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Congress Considering More Low Power FM Stations
Skapare writes "According to this ReclaimTheMedia article, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 (PDF) would remove the artificial restrictions imposed on LPFM by a 2000 law passed at the urging of corporate radio giants and NPR, claiming that small community stations would interfere with the signals of larger stations. If passed, this bill will pave the way for educational groups, nonprofits, unions, schools and local governments to launch new local radio stations across the country."
Because it is public property, not the property of mega corporations. They should have a right to use the airwaves for their small businesses or nonprofits without being part of the media cartels.
Another 5000 religious satellite-based repeater stations and just about zero actual local stations. Just like the last time.
Ramsey Electronics will sell you a 50 watt LPFM Radio Station In A Box for $4000.
The price of a single high-end laptop. The non-profit may want to reach the audience that doesn't have dial-up service, much less WiFi or broadband cable: the poor, the elderly, the disabled, etc.
Before trying to create the truth by repeating a lie, get the facts. In my market, on the fm dial, we have 3 general college radio stations. We have one left radio station, and two other college stations that are leftish. We have 3 christian radio stations. The other 20+ stations are commercial, I believe mostly owned by two or three enitites. At times over the past couple years, one could find 2 pairs of stations playing the same content. I do not think these stats are atypical.
The overcrowding of the FM dial is real. There are times when, at least on an analog tuner, it is difficult to distinguish a single station. NPR is not, with it's single station, or at most two, in each market, crowding the dial. What is crowding the dial is the relaxation of the ownership rules. While the summery touched on this with putting corporate radio first, the summary also implied that the problem will be solved by simplying allowing the airwaves to become more crowded.
This will not solve the problem. And while Fox news is not going to state the obvious solution, I will. Limit ownership of bandwidth to one station per entity. If the FCC wants to a vibrant radio dial, review the rules set 10 years ago. There is not reason why a single entity should ever own more that a couple stations in any market. Period. If that means the commercials stations drop precipitately, so be it. There are evidently operators out there biting at the bit, angry that they cannot get a place to play. Ownership rules will open up that space.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Not everyone has a multihundred dollar smart pda wifi equipped cellphone thingamajig and hangs out within 50 feet of starbucks so they can get netstreams while they are out and about. A shirt pocket FM radio complete with ~quality~ 5 cent earbud costs one dollar at the buckstore. And it works, and only takes one double AA and lasts for weeks.
That's why FM radio is still a good option. And the transmitter for low power is pretty cheap, and no need to pay for expensive bandwith or whatnot, and as many people as there are locally who can tune it all get the same stream of talk or whatever, infinitely scalable, 100 to a million, as long as you are in range, you get the same thing everyone else can get.
Enough reasons?
Democrats aren't pushing this bill so that people are being free. Democrats are pushing this bill because they hope the explosion of extra channels will dilute the audience for right wing radio stations. Given the right wing media's scathing rebuttal of elected Republicans on what is actually a damned good immigration bill, I would be surprised if Republicans in the Congress did not support this.
Still, pay close attention to how this bill is being written and who can actually get these stations and who can't. Democrats are going to push to make sure that their people get the stations, and Republicans need to be on their toes to make sure their people get theres. If you see things like city governments, universities, and public schools getting more stations (all traditionally liberal points), then the Democrats are playing games. If you see things like churches, local chambers of commerce, adult groups like the FreeMasons, or even gun clubs getting them, then you can bet that Republicans win.
If they compromise and everyone can get a station, then it is a good bill.
This is my sig.
claiming that small community stations would interfere with the signals of larger stations.
Who complains when it is the other way around? I remember when the campus station came on the air at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN and I could pick it up from a few miles away if I clicked "mono". Easy to remember because seven days later our MONSTER ROCKIN' HITS! 800-lb gorilla of a station activated their gazillion watt antenna on top of a 50 story building and the overloading in my receiver splattered harmonics across the band. No more Macalester for me so I'm inclined to suspect the big players just don't want to be bothered with being good neighbors on the airwaves.