Where are Austin's LPFMs

[Unknowable]

San Antonio has several LPFM stations on air, while Austin has... NONE!

The closest to Austin are 92-5 in San Marcos and 106.7 in Georgetown, both sound good. But where the heck are Austin's LPFMs at, which are located in the metro? There are lots of CPs and most are expiring soon... My only guesses are either they all can't afford to build the stations, or the engineers in Austin don't care about LPFMs-- JK.

Really though I'd expect at least one to be on-air now...

 

[Mediafrog+]

Many LPFM applicants went into the process without the money necessary to actually get the stations on the air. They know virtually nothing about the nuts and bolts of radio broadcasting and have no clue about what they have gotten themselves into.

Also, I suspect that many have come to the realization of "We have to program a station minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year? With what?" A number of LPFMs are owned by social activist groups with an ax to grind, or people with a "cause" who are now discovering that they have to come up with actual programming that people will listen to. And they also have to find the money to keep it all going.

 

[b-turner]

The LPFMs, although I have not looked up the individual applications, may very well be working out details of how and where they will get on the air. For one LPFM, not in Austin, they applied for an existing tower but never intended to use the tower, rather erecting their own tower nearby by modifying their Construction Permit. For this station it took ten months to get city and the county to okay the tower before the heavy rainfall left the ground too saturated to get in the heavy equipment to build the tower. They had to file to extend the Construction Permit. Other stations have had their well laid plans fall through and are scrambling to get on.

Contrary to the common belief most groups have no idea how to do things is the much more frequent problem of individual board members creating issues. You would be amazed how many folks that have no radio experience demand their ideas are the only viable ideas and turn board member against board member, sometimes tossing out the person that brought the vision to the group. Many times boards evolve, promises are broken and such. It is true most groups haven't a clue but most make it on the air regardless.

One of the classics I heard was a seasoned radio guy was brought in to consult a group who laid out a plan for the station, all the logistics and such. He was to assist in programming and sell Underwriting. Once the board figured out the guy had commercial radio experience, not public radio experience they threw him out on the grounds public radio was a different animal and the board had just as much experience as he had in running a non-commercial station. If you've done radio, you understand what I'm saying...about like the difference between being a barber shop versus a salon. Both are very much identical, it's just one cuts men's hair and the other cuts ladies' hair.

It is true most haven't a clue about how to run a station, that it is a 7 day a week job and that it requires actual cash to keep things rolling. Some think they can cater to a very small group that will hand over their cash eagerly to support the station and they are always wrong. Most of these stations do get going and then call it quits after the board tires of opening their wallets monthly to cover expenses.

The overall ratio is a very high percentage make it on the air but generally within 2 or 3 years about 1/3rd call it quits, most never trying to hand off the station to an eager non-profit group that would like to have it and even reimburse for some of the costs the original group incurred.