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Announcement :: Civil & Human Rights : Education : Elections & Legislation : Media : Political-Economy |
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Low Power FM Advocates Fight for Local Broadcasting in Wake of License Trafficking |
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09 Mar 2005
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Low Power FM Advocates Fight to preserve slots for Local Broadcasts
In Wake of Noncommercial License Trafficking, Advocates Ask FCC to
Freeze Translator Applications |
Upon learning that three individuals have improperly obtained some 4,000
FM non-commercial radio station authorizations free of charge for the
purpose of resale for profit, a coalition of Low Power FM (LPFM) radio
advocates have filed an emergency petition calling upon the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to impose an immediate national freeze
on the authorization of new FM translator stations. The groups
explained that each permit which is misappropriated in this scheme for
importing the programming of a distant radio station deprives a
community of the opportunity to create a new, community based LPFM
station.
The petition was filed today by Media Access Project on behalf
of the Prometheus Radio Project, the Office of Communication of the
United Church of Christ, Inc., REC Networks, the National Federation of
Community Broadcasters, the Future of Music Coalition and Free Press.
Based on research conducted by REC Networks, the filing demonstrates
that in March 2003, two front companies applied for at least 4,000 FM
'translators' -- licenses that are intended for the rebroadcast of local
signals in communities where geographic contours prevented a station
from reaching its full community of license -- in 2003. Rather than use
these authorizations, obtained for free, to serve local communities
throughout the country, the companies, Radio Assist Ministry, Inc., and
Edgewater Broadcasting, Inc., have placed them on sale, using another
front company, World Radio Link, Inc., in clear violation of
FCC 'anti-trafficking policies' which prohibit commerce in such 'naked'
construction permits.
The three companies are controlled by Clark Parrish, Earl Williamson and
Diana Atkin of Twin Falls, ID.
Prometheus Radio Project founder Pete Tridish explained that
"The FCC did a great thing by giving churches, schools, labor
organizations, and other community groups the right to take their
messages to the airwaves, in a time of massive media consolidation. But
unless it stops these speculators from grabbing up these licenses, truly
local groups won't be able to build radio stations for their own cities
and towns. Chairman Powell has expressed support for the LPFM service,
and we hope he will agree that the FCC should act now to expand and
promote community radio."
Sakura Saunders, an LPFM broadcaster at KDRT-LP in Davis,
California, is confident that "the FCC will do the right thing" and
assure that people like her will be able to serve their communities.
She was an invited panelist at the FCC's recent "LPFM Day," where she
spoke in detail about the problem translators posed to the LPFM service.
"We're asking the FCC to stop granting translator construction permits
while they can look into this," said Saunders, a journalist and deejay
who has trained dozens of volunteers at this well-beloved community
station at the University of California at Davis.
Former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, who now serves as Managing
Director of the Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ,
Inc., said that "I've met with many UCC members and members of other
religious denominations who would love to take advantage of Low Power FM
radio to serve their local communities. It is regrettable for sham
groups have attempted to unjustly enrich themselves by speculating on
government licenses while robbing local church members of their chance
to reach their communities."
To learn more, visit:
http://www.prometheusradio.org/fourteenandahalfways.pdf, or call
215.727.9620.
To read this release in .doc format, visit:
http://www.prometheusradio.org/freeze_press_release.doc
And to read the full petition, visit:
http://www.prometheusradio.org/petition_freeze_translators.pdf |
See also:
http://www.prometheusradio.org
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This work licensed under a
Creative Commons license |
