Austin move-ins scorecard

[jd]

As I recall, the northern and southern tiers of the proposal could have been executed independently of one another, but, like you said, it seems to be a dead horse. The defect was in the northern part of the proposal, and no one has bothered to push for the southern part. Also, do you know if the FCC has decided on making proposals involving more than a set amount of stations major modifications? I know they were considering requiring major modifications for city of license changes involving more than 5 or 7 stations, but it seems like much of the FCC has gone the other way by allowing stations to one-step into new communities.

We'll never know, Kent. But I don't really think the two parts could have been separated. Actually there were two versions of the original plan at one time; both of them had the Waco move(s) as a component. What remains of the plan (the southern tier) actually contains some moves that spill over with tidbits in the north.

It looks like the FCC is still looking at ways to relieve the backlog of applications that involve multiple station moves. I haven't anything in the way of a final edict on the matter. The latest trend that you mention about allowing a station to move more easily is disturbing.

What's really needed is a way to ensure that places that need stations don't lose out to some far-flung suburb that's clearly part of a large metropolitan area. The requirements involving that showing ("an independent community") need to be revised. If that can't be done, throw it all out and start over by allowing stations to be licensed to a metro area, not an individual community, since that's actually the way it is. Then set a cap on the number of stations allowed in that metro area based of population along with a requirement that rural areas and outlying smaller communities not be deprived of service.

The move-in of KLTO 97.7 is a great example of cause and effect. The ability to pick up stakes and move the station to McQueeney was there under the rules. The station is one part of the stalled re-allocation master plan; in the final realization of that plan it would be licensed to Converse and broadcast from the Tower of the Americas. Did McQueeney need a new station? Not really. Does Converse need one? Probably not, since it's part of the San Antonio metropolitan area and its local identity is thereby diminished. But what about Cuero's local identity and its right to have a local voice? They got a brand new radio station, KQRO 97.7 (their first FM), back in 1987. Twenty years later, it's a San Antonio station. KLTO's tower isn't really that far from Cuero, but the place where it all began is left with no real local service on FM. Oh, and as for AM radio in Cuero that's a distant memory, ever since KOKE 1600 took to the airwaves in Pflugerville, on the north side of Austin.

There's much to be said for the old system of designated "local channel" FM frequency classes and some of the procedures that were in place before Docket 80-90 and deregulation.