About Us

History

KDRT-LP 95.7 FM is a project of Davis Media Access, a non-profit community media and technology center based in Davis, CA. Launched on Sept. 24, 2004, KDRT is a Low-Power FM (LPFM) station. LPFM is a special class of non-commercial educational radio –stations of 100 watts or less—created to fill the void in local content left when corporate media companies consolidated under ever-larger umbrellas.

In general, commercial media ignores small stories or big ideas if they’re not sensational, fear inducing, or profitable. They don’t highlight the good work that non-profits, teachers, parents, local businesses and volunteers do; or the ways in which artists, musicians, writers and ministers shape our community. They don’t focus on what kids think, and they may give lip service to those who are differently abled or gendered, or just see life through a less conventional lens. 

On any given day in a small studio at the media center on Fifth Street, people share their knowledge and their passion in myriad ways. On KDRT, teens interview environmental activists, senior citizens share their music collections and musical knowledge, local business people talk about our downtown, and independent musicians get valuable exposure.

Mission and Values
Community radio KDRT aims to inspire, enrich, and entertain listeners through an eclectic mix of music, cultural, educational, and public affairs programs and services. We build community by promoting dialogue, encouraging artistic expression, and acting as a forum for people who typically lack media access. Our mission reflects our values: localism, social equality, public participation, media literacy, diversity, and, of course, community media. We are your station--KDRT (K-DIRT), where the grass roots grow.

Community Impact
Since launching in September 2004, KDRT has had tremendous impact in and around Davis, CA--a vibrant community located between San Francisco and Sacramento--home to approximately 65,000 people, not including about 10,000 University of California students living on campus. The first  LPFM station to be launched within a public-access television center, noncommercial KDRT has since advised numerous LPFM startups.  In 2021, KDRT was awarded a national Overall Excellence for Small Radio Stations by the Alliance for Community Media.

Support

KDRT is community-supported radio. KDRT programmers conduct two on-air fundraisers each year, one in the late fall, and one in the late spring. Follow our social media links (below) to keep up to date, and of course, you can support at any time here


KDRT 95.7 FM
c/o Davis Media Access
PO Box 1021
Davis, CA 95617
1.530.757.2419 (office)
1.530.792.1648 (studio)