A couple days ahead of its March open meeting, on Monday the Federal Communications Commission released a two orders addressing the implementation of the Local Community Radio Act to bring more low-power FM community radio stations to the nation’s airwaves [press release PDF]. Most significantly, the FCC has decided to prioritize the establishment of LPFM […]
Yesterday I was excited to see that the cover story for the San Francisco Chronicle’s “pink section” was all about independent radio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Based on the cover’s headline, “Up in the Airwaves: The state of independent radio in the Bay Area,” I expected to see a comprehensive list of local […]
The FCC just released the tentative agenda for its March open meeting, to be held March 21. LPFM and translator stations are on the agenda: Creation of a Low Power Radio Service Report and Order: The Commission will consider a Report and Order to implement a market-specific FM translator processing scheme, adopt application caps to […]
AMARC is the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and for nearly 30 years has worked for media democracy by supporting the growth of community radio. This year AMARC’s Middle East and North Africa conference will focus on “community media and the Arab Spring.” The conference will be held March 9 and 10 in Tunis […]
Last week the FCC released its report on the economic impact of low-power FM stations on commercial radio. The report was mandated by passage of the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (LCRA), and its primary conclusion should surprise nobody with any knowledge of LPFM: “LPFM stations are unlikely to have more than a negligible […]
A month ago the FCC issued a $10,000 Forfeiture Order to Pirate Cat Radio founder Daniel “Monkey Man” Roberts, for “willfully and repeatedly violating section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934…by operating an unlicensed radio broadcast station” in San Francisco. Today, Roberts’ attorney Michael Couzens filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the FCC, claiming […]
On Monday, November 14, 22 non-commercial radio stations in Canada took part in a day of action and celebration dubbed “Reclaim Your Radio.” Organized by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), the day-long radio event was designed to bring awareness to the importance of campus and community radio. A special 8-hour broadcast (an […]
Jim Ellinger of Austin Airwaves wrote with exciting news about a community radio station that he’s helping to launch along with RadioActive Radio in Borneo. Apparently the first community-run radio station in Malaysia, Radio Bario launched two weeks ago over the FM airwaves in the central highlands of Borneo. Yesterday Ellinger reported that the station […]
Established by the Grassroots Radio Coalition in 1996 as an alternative to the increasing commercialization of public radio, the Grassroots Radio Conference (GRC), is now one of the most important nonprofit radio events of the year. In contrast to other annual gatherings such as the National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) Community Radio Conference, in […]
Yesterday 28 members of the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), sent a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski [PDF] urging the Commission to ensure there is space reserved in urban areas for new low-power FM station licenses. They observe that the nation’s largest urban markets “have lacked access to new noncommercial […]
