Churches big winners in grab for micro radio

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/28/SMALLRADIO.TMP

Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, February 28, 2005

Community activists cheered when the federal government began offering licenses for low-power radio stations five years ago. But now, some are wondering what happened to what they envisioned as an end-around to big media domination of the airwaves.

After years of fighting legal battles for left-leaning "pirate" broadcasters, advocates pictured a sea of under-100-watt stations where low-income folks and communities of color -- "new voices," in government parlance -- could grab a tiny slice of a radio dial now dominated by conglomerates.

Their idea was that these micro stations would be a programming rainbow, where Hawaiian music would lead into debates over the fate of the local landfill -- a type of community-focused format rarely heard on big-city stations.

But something unexpected happened on the way to the dial diversity the left thought it was getting: Low-power frequencies have been gobbled up by Christian organizations. Church groups make up roughly half the 344 applicants licensed by the Federal Communications Commission for stations with a broadcasting range of about five miles.

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[Dogmudgeon]

1. This should be easy to "correct"

1. Lefties ought to get it together about applying to the FCC.

2. Make the case that the airwaves are saturated with Fundamentalist, conservative radio pulpits for mountebanks.

3. Monitor stations and petition the FCC to revoke their licenses for hate speech and/or restricting local access. I doubt that few, if any, stations would lose their licenses, but it would give the issue more visibility.

4. Demand a smallish section of satellite radio for public use. After all, satellite radio has been heavily subsidized by the taxpayers.

5. Petition the FCC to open up more radio bands for public (i.e., non-subscriber) low-power and community use. New bandwidth dedicated to digital systems would allow thousands of stations.

We really ought to stop idly bitching about quasi-fascist Fundy domination, and start making the case that they have become a fast-growing mold on social interaction. The "cure" isn't to suppress Fundamentalism but to provide voices for points of view (religious and otherwise) aside than Fundamentalism.

--p!

[Wilms]

2. Was afraid this would happen. n/t

[Born Free]

3. It's the way the law is set up...

I looked into this, considered it, thought it would not be too hard to set up a 100 watt fm transmitter . The law is such that you must be part of some public interest or community group, individuals can't get the license. There were web sites to sign up under the banner of Christian broadcasting. It has been a while, I don't remember the web site - but through their affiliation you could legally qualify to apply for the license but had to run a percentage of their broadcasting. Unions, schools, and other type public groups could also get the licenses. it's all mute for me now, the last time I looked all the frequencies in my area were taken.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Er...is this another lost opportunity for the liberal media?

[Ian David]

5. How about a Democratic Underground Radio Network?

[liberalcenter]

8. Time for all of us to step up

What do we need to do to make this happen?

[sendero]

6. Trust me on this..

... that was the plan all along.

Half of the applicants are Christian organizations? Three-quarters of the licenses granted will be to them.

[NashVegas]

7. I Agree - Kind of

When Clinton was in office and Reed Hunt tried to push it through, LPFM got killed.

I would not be at all surprised if it's revival was mainly due to RW Christian fundies who got the action re-worded to their liking.

[librechik]

9. The right has spent the last 40 years stomping on Lefty groups

any time we organize the cops infiltrate and we get smeared as commie radicals. They attack us on many levels that are difficult to fight; esp withoutA money and B the braindead unity that fundie churches encourage.


Lefties don't do that "don't think just pray" cult stuff, so we can't wrassle our people into disciplined phalanxes, (and confiscate their money)like the "legit" and religious organizations do. Our only advantage is that there are many many more of us--too bad we don't like fighting and prefer to leave the loony religiocrazies alone.

We are so screwed...

[LeftHander]

10. Low Power FM....window of application closed...

Applications were taken up until the day Bush took office in 2001 shortly after the application windows were closed.

They have not been re-opened.

All the licenses that were applied for a large number went to Christian organizations but like in madison so were many other group...

The Broadcasters Association (BCA?) Porbably lobbied Powell of the FCC to have low power FM program stopped by simply stopping the application process.

I looked into the low power FM earlier last year as I wanted my church a Unitarian Universalist Church to make an application.

I found after much research that the window had been closed and only an act of congress will force it to be opened.

Only a handful of low power stations actually hit the air. those that did were in such remote areas that they have very tiny audiences. AFAIK no major urban stations went on line.

The last application filing window was June 11th - 15 2001. Since then there has not been any applications since.

Low Power FM and stinking Bush's lock on the media is a real sore spot.