WAMM Applies for Low Power FM Frequency
by Lynne Gildensoph, WAMM
In January, 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided to license about 1000 low-power FM radio stations around the country. According to the FCC, these 100-watt and ten-watt stations would be local and would only broadcast within a very limited radius. (Commercial stations are broadcast to a much wider audience, with high-power stations transmitting at 7,000-10,000 watts.)
The licenses for the low-power stations are only open to local, non-profit community organizations, and have been proposed to "provide opportunities for new voices to be heard." Many groups, including churches, schools, and other nonprofit organizations, have applied for various low-power frequencies within Minnesota. WAMM has made application for one of the 100-watt stations that has been offered.
The frequency we applied for is 93.1 FM. The Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church has agreed to be the transmitter site for a coalition which also includes the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers, Veterans for Peace, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation–Minnesota. In addition to these four organizations, there were ten other groups that applied for the 93.1 FM frequency. These groups are: Calvary Chapel, St. Paul; General Committee for a Shorter Workweek; Glen Austin; Lyndale Neighborhood Association; Macalester College; Minneapolis Property Rights Action Committee; Northern Dawn Local Council, Covenant of the Goddess; Plymouth Community Radio; Prospect Park and East River Road Improvement Association; and We Win Institute.
Over the past few weeks, WAMM has made contact with all of the other applicants and has been meeting with some of them to determine whether we can form a partnership to prepare an application for the next step in the process. As a coalition partner, we would be obligated to provide support (programming, staffing, and financial) for the fledgling station, which, under FCC rules, will need to broadcast at least twelve hours each day.
Unfortunately, we may not get the chance. Sen. Rod Grams (Rep., MN) has proposed a bill called the "Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000," which proposes to limit the number of new low-power stations to just a few "test markets." This bill is now being considered for attachment to an appropriations bill, which would increase its chances of passing. Gram's bill calls for the testing of potential interference emanating from the low-power stations, which he says could disrupt high-power programming.
The FCC has investigated this issue and says the likelihood of interference is very low. In addition, they have instituted a complaint process to identify bona fide interference and to work with the affected parties to resolve the complaint. The Grams bill has the support of various radio industry groups such as the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), and National Public Radio, which insists that low-power FM will interfere with its reading services to the blind.
FCC Chair William Kennard recently stated, "This is a special interest, protectionist plot . . . The worst part is that they are trying to kill this service behind closed doors." Kennard feels that the call for more testing, which would be done on top of already completed FCC testing, is a smoke screen--a strategy to kill low-power FM.
Support in Washington for the creation of these low-power FM stations does exist. Jim Farrell, speaking from Sen. Paul Wellstone's (Dem., MN) office said: "This is the first good idea in media reform that anybody has seen in a long time." In addition, Sen. John McCain (Rep., AZ), who chairs the FCC oversight committee, is opposed to attaching this bill to a compromise appropriations bill.
On September 8, 2000, an ad sponsored by the Public Media Center, Media Access Project, and Americans for Radio Diversity appeared in Twin Cities newspapers. The copy for this ad pointed out that Sen. Grams, who is on the Senate Banking Committee, not the committee that oversees the FCC, received $7,000 from NAB for his 2000 election campaign, and that prior to receiving this contribution, he had not supported any NAB-favored bills.
The following week, a full-page ad, sponsored by NAB and a collection of local groups, including Minnesota Public Radio, appeared. Copy for this ad states that the FCC plan will "reduce existing interference standards by crowding in thousands of low power stations" and that "listeners will be subject to unwanted interference."
Why are these big corporate groups so anxious about these low-power stations which will broadcast over only a few miles?
Please support WAMM and our coalition partners in our bid to get grassroots information out to the American public.
WAMM Action!
1. Consider joining WAMM's low power FM radio committee. For information, contact
WAMM\
310 E. 38th St., Suite 225
Minneapolis, MN 55409
612-827-5364 (phone)
612-827-6433 (fax)
WAMM@mtn.org
2. Contact the Media Access Project for up-to-date information on the status of Sen. Rod Grams' (Rep., MN) "Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000" and the appropriations bill to which it was attached. Then tell your congressional delegation and the administration what you think about public policy concerning low power FM stations (for more information, see the article on this page).
Media Access Project
950 18th Street NW, Suite 220
Washington, DC 20006
202-232-4300 (phone)
202-466-7656 (fax)
webmaster@mediaaccess.org
www.mediaaccess.org
Congressional switchboard: 202-224-3121 or www.congress.gov
White House comment line: 202-456-1414