We finally did it!!!! It took some squirmy
maneuvers at the end but YESSSS!
This was voted on Saturday.
If you’re in Bay Area, CA and
interested in a local celebration in the coming year get back to me.
Low Power to the People!
Martha Wallner/ Nat’l Advisory Board
to Expand LPFM / Pass the Community Radio Act
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 18th, 2010
Contact: Hannah Sassaman, 267-970-4007
[log in to unmask]
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
non-profit organizations, local governments, churches, schools, 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 flood waters 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 Benton
Foundation, the Prometheus National Advisory Committee and Board of Directors.
We thank
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, and Spitfire
Consulting. 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.
We thank
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, 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).
We thank
our radio barnraising partners who have time and again shown up to represent
the best of what LPFM can be: 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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