FC: Hankering to start a local radio station? Now's the time...

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Fri May 18 2001 - 20:15:24 PDT

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    Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 18:55:56 -0700
    From: Troy Davis <troyat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    Subject: FWD: Start A Community Radio Station In Your Town!
    
    for any politech readers looking for a media outlet..
    
    
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    From: petriat_private
    Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 12:03:51 -0500
    To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
    Subject: Start A Community Radio Station In Your Town!
    
    Dear Friends:
    
    Could your town use its own community radio station? For many years, the
    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) made it very difficult for
    neighborhood groups to start community radio stations.  It became so
    complicated that many people  began to think it was impossible for ordinary
    folks and small non-profit organizations to start up a town outlet for local
    news, DJs from all walks of life, political programming and local events.
    
    After a campaign of pressure from activists for a more democratic media, the
    FCC changed its tune.  For a very short period in June, they have flung open
    the doors to community groups to apply to have a radio station for their
    neighborhood!  This is the moment we've been fighting for for many years,
    the five days in which your community group can apply to start a hundred
    watt radio station.   You can only apply during these five days- June
    11-15th: probably any usable frequency in your area will be gone after this
    filing period.
    
    Though last years corrupt, lame duck  Congress severely limited the new
    service, most towns are still eligible to apply for a community radio
    station. Dozens of licenses have already been given out  by the FCC for new
    community radio stations. If you live in the biggest cities, like New York,
    or Chicago or LA, there is probably no license available at this point. But
    if you live in a smaller town, there is a good chance that there is a
    community radio frequency just sitting there waiting for you to pick it up
    this June.
    
    Prometheus Radio Project, based in Philadelphia,is a non-profit group that
    is solely devoted to helping other non-profits get their communities on the
    airwaves. Please contact us as soon as possible at the below listed email or
    number if you are interested in starting a station in your town.  All of
    Prometheus's services are free, and the application at the FCC is free. For
    the first time in over twenty years, you can put a radio station on the air
    for a few thousand dollars worth of equipment.
    
    See you on the radio!
    
    Pete Tridish
    Prometheus Radio Project
    
    
    [Please forward this as appropriate to mailing lists and friends who may be
    interested, and please pardon duplicate postings: this is our last general
    outreach message before this final window...thanks]
    
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    Low Power Radio At-a-Glance
    This flier gives some basic information about community radio, and will help
    you determine whether your organization is eligible for a license.
    
    What could your organization or community do with an LPFM station?
    A community radio station can offer something for almost everyone, with
    diverse programs that reflect the needs and interests of the local
    residents.  Here are some ideas of possible programming, though each
    community will surely develop their own creative shows.
    
    * Local public affairs programs, such as news, youth training, local
    sporting events, neighborhood history, city council hearings, election
    debates, call-in shows with local figures, politicians, and advice programs
    with doctors, lawyers, or other professionals.
    * Activist programs that explore different issues, such as the environment,
    education or health care.
    * Cultural programs, such as a variety of the worlds many musical
    traditions, radio theatre, dramatic readings of novels, poetry, interviews,
    etc.
    
    As a sponsor for a broad-based community radio station, your community
    organization can promote the public good by acting as steward of a station
    designed for the whole community- almost like a library of the airwaves.
    Alternately, your group may want to focus more closely on a single
    constituency, like an immigrant language community, or as an organizing
    medium for a labor union in a rural farm-working community.
    
    Applying for an LPFM license is free, and the cost to build a station is
    relatively low cost (the basic equipment for a hundred watt radio station
    will cost between five and eight thousand dollars, depending upon your
    circumstances). You have 18 months to construct your station from the day
    you receive your construction permit. While there is no guarantee that every
    application will be successful, the following questions are designed to help
    you assess your qualifications.
    
    Are you affiliated with a community association, civic organization or other
    group?  Or would you want to start one?
    Individuals can not apply - only non-profit groups or community
    organizations. You do not, however, have to be a tax exempt 501(c)(3).
    Organizations that have been in existence for two or more years get
    preference, so it is advantageous (but not necessary) that your organization
    be at least that old. Depending on your state, you can start a non-profit
    organization for a nominal fee with three directors. The process generally
    takes a few hours.
    
    Do you already own a TV station, a radio station, a daily newspaper or a
    cable network?
    No one who already owns a major media outlet can have a LPFM station
    
    Would you like an alternative to conventional commercial-filled programming?
    The service is entirely non-commercial, though underwriting, similar to what
    you hear on National Public Radio, is allowed.
    
    Are you interested in creating local programming?
    The FCC gives a preference to organizations who pledge that they will be
    producing at least 8 hours per day of local programming, and also gives
    preference to stations that plan to operate at least 12 hours per day.  If
    you have DJ's playing their favorite records, that is considered local as
    long as they are local people, not a satellite fed national program.
    
    Are you willing to share the frequency with other groups?
    In situations where more than one group apply for the same frequency, the
    FCC gives preference to organizations who are willing to work out
    timesharing arrangements with other groups that want to use the airwaves.
    
    Is anyone on your board of directors a convicted felon?
    The FCC may choose not to allow convicted felons to be holders of broadcast
    licenses. There are many exceptions to this policy, but it is easier if
    there are no felons.
    
    Is your board made up primarily of US citizens?
    The Board of directors of your group must be at least 80% US citizens.
    
    Do you have a suitable location for a transmitter?
    Transmitters are about the size of a toaster oven, and antennas don't have
    to be any bigger than the television antennas people put on the roof of
    their houses, but the higher they are, the better. The FCC does not allow
    you to build a station if you are too close to an already existing channel,
    and the proposed open frequency is too close to that station on the dial.
    For example, you can't put a 91.3 on the air if there is a 91.5 right across
    town. With a few simple internet searches, you can figure out if the FCC
    will allow a station to be built at any location of your choosing.
    Prometheus Radio Project can help you to assess, free of charge, whether any
    location of your choosing is suitable for broadcasting. The Studio and the
    Transmitter do not need to be in the same place- the transmitter can be
    tucked away in someones' house or on top of a hill, while the studio is
    downtown at a community center.
    
    Can your organization raise between five and seven thousand dollars to build
    a station within the next two years?
    There is no application or licensing fee. the basic equipment will cost
    between five and seven thousand dollars, and more  if you want to get fancy.
    You have 18 months to construct your station from the day you receive your
    construction permit.  Some grants may be available.
    
    When should I apply?
    The United States has been divided into 5 groups of ten states each. Every
    three months, a five day window application opens for ten states, then
    closes. No one can apply before or after that window.
    To find out your window call Prometheus. After the LP 100s are all given
    out, the FCC  will start over again and allow groups to apply for LP10s.
    there will not be many of those LP10s, and they have a smaller radius of
    coverage.  If you have already missed the first application window for your
    state, there still may be opportunities. Contact Prometheus for a full
    explanation of your possibilities- we keep completely up-to date information
    on the somewhat bewildering filing process.
    
    Will the FCC discriminate against my group? Or will they control the content
    of the programming?
    All requirements are laid out above. The FCC designed this license for
    groups of all stripes, from Anarchists to Anabaptists. You need to meet the
    requirements of other stations, which are in fact pretty minimal- no
    inappropriate obscenity at certain times, no advertising, fraudulent
    contests or gambling over the air, etc. It is not legal to cause a public
    panic with a false report that Martians are attacking. Besides that you are
    free to have programming of any type you like.
    
    Starting a radio station has for many years has been completely out of reach
    for the general public. Activists for a more democratic media have won a
    rare opportunity for your neighborhood to apply for an extremely valuable
    radio station, for free. But we did not win a fundamental change in the
    system that made it more fair and open- just a brief moment when community
    groups can claim a thin sliver of the airwaves for local use. This chance
    will be gone in a few months, and radio will be back to business as usual
    until the next democratic victory on the airwaves, and who knows when that
    will come.  If you ever want a radio station for your community the time to
    act is now.
    
    Prometheus Radio Project
    P.O. Box 42158 Philadelphia, PA 19101
    petriat_private  215-476-2385 http://www.prometheus.tao.ca
    --------------------------------------------
      _      _
    pe'tre dish (n): a squat, cylindrical, transparent article of laboratory
    glassware, useful in observing resistant strains of culture in aetherial
    media.
    
    petriat_private
    www.prometheus.tao.ca
    Prometheus Radio Project
    215-476-2385
    
    ----- End forwarded message -----
    
    
    
    
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