LPFM enthusiasts- email or call your senator

[w9wi]

I don't know if you are talking about WRFN or not, but I know they have had some struggles over frequency.

Whether you are talking about them or not, I would suggest anyone within a day's drive of Nashville who considering becoming part of an LPFM application take a good look at the WRFN operation.

They may be THE POSTER CHILD of the movement that pushed the government hard to establish this class of stations. You may not agree with who they are and what they are (liberal, progressive, community activist) but they are doing something very novel in reaching out BEYOND their own frequency.

The last time I read up on them, they were using an alternate language channel on a TV station and I think it was also on a digital FM station sub-channel and they stream on the Internet. This way they can reach audience way, way beyond their LPFM transmitter coverage, 2nd channel interference and all.

Yep, I'm referring to WRFN. (and yes, they're really a very good example of what LPFM should be. Beyond the political content, they also air local *amateur* musicians, something you wouldn't think would be a rarity in Nashville.....)

They're on the SAP of *cable* TV channel 10, one of the community access channels. Supposedly they're on WBUZ-102.9 via FMExtra - for which there are unfortunately no available receivers... wish they could go up on someone's HD2...

 

[cold_coffee]

LPFM was a stupid idea to begin with. Why would we want to clog the radio dial
with a bunch of toy radio stations?
Anyone who thinks they will make money doing this as a business is out of their
mind.
And, too bad Dutch! You won't be able to help Touch FM in Boston. They won't
get a license now.

 

[bturner]

cold-coffee, you don't know much about the Low Power FMs out there. Yes, a few are hobby stations and a big number are religious broadcasters. Some LPFMs are financially successful. Some provide an exceptional service to their area. I can name call letters and names.

If Low Power FM is stupid, tell me what the alternative is. Ever tried to take on as many as 10 religious broadcasters to win a non-comm MX situation? The options I see are work for the rest of my life paying back the money it takes to buy a full power FM or send my attorney's kids through Ivy League Schools battling religious broadcasters with so many holdings Clear Channel look like a small fry, all in order to win a CP that will put me in so much debt I'd be too busy hustling for underwriting, grants and donations to spend any energy trying to serve the community. At least with LPFM my investment is not more than a mid-size car...much less in my case.

 

[TheBigA]

I was able to get the FCC to consider reinstating a low power broadcast service
in the 1980's by convincing them that this could provide a chance for ethnic minorities in
America's major cities to have radio stations.

Great idea. The FCC always talks about wanting more minority owners. Then they do nothing to help or encourage them. So now the ethnic minorities run pirate stations, and this new law clearly disqualifies any of them from owning LPFM.

This FCC has lost interest in broadcasting. All they care about is broadband and free internet.

 

[mattthepm]

Yep, I'm referring to WRFN. (and yes, they're really a very good example of what LPFM should be. Beyond the political content, they also air local *amateur* musicians, something you wouldn't think would be a rarity in Nashville.....)

They're on the SAP of *cable* TV channel 10, one of the community access channels. Supposedly they're on WBUZ-102.9 via FMExtra - for which there are unfortunately no available receivers... wish they could go up on someone's HD2...

You are correct on the SAP channel, but the FMeXtra side of things has been off the air for a while. The lack of receivers in the market and transport issues to WBUZ (i.e., internet connectivity) are the two main reasons.


-M,
Radio Free Nashville

 

[w9wi]

You are correct on the SAP channel, but the FMeXtra side of things has been off the air for a while. The lack of receivers in the market and transport issues to WBUZ (i.e., internet connectivity) are the two main reasons.

Obviously, for the first reason you cited, I had no way of knowing the FMExtra was off As little as I think of HD Radio, there *are* easily-available receivers. I've been working on a project at work that has surprised me just how expensive connectivity is over even short distances.

Don't give away any secrets, but do you folks expect to be able to take advantage of this weekend's events? 107.1 is working a lot better than 98.9, but there's still a lot of interference from WUHU.

 

[knowbetter]

It would have been better if the politicians had repealed their last 2 mistakes
instead of tightening the noose around the neck of the FCC.

Democracy did not win. Many Americans have filed comments on Docket 99-25.

Now the comments of the people are toilet paper.

This was The Devil in disguise.

Yea...I think I am tending to agree with you....

In those larger markets that "could have" figured out a way to get an LPFM, this is pretty much appears to kill any chance of getting a LPFM in place. Any LPFM that succeeds is going to have the "play' AT the level of the commercial stations, or they will be squashed...and most of them won't be able to because of lack of money, experience, or attitude!

In the smaller markets where there is space, it might work, but this has simply opened the door for the primary stations, to absolutely overpower the little guys, which before this bill, the FCC at least made difficult.

I don't see what "was won" in this compromise???

 

[MHVRadiofan]

I ask this as a serious question, not to offend anyone. In my hometown, Poughkeepsie NY, although a LPFM operator probably could find a couple of available frequencies there are no LPFM stations. About 20 miles away in Kingston NY there is one LPFM station, a satellite fed religious station. . I thought the idea of LPFM stations was to serve a geographically small local community with local issues in a way that full power stations don’t. How many LPFM stations actually do this? Or are they used similar to a translator by some well out of the area Religious Broadcaster feeding their programming in by satellite to a place they have no actual presence in. I have heard that the FCC has given them preference in some cases because they provide 24/7 service, which a small local group lacks the resources to do.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

It would have been better if the politicians had repealed their last 2 mistakes
instead of tightening the noose around the neck of the FCC.

Democracy did not win. Many Americans have filed comments on Docket 99-25.

Now the comments of the people are toilet paper.

This was The Devil in disguise.

Yea...I think I am tending to agree with you....

In those larger markets that "could have" figured out a way to get an LPFM, this is pretty much appears to kill any chance of getting a LPFM in place. Any LPFM that succeeds is going to have the "play' AT the level of the commercial stations, or they will be squashed...and most of them won't be able to because of lack of money, experience, or attitude!

In the smaller markets where there is space, it might work, but this has simply opened the door for the primary stations, to absolutely overpower the little guys, which before this bill, the FCC at least made difficult.

I don't see what "was won" in this compromise???

First of all, my health has been really bad for the last several years. This is why I had
to sell my WKLU in Indianapolis. I don't know how much fight I have left in me.

The FCC had completed the required study on 3rd channel interference. The politicians
were on their way to repealing The Radio Preservation Act without this sellout.

The FCC was considering a much better deal for LPFM without the sellout to the NAB.
The FCC was considering translator technical specs for LPFM. This has now been
thrown out. Frequencies that would have been ethnic minority stations in inner
cities will now become translators instead of LPFMs. I was able to sell the FCC
this LPFM idea in the first place by convincing them there would be minority
stations in inner city neighborhoods. This is gone with this bill.

Examples,
In Cincinnati, groups applied for 95.7 for LPFM. Meanwhile a full power applied
to leave their community of license for the Cincinnati area that would have knocked
them out. The FCC granted the LPFM CPs instead of the move in. Under this
sellout the LPFMs would have been thrown out and the full power move in
granted instead.

In Bloomington, Indiana, WIUX, IU's student run radio station faced displacement
from full power move ins. The full powers had to compensate WIUX and help move
WIUX. Under this bill, WIUX could have been told to jump in a lake. The FCC had
adopted a policy to treat LPFMs like primary stations. This is gone.

And, how about the announcement the new LPFMs will be required to make. "This
station may be causing interference. Please report us" That's suicide. Every licensed
station I have ever built took some other station off the dial. But, the rules were on
my side. Invite people to complain and of course it will happen.

Our only hope now is that President Obama will see that ethnic minority radio for
America's inner cities has been sold out and that he does the right thing.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

I ask this as a serious question, not to offend anyone. In my hometown, Poughkeepsie NY, although a LPFM operator probably could find a couple of available frequencies there are no LPFM stations. About 20 miles away in Kingston NY there is one LPFM station, a satellite fed religious station. . I thought the idea of LPFM stations was to serve a geographically small local community with local issues in a way that full power stations don’t. How many LPFM stations actually do this? Or are they used similar to a translator by some well out of the area Religious Broadcaster feeding their programming in by satellite to a place they have no actual presence in. I have heard that the FCC has given them preference in some cases because they provide 24/7 service, which a small local group lacks the resources to do.

An LPFM should provide an alternative to what is already on the air. It should not be used
as a satellite repeater. It's about local radio and community voices. Local announcements,
weather, and music not available elsewhere should be aired.

I had hoped that LPFM would bring service to small towns that did not have a station.
However, no one applied for many of these channels and many remain vacant.

 

[bturner]

Many of the LPFMs went to Churches who put up a satellite dish and run their denomination's programming. The local programming is the legal ID on the hour.

A couple of denominational ministries began contacting Churches before the first window and found many congregations willing to do their own stations. There is the question of how this was funded because some congregations are so small they would have real trouble financing it themselves, much less paying the electric bill.

A smaller number of stations tend to fall into three types: hobby/jukebox radio run by people who always wanted a station, real hometown radio with news, weather and community involvement and generally left of center politically community access stations that offer time to anyone that is not fodder for commercial radio.

From what I see, the satellite delivered Christian stations, hobby stations and most community access stations struggle but those that opted for the hometown radio approach tend to do pretty well. While my mind says the Christian, hobby and community access stations suffer from very small listening audiences because they target a small number of potential listeners in a tiny coverage area, I realize the real reason for their struggling is the general lack of priority given revenue generation. Most hometown station formats have a well thought out funding plan with people to do the work.

So, while most LPFMs ended up being satellite delivered Christian programming or 'my favorite music' stations, quite a few have become community access stations and true small town local stations reflecting life in their listening area.

Many LPFM operators had no prior radio experience or minimal experience. There are others that operate stations that are longtime radio pros ranging from a retired former major market GM for a group owner cluster to former commercial radio station owners wanting to have some fun without all the money going back to the bank.

So, while LPFM didn't pan out as the initial vision, there are still a substantial number that 'got it' and now are living 'it'.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

I had hoped that LPFM would bring service to small towns that did not have a station.
However, no one applied for many of these channels and many remain vacant.

The problem there is that LPFM was in too many circles a well kept secret. I realize there were all the required public notices, etc. There were two categories of people who were up-to-speed during the early windows for applications: The Evangelical church groups spread the word and encouraged their people to apply at the local level. The mission organizations involved in religious broadcasting said: We will provide you with all the programming you can eat. Part of the message was: "We've got to lock up these frequencies before the liberals get them."

The other activist group would be a consortium of liberals. Those concerned about minorities. Those concerned about migrant farm workers. Those concerned about labor issues. And some of the major church denominations with a liberal component in their membership.

Small town LPFMs appear to be overwhelminly conservative evangelical church oriented.

There are exceptions around, but small town America tends to be a place where you have to be one tough hombre to be a liberal, to be an activist liberal. Thus the people who were on mailing lists and what was then this new fangled Internet and e-mail thing who heard about LPFM being available for small towns tended to be only the people related to conservative churches, and the only programming of interest to them was wall-to-wall Christian programming. All this other stuff about interviews and raising public awareness of social issues, and serving the needs of minorities including the aging and the elderly was never well communicated to anyone in small towns.

By the time a few LPFMs got on the air and some of us became aware of this new class of stations, the Application Window had shut down. There are so few rural area LPFMs because there have been no application windows for years now.

And here is the painful, bloody thing that has to happen, and it will take years to clean up. Many of us will jump in with an application. Either during the application process traditional broadcasters will file protests about potential interference, or after the new stations get on the air, there will be complaints that LPFM "is poaching my distant fringe listening area" by existing broadcasters, including some of the religious translators. Respected people in small towns who are on the board of directors of these newly granted (or newly denied applications) are the kind of people who have congressmen and senators on the speed-dial. Congress will start hearing about LPFM from a group of people who have never been on the radar screen of this topic before.

I hope the following terminology is not too offensive for this board, but members of congress will sit through some "Come to Jesus" meetings on this topic they have experienced up until now. (The same goes for FCC staff people.) When you get the county judge or the president of the biggest industry in some little town, or the local hospital administrator on the phone with Congressman Joe Leghorn, it was affect Washington. There hasn't been enough of that in the past ten years to turn the tide on this topic.

 

[Flying-Dutchman]

In the very beginning there were no groups of LPFM advocates. There were 4
guys with different ideas. It wasn't until the few had brought it on that everyone
got on the bandwagon.

This mistake must be fixed now or never.

Next concerning MX groups. This can take years for the FCC to sort this out.
I believe it took 8 years for the Cincinnati grants.

So, the FCC has 1 year to do a study.
Then, they must write the new rules. Add 6 months to a year. Now, we are at the end
of 2012. Now open a filing window. Add 6 month to 2 years. Now get in a MX situation.
Add many years. Some new LPFMs may be on in 2013. Some could be looking
at 2020.

Most dreamers fail to obtain a license because they don't have the patience or the
time to go through the process.

 

[TheBigA]

This mistake must be fixed now or never.

Practically speaking, it won't happen. Congress is done. Everyone is singing cumbaya.

Most dreamers fail to obtain a license because they don't have the patience or the
time to go through the process.

Or they become pirates, which is a whole 'nother discussion. But there's a reason for the process, and it's specifically to discourage hobbyists. Ask the amateur radio folks. THey've been fighting since the 1920s. And the Part 15 folks have been fighting too. There is a bigger picture to this whole discussion. But the bottom line right now is one word: Compromise. THe Rolling Stones once said "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you get what you need." People need to find ways to work together, or they'll always be unhappy. THat's what happened here. So no, there won't be LPFM in Chicago. But there are lots of struggling AM licenses available right now. Maybe it's time to have another look at small AM rather than LPFM.

 

[TheBigA]

When you get the county judge or the president of the biggest industry in some little town, or the local hospital administrator on the phone with Congressman Joe Leghorn, it was affect Washington. There hasn't been enough of that in the past ten years to turn the tide on this topic.

I really think that train left the station a long time ago. Right now local governments are struggling to pay the cops and keep the schools open. There's no money or time for radio. I used to work with local governments on this, and they used to be interested. Not any more. The next big depression is about to hit local government, and it won't be pretty. Schools and hospitals will be closing. Less public service, not more.

 

[RadioMan203]

I really think that train left the station a long time ago. Right now local governments are struggling to pay the cops and keep the schools open. There's no money or time for radio. I used to work with local governments on this, and they used to be interested. Not any more. The next big depression is about to hit local government, and it won't be pretty. Schools and hospitals will be closing. Less public service, not more.

These are some good points, but what I really wonder about is all the AM stations wanting to move to FM with translators. Do you think the NAB will allow more LPFMs to come online in light of all the AM stations struggling? I honestly don't know what kind of lobbying effort they would put forth, having not worked for a NAB member station in a couple of decades, but I can only imagine the racket they could make on behalf of the AM broadcaster.

 

[TheBigA]

Do you think the NAB will allow more LPFMs to come online in light of all the AM stations struggling?

I think that's why translators were given preference. Specifically for AMs seeking to move.

 

[fela]

Flying Dutchman wrote:

"The FCC had completed the required study on 3rd channel interference. The politicians
were on their way to repealing The Radio Preservation Act without this sellout. "

Completely false. The bill has been in many forms and failed year after year.

"In the very beginning there were no groups of LPFM advocates. There were 4
guys with different ideas. It wasn't until the few had brought it on that everyone
got on the bandwagon."

So what are you working on now? The internet?

 

[Nate Wesley]

LPFM was a stupid idea to begin with. Why would we want to clog the radio dial
with a bunch of toy radio stations?
Anyone who thinks they will make money doing this as a business is out of their
mind.

If only you'd realize that for many, it isn't just about business--but a legitimate passion that hopefully adds to local community flavor. What other reason would so many people here in the part-15 side want to ADD to their electricity bills and other elective costs?

 

[FreddyE1977]

Community radio will happen when it goes pirate in about 100 cities simultaneously and then
dares the government to try and shut it down.