia Sotomayor – impre.com

KAKM ENDS ANALOG BROADCASTS TONIGHT (June 12)

Thu, June 11, 2009

Are you ready for DTV?

For many viewers — those using cable or satellite TV services — no change will be needed, but for anyone viewing TV over the public airwaves (via antenna), you must make the switch to DTV if you want to continue to see TV in the future.

LOCAL WALK-IN CENTERS

These centers will be open until June 21 to answer questions and help with specific issues regarding your successful transition to DTV.

Northway Mall

3101 Penland Parkway

Anchorage, AK 99508

M-F: 12pm – 8pm Sat: 10pm – 6pm Sun: 12pm – 6pm

Anchorage 5th Avenue

320 West 5th Avenue, Suite 219

Anchorage, AK 99501

M-F: 12pm – 8pm Sat: 12pm – 8pm Sun: 11pm – 6pm

About the DTV transition delay

Thu, February 5, 2009

converterbox You may have heard this week that Congress passed a bill pushing the mandatory shutdown of analog TV broadcasting from February 17 back to June 12, 2009. Full-power TV broadcasters across the country — like KAKM here in Anchorage — must now turn off their analog TV transmitters no later than June 12. However, many broadcasters may still shutdown their analog service on February 17, as has been planned since 2005. Others may choose to shutdown analog TV sometime between February 17 and June 12.

As of this writing, the bill is awaiting a signature from the President to become law (Obama has said he will sign the bill). Then the FCC must issue new rules around the law, instructing TV broadcasters on what to do. Most broadcasters will additionally wait for advice from our media lawyers to ensure our actions are in compliance with FCC rules and the new law. All those steps are likely to be completed this week or by early next week.

What happens next?

For now, KAKM is continuing to air all required announcements about the February 17, 2009 analog TV shutdown date. We are working to replace these notices with new ones that reference the June 12, 2009 date instead. By law, we will continue to air no less than 180 seconds of DTV transition education every single day until the analog shutdown is completed. We hope to have the on-air spots replaced by early next week.

NOTE: Other stations in the Anchorage market may shutdown their analog services on February 17, despite the deadline extension. You may want to check with each station to confirm whether they are changing on Feb 17.

For the record, KAKM Channel 7 already broadcasts a full-power Digital TV signal, so if you have a converter box or a DTV tuner in your television — along with an antenna appropriate to your location — you can immediately tune in KAKM’s DTV signal from our transmitter about 11 miles north of downtown Anchorage.

KAKM currently expects to continue broadcasting our analog TV signal up to the June 12 deadline. That may change, based on conversations with other stations in the Anchorage market and with our viewers. Whatever the final date, however, we hope you’re immediately taking steps to prepare for the analog shutdown, if you’re not already prepared.

More news and updates as we have them.

Special Inauguration Coverage

Mon, January 19, 2009

Both KSKA Public Radio (FM 91.1) and KAKM Public TV (Channel 7) are broadcasting live Inauguration coverage from Washington, DC today. Additionally, we’re both offering additional programs capturing the thoughts and reactions of the American people in the midst of this historic event. Here’s what we have available…

LIVE on KAKM Channel 7

7:00am to 9:30am
The NewsHour Coverage of Inauguration 2009
Live coverage of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States followed by commentary from anchor Jim Lehrer and a panel of analysts and historians.

LIVE on KSKA FM 91.1

6:00am to 10:00am
Special LIVE Coverage of Inauguration 2009
NPR-hosted live coverage of Inauguration festivities and Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony.

Additional Special Coverage on KSKA FM 91.1

10:00am – 12:00pm
Special Talk of the Nation: Inauguration Edition
(Alternatively, Talk of Alaska is available live on KNBA FM 90.3)

2:00pm – 3:00pm
Fresh Air: Inauguration Edition

3:00pm – 6:00pm
All Things Considered (extended edition)

7:00pm – 8:00pm
NPR Inauguration Wrap-up

Additional Special Coverage on KAKM Channel 7

6:00pm to 7:00pm (on KAKM DTV 7.1 + KAKM TV 7)
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
Join the NewsHour team just a few hours after the official swearing-in ceremony for more news from Washington, DC in the opening hours of the Obama administration.

8:00pm to 9:00pm (on KAKM DTV 7.1 + KAKM TV 7)
FRONTLINE: Dreams of Obama
On the night of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration, FRONTLINE examines the rich personal and political biography of the 44th president of the United States. Through interviews with insiders and observers who’ve tracked Obama from his days at Harvard Law School, through his rise in Chicago politics, to his emergence onto the national scene after the 2004 Democratic National Convention, FRONTLINE pushes beyond the headlines chronicling Obama’s meteoric rise.

8:00pm to 10:30pm (on KAKM DTV 7.3 / 360 North + GCI cable 15)
The NewsHour Coverage of Inauguration 2009
Tape-delayed coverage of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States followed by commentary from anchor Jim Lehrer and a panel of analysts and historians.

DTV converter box coupon program now on wait list

Mon, January 5, 2009

Good news / bad news on the DTV converter box coupon program…

The NTIA announced today that their DTV converter box coupon program has been wildly successful — so much so that they’ve run out of coupon funding. They may acquire additional funding from Congress in the coming weeks, but for the moment, all new DTV converter box coupon applicants (as of January 4, 2009) are being wait-listed for fulfillment either sometime in the future or perhaps never. Here’s what the NTIA has to say for those of you still preparing for the DTV conversion at home:

Consumers who have not taken action or who have applied and been placed on the waiting list are encouraged to take action to ensure at least one TV in their home is ready for the transition on February 17, 2009. Consumers can:

Purchase a converter box without a coupon

Purchase a TV with a digital tuner

Subscribe to cable, satellite or another pay service

Attached is a new brochure which describes the protocol for the Coupon waiting list.

If you do call for a DTV converter box coupon now, a reference number is being given — be sure to keep that number as it will allow you to go online to check the status of coupon delivery. As expired coupons are made available, new coupons will be mailed. NTIA estimates an additional 6 million coupons may be sent once older coupons (already sent) expire. So there’s still hope if you apply today.

Converter boxes are available online from Amazon.com as well as other outlets. Plus, local electronics retailers in Alaska often have DTV converter boxes in stock, too. Of course, if you’re in the market for a new TV anyway, it’s probably best to just buy one from a reseller right here in Alaska — especially if it has a large screen or if you need expert installation help.

NOTE: The DTV conversion will happen for KAKM viewers that watch us via over-the-air (antenna) signals broadcast from our primary transmitter, situated about 11 miles north of downtown Anchorage, on February 17. Viewers on the Kenai Peninsula watching KAKM via antenna will not see digital signals from KAKM until sometime later in 2009.

Questions? Feel free to post them here as comments or Contact Us.