[cma-l] Fwd: Good reading about the US Local Community Radio Act

[jaqui devereux]

The Local Community Radio Act has now been signed by President Obama.

Senate Joins House in Passing the Local Community Radio Act

Thousands of community groups rejoice at new opportunity for locally owned media

WASHINGTON, DC – Today a bill to expand community radio nationwide –
the Local Community Radio Act – passed the U.S. Senate, thanks to the
bipartisan leadership of Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John
McCain (R-AZ). This follows Friday afternoon’s passage of the bill in
the House of Representatives, led by Representatives Mike Doyle (D-PA)
and Lee Terry (R-NE). The bill now awaits the President's signature.

These Congressional champions for community radio joined with the
thousands of grassroots advocates and dozens of public interest groups
who have fought for ten years to secure this victory for local media.
In response to overwhelming grassroots pressure, Congress has given
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a mandate to license
thousands, of new community stations nationwide.  This bill marks the
first major legislative success for the growing movement for a more
democratic media system in the U.S.

“A town without a community radio station is like a town without a
library,” said Pete Tridish of the Prometheus Radio Project, the group
which has led the fight to expand community radio for ten years. “Many
a small town dreamer –  starting with a few friends and bake sale cash
– has successfully launched a low power station, and built these tiny
channels into vibrant town institutions that spotlight school board
elections, breathe life into the local music scene, allow people to
communicate in their native languages, and give youth an outlet to
speak.”

The Local Community Radio Act will expand the low power FM (LPFM)
service created by the FCC in 2000 – a service the FCC created to
address the shrinking diversity of voices on the radio dial.  Over 800
LPFM stations, all locally owned and non-commercial, are already on
the air.  The stations are run by churches, schools, non-profit
organizations, local governments, and emergency responders.

The bill repeals earlier legislation which had been backed by big
broadcasters, including the National Association of Broadcasters.
This legislation, the Radio Broadcast Preservation Act of 2000,
limited LPFM radio to primarily rural areas.  The broadcast lobby
groups claimed that the new 100 watt stations could somehow create
interference with their own stations, a claim disproven by a
Congressionally-mandated study in 2003.

Congressional leaders worked for years to pass this legislation.  As
the clock wound down on the 111th Congress, they worked with the NAB
to amend the bill to enshrine even stronger protections against
interference and to ensure the prioritization of full power FM radio
stations over low power stations.

Though the amendments to the bill will require some further work at
the FCC, low power advocates celebrated the first chance in a decade
for groups in cities, towns, and other communities to take their
voices to the FM dial.

“After ten years of effort, a $2.2 million taxpayer-funded study, and
new provisions to address this hypothetical interference, we are
finally on our way to seeing new community radio stations across the
U.S.  This marks a beginning, not an end, to our work,” said Brandy
Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “For the
first time, LPFM community radio has a chance to grow, and we’re ready
to seize that opportunity.”

“All of us at UCC OC Inc. and at Prometheus express our incredible
gratitude to Congressmen Mike Doyle and Lee Terry and Senators Maria
Cantwell and John McCain for the leadership and counsel during this
process,” said Cheryl Leanza, a board member of the Prometheus Radio
Project and a Policy Advisor to the United Church of Christ, Office of
Communication, Inc.  “Without their work and the work of their
committed staff we would not have come this far.  At long last the 160
million Americans who have been deprived of the opportunity to apply
for a local low power radio station will get a chance to be a part of
the American media.”

"I am a leadership organizer from the ranks of the poor working with
other low-wage workers – fighting for human rights in Maryland,” said
Veronica Dorsey of the United Workers, a human rights organization in
Baltimore. “Low power FM radio would allow the United Workers to
expand the message of our End Poverty Radio show, which is currently
only available on the internet.  End Poverty Radio develops leaders
and gives workers a way to tell their stories and be heard – and a low
power FM station would reach a lot of people who do not have access to
the internet.  LPFM is a way for those in the community who are
struggling to survive to hear stories that they can relate to, and to
know that they are not alone in this struggle for human dignity.  We
can’t wait to work to build low power FM in communities like ours, so
we can accomplish these goals."

“Civil rights groups and community organizations have wanted low power
FM radio for years, and now the chance is here,” said Betty Yu,
coordinator of the Media Action Grassroots Network, a national media
justice network with members in many cities and communities that lost
their chance to get low power FM radio stations. “From Seattle,
Oakland, and Albuquerque to Minneapolis, San Antonio, Kentucky and
Philadelphia, thousands of communities know that having access to our
own slice of the dial means a tool to build our movements for justice.
 We have won something huge in Congress, but the fight is not over.
Now we need to work at the FCC to make sure as many licenses as
possible can be available in rural communities, towns and suburbs, and
America's cities.”

LPFMs have saved lives in powerful storms when big broadcasts lose
power or can’t serve local communities in the eye of the storm.
WQRZ-LP in Bay St. Louis, MS received awards from President Bush and
other organizations post Katrina in 2005, when one of the station
operators swam across floodwaters with fuel strapped to his back to
keep his station on the air.  The station proved so important that the
Emergency Operations Center of Hancock County set up shop with the
LPFM to serve the community after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Bipartisan Senators and House members have expressed support for the
Local Community Radio Act as a vital way to expand emergency service
media across our nation.

“I’m Frank Bluestein from Germantown, Tennessee, one of the several
large suburban cities located just outside of Memphis.  We have been
fighting for the past 10 years to persuade Congress to give
communities like ours the opportunity to establish a low power FM
radio station.  Our city wants to provide community and civic groups,
students of all ages, local artists and others the power to
communicate over their own LPFM channel,” said Frank Bluestein, a
media teacher and Executive Producer of Germantown Community
Television.

 "Equally important for Germantown, we need a dedicated communication
outlet that will serve the needs of our citizens in the event another
tornado rips through town or if any kind of natural disaster hits,”
continued Bluestein.  “In this day and age, emergency management is a
must for a city of our size and LPFM perfectly fits our needs.  A low
power FM radio station can stay on the air even if the power goes out.
 Low power FM saved lives during Katrina but strangely, the federal
government is banning it from this part of Tennessee. That is not fair
or wise. We have the right to be as safe as any other community in the
US. After 10 years, now is the time!  Congress has passed the Local
Community Radio Act, and chances are so much greater that groups in
towns like mine can apply for LPFM licenses.  Germantown is ready to
work here and at the FCC to make licenses for communities like ours
possible.”

Grassroots leaders were key in helping Senators understand that
expanding low power FM was important and urgent.  “Our station
provides some of the only local service to Gillette when big storms
come through, and it puts great content on the air.  That's why so
many in our town think it is such a vital resource,” said Pastor Joel
Wright of the First Presbyterian Church of Gillette, WY, licensee of
KCOV-LP 95.7 FM. “Senators Barrasso and Enzi had concerns about
expanding low power FM, but they heard from many Wyoming folks who
want these stations, and dropped those concerns.  Communities of faith
and so many others can celebrate that we've jumped this big hurdle to
more license being available in cities, smaller towns, and rural
communities nationwide.  I look forward to working with many other
pastors and groups to launch their own wonderful new community
voices.”

"The Media Mobilizing Project works with a huge diversity of leaders
across Philadelphia -- from taxi drivers and immigrant communities to
students and low wage workers," said Desi Burnette of Philadelphia's
Media Mobilizing Project.  "Our leaders have been lucky enough to
produce multiple programs with WPEB-FM, 88.1 – bringing all of these
communities together.  But WPEB is a 1-watt station, only covering a
few city blocks.  Now with the passage of the Local Community Radio
Act, Philadelphia has a much greater chance of getting at least one
100-watt station of its own.  With low power FM in our community, poor
and working people across this region would have an incredible tool to
learn together, to understand their shared struggles and conditions,
and to work to change them."



"Our low power FM radio station has allowed Guatemalan, Haitian, and
many other hard-working immigrant farmworkers to communicate in their
native languages, and to build the power for dignity and respect in
the fields of Southwest Florida," said the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers' Gerardo Reyes Chavez. "Our radio station, WCIW – Radio
Consciencia – has developed womens' leadership, has allowed us to
mobilize rapidly in crises, and has helped us transform not just our
community but the hundreds of communities inspired by our struggle.
We look forward to helping many other farmworkers learn how to build
their own stations and how to expand justice on the FM dial."



"In the rural areas we serve and all across the country, low power FMs
are poised to celebrate and preserve unique local culture," said Nick
Szuberla of Appalshop, a group that uses media to preserve Appalachian
culture and tradition while working to improve quality of life.  "More
low power FMs mean that the vibrant, beautiful, and vital voices of
America's rural areas and small towns will shine – and it will mean
sustainable local resources in times of crisis.  Low power FM stations
can stay on the air in storms and save thousands of lives.  Congress
and community radio advocates should be proud of the resources they've
won for American communities."



“Our group of 150 volunteers here at the Chicago Independent Radio
Project (CHIRP) is extremely pleased that the Local Community Radio
Act has been passed by Congress, and will be signed into law by our
fellow Chicagoan, President Obama,” said Shawn Campbell, a founder of
CHIRP.  “For three years, CHIRP volunteers and supporters have worked
diligently toward the goal of being able to apply for a low power FM
broadcast license, and we look forward to working with our national
allies and the FCC to make sure new stations are licensed in large
markets around the country, including Chicago.”



"For decades, the Esperanza Center has worked in San Antonio and
beyond to bring people together across cultures, and to ensure the
civil rights and economic justice of everyone," said Graciela Sanchez
of the Esperanza Center for Peace and Justice in San Antonio. "Whether
we are fighting for the right to publically protest or to save the
water systems of our region, we need to communicate and coordinate to
effectively organize.  Low power FM in San Antonio can unite people
across cultures and issues to work together to make this city better
for everyone.  We celebrate this victory for everyone and pledge to
work with allies to win as many stations as possible for communities
nationwide."



Over 10 years, hundreds of groups of all walks of life struggled to
bring community radio stations to every community possible, and they
cannot all be listed here.  We would like to thank the coalition who
worked weekly to move this mountain including: Free Press, United
Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc, U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops, Media Access Project, the Future of Music Coalition,
the Media and Democracy Coalition, , the Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the
Prometheus National Advisory Committee and Board of Directors. Those
who were instrumental in this final push including: Reclaim the Media,
The Media Action Grassroots Network, New America Foundation, Chicago
Independent Radio Project, MoveOn.org, Color of Change, the Christian
Coalition, and the National Association of Evangelicals, Spitfire
Consulting, Benton Foundation.  Our partners in supporting community
media including the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and
the Grassroots Radio Coalition, and Media Alliance, Pacifica, REC
Networks, the Alliance for Community Media.  Those who have helped at
key moments throughout these ten years including: United States Public
Interest Research Group, Consumers Union, the Esperanza Peace and
Justice Center, the United Methodist Church Office of Communication,
the Indigo Girls, OK Go, Nicole Atkins, the Microradio List, Amherst
Alliance, MIcroradio Implementation Project, the Esperanza Peace and
Justice Center, Pacifica Radio, Common Frequency, Christian Community
Broadcasters, KYES -TV, National Lawyers Guild Committee on Democratic
Communications, Virginia Center for the Public Press, every FCC
Commissioner since 1999 except for Harold Furchgott Roth. Our radio
barnraising partners who have time and again shown up to represent the
best of what LPFM can be include: WGXC-FM in Hudson, New York with
Free103point9; WMXP-LP in Greenville, South Carolina with the Malcolm
X Grassroots Movement; KPCN-LP in Woodburn, Oregon with Pineros y
Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste; WRFU-LP in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
with Radio Free Urbana; WXOJ-LP in Northampton, Massachusetts with
Valley Free Radio; WRFN-LP in Pasquo, Tennessee with Radio Free
Nashville; WSCA-LP in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with Portsmouth
Community Radio; WCIW-LP in Immokalee, Florida with the Coalition of
Immokalee Workers; KYRS-LP in Spokane, Washington with Thin Air
Community Radio; KOCZ-LP in Opelousas, Louisiana with the Southern
Development Foundation; KRBS-LP in Oroville, California with the Bird
Street Media Project; and our very first radio barnraising with
WRYR-LP in Deale, Maryland with South Arundel Citizens for Responsible
Development.



“We've built community radio stations from coast to coast and around
the country,” said Hannah Sassaman, a longtime organizer with the
Prometheus Radio Project.  ‘The faith and perseverance of low power
FM's legislative champions and the thousands who pushed the Local
Community Radio Act has paid off in incredible ways.  After ten years
of struggle, it's stunning to know that in the next years, the FCC
will work to and begin licensing LPFMs in city neighborhoods, in
suburbs and towns, and in rural areas.  It's humbling to understand
that new young people will gain a love of telling stories at the
working end of a microphone or at home listening to their neighbors.
And it's powerful to know that these stations will launch leaders in
every walk of life to change their communities, and this country.  We
look forward to launching the next generation of community stations
with you.”



To learn more about low power FM community radio, visit
http://www.prometheusradio.org.



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-- 
Jaqui Devereux
Director, Community Media Association