LPFM: Movement in Congress?

It appears that the U.S. Senate may be moving toward a floor vote on the Local Community Radio Act. This bill originally began under the auspices of undoing the Congressional fiat in 2001 which severely restricted the promulgation of new low-power FM (LPFM) radio stations. By imposing draconian channel-spacing regulations on the new service, LPFM stations were precluded from being sited in areas of the nation in which 80% of the population lives.
The Local Community Radio Act has been the focus of a seven-year campaign to right this wrong. Most importantly, it would relax channel-spacing rules for LPFM stations (allowing them to be placed in more urban areas) and give LPFM stations a semblance of parity with regard to other classes of FM station. This would make LPFMs less susceptible to being bumped off the air by a larger station looking to move or otherwise modify its own transmission infrastructure. Continue reading “LPFM: Movement in Congress?”

LPFM Lurches Forward

After several months of delay, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has taken another step forward in implementing its plan for new low power FM (LPFM) radio stations.
FCC staff have finished the official revisions to the LPFM plan mandated by Congressional action last year. More restrictive rules are now in place that put the majority of the American population out of reach of new LPFM station signals, and radio pirates of any kind are now permanently banned from participating in the new service. Continue reading “LPFM Lurches Forward”

Screwed!

LPFM’s Demise
In the waning moments of 2000 Congress has performed a partial abortion of a plan to expand community radio. As part of the federal government’s new budget, the House and Senate have approved a law that trumps the FCC’s authority to move forward with a plan to legalize new low power FM (LPFM) station licenses.
The FCC’s original intent (nearly two years ago) was to create as many as 800 new radio stations around the nation by slightly relaxing interference rules on the FM dial; this plan – and the threat of the competition it would create – mobilized America’s broadcast industry to protect its turf. Commercial broadcasters even teamed up with public radio interests in an unholy alliance never seen before to oppose these potential new voices on the dial. Continue reading “Screwed!”

Moment of Truth

Events taking place in Washington over the next month will determine the fate of the low power radio legalization effort in America.
The FCC approved the new LPFM service in January, and began taking applications for new stations this summer. However, when Congress tentatively approved legislation to severely curtail the new rules, the FCC effectively put all LPFM work on hold, and has temporarily suspended the next application filing window, which was to be opened this week.
The forces fighting for and against low power radio are both gearing up for this final faceoff. The commercial broadcast interests, fueled by deep pockets and close connections on Capitol Hill, are making a final lobbying push to get Congress to kill LPFM through its federal budget approval process. If that doesn’t work, Plan B involves a court challenge to the FCC’s new rules. Continue reading “Moment of Truth”

Overtime

Watching Congress move to quash the FCC’s new low power FM (LPFM) radio service has been much like watching a train bear down on an unfortunate damsel tied to the tracks.
You knew it was gonna happen, and you knew it would be a nasty sight, but you couldn’t help watching.
And so it happened. On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved a budget bill to fund the Federal Commerce, Justice and State Departments (by an eight vote margin). The U.S. Senate shortly followed suit.
In addition to doling out money to the three government agencies, the bill also contains completely unrelated items, like those restricting the Justice Department from pursuing lawsuits against the tobacco industry and significantly altering immigration laws.
This bill also contains “rider legislation” that will significantly reduce the FCC’s new low power FM radio program. Continue reading “Overtime”

Inside the Smoke-Filled Room

November’s elections are just around the corner, and as the hype on the campaign trail intensifies, Congress is still “at work” in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Senate is hammering out the federal budget; it approves it in pieces, as separate spending bills that lay out just how much each federal government agency gets to spend over the next fiscal year.
Unfortunately, budget bills not only get loaded down with “pork” (extraneous money seen as gifts Congressfolk get for their specific states or districts), they’re also notorious vehicles for politicians to ram laws through Congress that wouldn’t survive the normal approval procedure (like committee meetings, public hearings, etc.). Continue reading “Inside the Smoke-Filled Room”

Senate Moves to Kill

Congress is back “at work” in Washington, and the radio broadcast lobby has intensified its effort to kill the FCC’s new low power FM (LPFM) proposal through legislation.
It’s been nearly a half-year since the National Association of Broadcasters, conspiring with National Public Radio and others, convinced the House of Representatives to pass a bill drastically gutting the LPFM plan.
Since then, getting action in the Senate has been less successful. The original bill the NAB’s Senate puppets introduced, S. 2068, lost steam after gathering 36 cosponsors. Continue reading “Senate Moves to Kill”

On the Cusp

As often happens in Washington, there’s a flurry of activity on an issue – then it drops from the spotlight for a while. Such has been the case with low power radio.
Ever since Arizona Senator John McCain threw up a Congressional roadblock on the greased rails that the National Association of Broadcasters had built for a bill to ban the FCC’s re-legalization of low power FM stations, activity on Capitol Hill has dropped off.
Originally, many “inside the Beltway” felt that McCain’s introduction of a separate LPFM bill – allowing the FCC’s plan to continue yet opening up the new stations to huge lawsuits from commercial broadcasters, – was just a holding action designed to drain off the NAB’s lobbying momentum. Continue reading “On the Cusp”

The McCain Mystery

On May 30, the FCC will begin taking applications for the first new low power FM radio licenses to be issued since the agency initially banned them more than 30 years ago. Would-be broadcasters in 11 states and the Mariana Islands will get first crack at the 100-watt LPFM licenses; the first station could go on the air as early as August.
Yet a battle rages in Congress to kill the service before it even gets off the ground. So far, 34 Senators have signed onto anti-LPFM legislation that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved (with some changes) in mid-April.
But the broadcast lobby’s momentum appears to be slowing. It only takes 51 votes to pass a bill in the Senate (compared to 218 needed in the House) and the number of Senators committed to the bill stalled at around 30 for nearly a month. Continue reading “The McCain Mystery”

The Senate Skirmish

After a short breather thanks to a Congressional recess, both friends and foes of the FCC’s new low power radio plan have regrouped and are beginning to reorganize their efforts in the fight for LPFM’s survival.
The Senate is now back in session, and while action on a bill to kill low power radio in the House of Representatives was quick, all signs point to a much slower go in the second Congressional forum.
The Senate anti-LPFM bill remains in its Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, whose chairman is none other than Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), failed Presidential contender and radio industry friend. Continue reading “The Senate Skirmish”