Local Community Radio Act

Last updated
Local Community Radio Act of 2010
Great Seal of the United States (obverse).svg
Long titleAn Act To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and for other purposes.
Enacted bythe 111th United States Congress

The Local Community Radio Act is an act of broadcast law in the United States, explicitly authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to license local low-power broadcasting in the FM broadcast band (LPFM). After five years and four versions, it passed the U.S. Congress in 2010, granting equal protection to community radio stations with regard to translator and booster stations. All three types of stations remain secondary to full-power radio stations, which are typically owned by major corporations and nonprofits. (Previously, this second-class status was only a part of FCC regulation, rather than law.) The act negates the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, which prevented community LPFM stations on the basis of RF interference.

Contents

Versions

Local Community Radio Act of 2005

Local Community Radio Act of 2007

Sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressmen Mike Doyle and Lee Terry and in the U.S. Senate by Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain the Local Community Radio Act of 2007 failed to be voted on. The House bill, H.R. 2802, was referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet on June 21, 2007. Other than that nothing has come to the observation till now. [3] Since the bill was not passed in FY 2007, the bill was removed from the docket as Never Passed.

Local Community Radio Act of 2009

This bill was an update of the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. It required FCC to alter current rules in order to eliminate the minimum distance separation between low-power FM stations and third-adjacent-channel stations. [4] Previously, there had been a minimum distance requirement, however the FCC found that LPFM stations did not cause any interference on third-adjacent channel stations, thus eliminating the need for such a requirement. [5]

The Local Community Radio Act of 2009 also required that the FCC keep the rules that offer interference protection to third-adjacent channels that offer a radio reading service (the reading of newspapers, books or magazines for those who are blind or hearing impaired.) [6] This protection was to ensure that such channels are not subject to possible interference by LPFM stations. [3]

The final part of the bill required that when giving out licenses to FM stations, the FCC must make licenses available to LPFM stations and that licensing decisions be made with regard to local community needs. [4]

The bill had unanimous bipartisan support from FCC leadership. [7] It was passed by the House and referred to the Senate.

Local Community Radio Act of 2010

The Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (based upon legislation originally introduced in 2005) was signed into law by President Barack Obama on January 4, 2011 as Pub. L. Tooltip Public Law (United States)  111–371 (text) (PDF), after passage in the House on December 17, 2010, and the U.S. Senate on December 18, 2010. In a statement after the bill became law, Federal Communications Commission Chair Julius Genachowski said, "Low power FM stations are small, but they make a giant contribution to local community programming. This important law eliminates the unnecessary restrictions that kept these local stations off the air in cities and towns across the country." The Act states the following: The Federal Communications Commission, when licensing new FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations, shall ensure that-- (1) licenses are available to FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations; (2) such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community; and (3) FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations remain equal in status and secondary to existing and modified full-service FM stations. In General- The Federal Communications Commission shall modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation requirements between-- (1) low-power FM stations; and (2) full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, and FM booster stations.

Rulemaking

In July 2011, the FCC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in response to the law. It proposes to put a "floor" on the number of community LPFM stations in each media market, without considering the land area which the market covers. This could be detrimental for community stations in markets with a lower population density and could result in LPFM stations being pushed into the exurbs, where more channels are available, but far fewer potential listeners live within a small broadcast range.

A March 19, 2012, FTC ruling appears to address the concern that major corporations using "translator" stations as LPFMs, originating programming that could otherwise only have been heard on AM or on a proprietary digital radio system called HD Radio. This use, disallowed by the FCC, could have circumvented caps intended to prevent excessive concentration of media ownership, and violates the noncommercial, localism, power, and height rules that other community LPFM stations must abide by. [8]

Related Research Articles

Communications in the United States include extensive industries and distribution networks in print and telecommunication. The primary telecom regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission.

A broadcast range is the service area that a broadcast station or other transmission covers via radio waves. It is generally the area in which a station's signal strength is sufficient for most receivers to decode it. However, this also depends on interference from other stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-power broadcasting</span> Radio or TV service, 100W or less

Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" and broadcast translators. LPAM, LPFM and LPTV are in various levels of use across the world, varying widely based on the laws and their enforcement.

Micropower radio is a subset of pirate radio concerned with low-power radio broadcasting, usually less than about 100 watts radiated power and sometimes less than 0.1 watt. Micropower radio transmits to a number of recipients that belong to a small local group. Beginning in the early 1990s, there has been an increase in micropower radio because of the desire for such a service in local communities. Micropower radio gives an avenue for small groups and individuals to provide local neighborhood or community broadcasts of information, diverse programming, and entertainment. Micropower radio is usually a non-commercial service.

In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HD Radio</span> Digital radio broadcast technology

HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used primarily by AM and FM radio stations in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines, with a few implementations outside North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travelers' information station</span> US DOT-licensed radio station

A travelers' information station (TIS), also called highway advisory radio (HAR) by the United States Department of Transportation, is a licensed low-powered non-commercial radio station, used to broadcast information to the general public, including for motorists regarding travel, destinations of interest, and situations of imminent danger and emergencies. They are commonly operated by transportation departments, national and local parks departments and historic sites, airport authorities, local governments, federal agencies, colleges and universities, hospitals and health agencies, and for special events and destinations.

A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary from band to band.

The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group with a mission to resist corporate media consolidation and radio homogenization in the United States. Founded in 1998 by a small group of radio activists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Prometheus has participated in the community radio movement by providing technical training, helping marginalized communities gain access to affordable media outlets, and creating a network of low power community radio stations. A lot of Prometheus' efforts have over-time been focused on legal advocacy for low-power FM (LPFM) stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNOV</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WNOV is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It airs an urban contemporary radio format, with some weekday talk shows and urban gospel music on Sundays. The station is owned by the Courier Communications Corporation and is leased to a company called Radio Multi-Media. The studios are on West Capital Drive in Milwaukee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPOZ</span> Christian radio station in Orlando, Florida

WPOZ is a non-commercial, listener-supported FM radio station licensed to Orlando, and serving all of Central Florida. It is owned by Central Florida Educational Foundation, Inc., and operated by Z Ministries, inc. It broadcasts a Christian Adult Contemporary radio format. The radio studios are in Altamonte Springs.

KPNW is a commercial radio station licensed to Eugene, Oregon, and serving the Eugene-Springfield area. It is owned by Bicoastal Media and it airs a talk radio format, known as "Newsradio 1120 and 93.7". The studios and offices are on Valley River Drive in Eugene. KPNW and Portland's KOPB-FM are Oregon's primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadcast relay station</span> Repeater transmitter

A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats the signal of a radio or television station to an area not covered by the originating station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQJJ-LP</span> Low-power radio station in Jasper, Alabama

WQJJ-LP is an American low-power FM radio station licensed to serve the community of Jasper, Alabama. WQJJ-LP is owned by North Alabama Public Service Broadcasters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital television transition in the United States</span> 2009 switchover in the U.S. from analog to digital broadcasting of TV programming

The digital transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. According to David Rehr, then president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, this transition represented "the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced." For full-power TV stations, the transition went into effect on June 12, 2009, with stations ending regular programming on their analog signals no later than 11:59 p.m. local time that day.

This is a list of low-power television stations (LPTV) in the United States, transmitting on VHF channel 6, which also operate as radio stations capable of being picked up by many standard FM receivers. These stations are colloquially known as "Franken FMs", a reference to Frankenstein's monster, because TV stations functioning as radio stations had not been envisioned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC commonly refers to these stations as "FM6" operations. All of these FM transmissions are authorized for operation on a center frequency of 87.75 MHz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W243CE</span> Radio station in Winder, Georgia

W243CE, is a Spanish-language music radio station having Winder, Georgia as its city of license, and previously transmitting from west-northwest of Winder, about halfway to Auburn, Georgia.

WRTH-LP is an oldies/beach music radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, and serving the entire Greenville County region. It is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast on 101.5 MHz with an FCC authorized ERP of 100 watts. The station goes by the name "Oldies Radio Kool-FM"

Call signs in the United States are identifiers assigned to radio and television stations, which are issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and, in the case of most government stations, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). They consist of from 3 to 9 letters and digits, with their composition determined by a station's service category. By international agreement, all call signs starting with the letters K, N, and W, as well as AAA-ALZ, are reserved exclusively for use in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-07-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=8904246a-cd92-489c-81b1-48d8eddc4298 Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20170202083412/http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=8904246a-cd92-489c-81b1-48d8eddc4298
  3. 1 2 GovTrack.us. (2007) "H.R. 2802: Local Community Radio Act of 2007." GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 12, 2008, from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2802
  4. 1 2 WashingtonWatch.com. (2009) "H.R. 1147, The Local Community Radio Act of 2009." "WashingtonWatch.com." Retrieved May 23, 2009, from http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_1147.html#toc2
  5. ↑ RADIO magazine - The Radio Technology Leader. (2004) "FCC Reports LPFM Interference Findings to Congress." "Media Access Project." Retrieved May 24, 2009, from "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ↑ KPBS Radio Reading Service. "About." "KPBS." Retrieved May 23, 2009, from http://kpbsreadingservice.org
  7. ↑ United States Congress (September 18, 2009). "FCC: Unanimous, bipartisan support for LPFM". Free Press. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20.
  8. ↑ RawStory.com, FCC decision strikes critical blow to right-wing radio dominance, March 20, 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.