Press Releases

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

Columbia, South Carolina, February 23, 2010 — Tuesday’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) workshop on broadcast ownership was transformed when South Carolinian supporters of low power radio flooded the public comment sessions calling for an expansion of the low power FM (LPFM) service.

“Any discussion of broadcasting and media ownership in South Carolina should include the need to expand and strengthen low power radio,” said Stephen Varholy, general manager of Columbia, South Carolina’s low power WXRY-LP.

Low power radio stations are run by churches, schools, local governments, and non-profit organizations. Mike Willis of Lake Murray, South Carolina was among several supporters who used the public hearing to ask South Carolina’s legislators to expand the low power service with the Local Community Radio Act.

“We want to urge the US Senators from South Carolina to support this legislation. We have not yet had Senator Jim DeMint’s support, and we are calling on him to help us pass this important bill this spring,” said Willis, who hopes to start a low power station for his community.

The Local Community Radio Act (HR1147 and S592) passed the House in December 2009 and now depends on Senate action. When passed, the bill will make hundreds of new low power licenses available across the country.

“Our goal is to put a radio station on the air that is truly responsive to the needs of the community, with everything from Carolina indigenous music to high school athletics to lake weather conditions and boating safety,” said Willis, who has drawn the support of local sheriffs, Chambers of Commerce, and homeowners’ associations surrounding Lake Murray.

FCC Commissioner (and South Carolina native) Mignon Clyburn opened the hearing, which was part of the FCC’s quadrennial review of broadcast ownership rules. Representative Joe Wilson (SC-2) issued a statement welcoming the FCC to his district and supporting their efforts to expand the LPFM service.

“Coastal communities like those found in South Carolina are especially good candidates for LPFM stations,” said Representative Wilson, who is a cosponsor of the bill. “Indeed, such stations have had a proven record of assisting local communities in times of environmental disaster.”

This lifesaving capacity is why the Georgetown, South Carolina Fire Department started WGEO-LP, which provides hurricane evacuation news and other emergency preparedness information.  At 100 watts or less, low power stations can run from small generators during storms, and they are inexpensive to operate, allowing new entrants into the radio market.

“The stations cater to local community needs without causing any interference with commercial, full-power radio stations,” said Representative Wilson.

Jabari Moketsi testified at the workshop about his hopes to start a low power radio station on behalf of the African-American Gullah community in Beaufort County.

“Here in the Lowcountry we have a very unique culture, but we usually find the Gullah culture in the back pages of the newspaper or as a footnote to someone else’s story. We feel that having an LPFM station would bridge the total community.”

Chuck Smith works with country music station WLRE-LP in Elloree, South Carolina, which has the only Southern gospel show in the area.

“WLRE is fashioned as the last of the small town radio stations. We love doing the ball games for the majors and the minors and the kids. That’s been lost in radio. We also play our traditional to modern country blend which is being lost from Nashville right on down.”

WLRE is also the only station with detailed race coverage of the Elloree Trials, an annual horse racing event that brings thousands of visitors to the small town. Low power stations support local economies by bringing a truly local focus on community events, culture, and business.

All five FCC Commissioners have voiced their support of the bipartisan Local Community Radio Act, which also has the endorsement of groups as diverse as the National Association of Evangelicals, the AFL-CIO, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the NAACP.

Despite this broad support, communities like those who spoke out in Columbia, South Carolina on Feb 23 depend on Senate action to gain local access to the airwaves.

Contact:
Diane Foglizzo
Campaign Coordinator
Prometheus Radio Project
(202) 297-9195
diane@prometheusradio.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Washington, DC – The Local Community Radio Act passed the House of Representatives Wednesday evening with a resounding voice vote and now moves to the Senate. The bill will open the airwaves for hundreds of new non-commercial stations across the country, bringing low power radio to urban areas for the first time. Read the rest of this entry »

By repealing restrictions placed on the FCC in 2000, the Local Community Radio Act would allow hundreds of new licenses for low power FM stations.

Gary Galloway, Communications Leader for a county emergency response task force in Newton County, Mississippi spent the week in DC telling lawmakers his story about the life-saving role of low power radio during a crisis.  After hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, Galloway worked with the Hancock County Emergency Management Team in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to reach out to the public. Broadcasting nightly on low power station WQRZ, Galloway was able to provide essential information about road closures and where people could go to get food, water, and medical care.

“My team has been deployed to tornado outbreaks, hurricanes, plane crashes, pipeline explosions, and other disasters that exceed the capability of local government. My experiences have taught me that low power FM is a crucial tool for Emergency Management to communicate with citizens when lives and property are in jeopardy,” said Galloway.

Galloway met with the offices of Senator Cochran (R-MS), a former cosponsor of the legislation, Senator Wicker (R-MS), and Senator Vitter (R-LA), who voted in support of the legislation this morning.

Because low power radio stations broadcast at less than 100 watts, they can run from generators during power outages—sometimes even operating on a car battery.  Non-commercial, locally based, and volunteer-run low power radio stations respond to community needs in ways that larger stations cannot.

Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director for the Prometheus Radio Project said that disasters are not the only time when the public lacks access to local news.

“Low power radio is not only essential in times of an environmental crisis, but is also essential in addressing the crisis in our media system,” said Fischer-Hoffman. “There are few alternatives for genuinely local programming, and people want news and information relevant to their own neighborhoods and towns.”

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee, also noted the potential of low power radio in changing the face of media ownership.

“[Low power FM] is good way for women and minorities to gain experience in broadcasting that may not otherwise be possible given the expense of operating a full power station,” said Senator Hutchinson.

The Local Community Radio Act is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John McCain (R-AZ).  While this Senate legislation has passed out of committee in the previous two sessions, this year marks the first time that the House version passed through the House Subcommittee and Committee.

Senator Cantwell said that improving emergency response and broadening the diversity of media ownership are key reasons why she supports this legislation.

“I am optimistic that we can effectively cross the finish line on this issue this Congress,” said Senator Cantwell.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Rep. Boucher and Rep. Waxman.

This month, the Local Community Radio Act passed out of both the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce by voice votes. This is the farthest the bill has gone since it was first introduced in 2005, and we’re expecting it to go farther still. Passing out of the Subcommittee and Committee are two major hurtles for the bill that we can now mark as COMPLETE!

“All I can say is, it’s about time,” Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said of the passage out of Subcommittee.

A mere one week later, on October 15, the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed the Local Community Radio Act.

“We are sounding the alarm,” said Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director at the Prometheus Radio Project. “Passage out of full committee signals that Congress is finally ready to act on local community radio. Now is the time for everyone who wants a voice in their community to urge their Congressional Representatives to support HR 1147.”

Big broadcasters have historically opposed the Local Community Radio Act, claiming that LPFM could cause interference to full power stations, a concern later disproved by a Congressionally mandated study. But with unanimous FCC support, strong bipartisan co-sponsorship, and grassroots momentum, they are finally allowing the bill to move forward.

The bill has also recently gained the support of its former skeptics in Congress, including Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the only former broadcaster on the committee, and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), a lead co-sponsor of the bill that originally restricted low power radio in 2000.

Engineering concerns have been resolved and the bill’s major opponents have stepped down. What’s left to do before the House floor vote later this month? This Actober, we need to show Congress that the people want low power! Our representatives need to hear that this issue matters. With so many controversial issues debated in Congress this fall, low power radio is a bipartisan no-brainer–but it needs your support to make it onto the agenda!

Bill Moving Swiftly Toward Full House Vote

With a unanimous voice vote, the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed the Local Community Radio Act this morning. By repealing restrictions that drastically limit channels available to low power FM (LPFM) stations, the Act will allow hundreds of community groups nationwide to access the public airwaves.

The popular, bipartisan legislation is on the fast track to becoming law. Shortly after all five FCC Commissioners reaffirmed the FCC’s longstanding support, the bill passed out of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet by a voice vote. After today’s passage out of committee, the Local Community Radio Act heads for a floor vote in the House.

In his opening remarks today, Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) urged his colleagues to support the bill.

“As a longtime advocate of expanding low power FM radio services and the dynamic contribution they make to localism, a bedrock of our communications laws, I am pleased that the Committee is acting on this important bipartisan measure. Low power FM stations provide diverse, locally-originated programming that serves the needs of the community,” said Rep. Waxman.

Lead co-sponsor Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) noted that earlier concerns about potential interference with full power stations have been addressed.

“We are proud to have the support of many incumbent broadcasters for our legislation,” said Rep. Doyle. “We made changes during the subcommittee’s consideration of the bill to resolve concerns from other incumbent broadcasters, and we are especially pleased that National Public Radio expressed their appreciation of these changes.”

The bill has recently gained the support of its former skeptics in Congress, including Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the only former broadcaster on the committee. Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), a lead co-sponsor of the bill that originally restricted low power radio in 2000, also now supports the legislation.

Hundreds of groups across the country are organizing for the opportunity to have their own radio stations. One of the most active among these is the Chicago Independent Radio Project (CHIRP).

“Our goal is to provide Chicago with a showcase for the city’s diverse music and arts scenes and to cover local news stories too often overlooked by bigger media outlets,” said Shawn Campbell, President of CHIRP. “Our 140 volunteers are true believers in radio that is live, local, and truly connected to community. We are ready to start broadcasting original content around the clock as soon we are given the chance.”

Advocates say that today’s vote is a call to action for supporters of local media.

“We are sounding the alarm,” said Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director at the Prometheus Radio Project. “Passage out of full committee signals that Congress is finally ready to act on local community radio. Now is the time for everyone who wants a voice in their community to urge their Congressional Representatives to support HR 1147.”

Local Community Radio Act Sweeps House Subcommittee in 15 to 1 vote

The Local Community Radio Act was passed out of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet this morning in a sweeping 15 to 1 vote. The Act would allow for the creation of hundreds of new, low power FM (LPFM) radio stations that would broadcast community news and local perspectives to neighborhoods across the country.

“All I can say is, it’s about time,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), a co-sponsor of the bill. “It was absurd and ridiculous that broadcasters went to such great lengths to block the public from having some small measure of access to the airwaves, and disgraceful that we had to spend more two million dollars to prove what the FCC already had shown—that LPFM would not interfere with full power stations.”

Big broadcasters have historically opposed the Local Community Radio Act, claiming that LPFM could cause interference to full power stations, a concern later disproven by a Congressionally mandated study. But with unanimous FCC support, strong bipartisan co-sponsorship, and grassroots momentum, even industry news is now predicting a win. “We do not expect that there is any stopping it at this point,” the Radio Business Report commented this morning.

“The bill still has a long way to go in the legislative process, but I am optimistic that by the end of the year the Local Community Radio Act will be signed into law,” said Congressman Doyle (D-PA), lead co-sponsor of the bill with Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE).

The bill gained the support of former doubters of LPFM, including Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), a former lead co-sponsor of anti-LPFM legislation and ranking Republican on the subcommittee, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the only former broadcaster in Congress, and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who called for the study of LPFM interference in 2000.

“Today’s vote signals a policy shift towards more local and diverse media,” said Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “We need to use this momentum to push for full passage of the Local Community Radio Act so groups working tirelessly to have a voice in their communities can start building stations.”

Hundreds of groups—including schools, churches, and emergency responders—were denied licenses in 2000 after Congress blocked the FCC from handing them out in crowded media markets.

Advocates point to the successes of existing low power FM stations to prove their value to communities. “When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf, low power radio was the only source of emergency information in a number of counties. Residents in East Texas tuned their battery-operated radios to KZQX-LP while they waited a week for power to be restored,” said Andalusia Knoll, Community Station Director at the Prometheus Radio Project. “In Louisiana, KOCZ-LP has proven essential to the cultural survival of Zydeco music, which is rarely heard on the airwaves. And low power station WRYR hosts public debate about the environmental impacts of development on the Chesapeake Bay.”

“Congress should act swiftly to pass LPFM and support the families, workers, and places of worship that serve as the anchors in our communities,” said Joel Kelsey, Policy Analyst at Consumers Union.

Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights added, “In an era of mass media consolidation, we in the civil rights community believe that it is critical to promote diverse ownership and diverse viewpoints over the public airwaves, and we look forward to the passage of this bill into law.”

The Local Community Radio Act is now poised to move to the full Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by longtime LPFM supporter Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA).