NATIONAL LPFM APPLICANTS COMMITTEE
OLD "57 Channels" Page
How would your life be different if you had
a radio station?
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What different music would be played...
different people would be interviewed ...
events would be "newsworthy" ?
You are probably one of the third of America that so-often
cannot find the programming they want on the FM dial.
You are probably getting tired of having to "make do"
with spreadsheet-driven programming.
Well, that is about to change ...
Solution One: (preferable)
Support "Low Power FM" and start your own Community radio
station or help another nonprofit build one.
On February 20th, 2000, the Federal Communication Commission
(FCC) voted 3-2 in favor of creating new opportunities for "The Rest Of
US" not heard on the radio dial to build "Low Power FM" radio stations
to serve our neighborhoods.
LPFM is specifically designed by the FCC to be simple
enough and affordable enough that a coalition of civic organizations, small
churches and advocacy/ educational organizations could apply for them over
the Internet. LPFM stations are estimated to cost less than a mid-range
new car. 100 watt LPFM stations would cover a 7 mile diameter. During the
first round of applications, only the 100 Watt applications will be accepted.
After this first round, 10 Watt applications will be accepted.
PLUS:
FM radio is an established and robust technology. Just
about everyone has an FM radio.
Thus LPFM's new and new local voices will
help re-invigorate American's engagement with government and corporate
policies.
Bottom Line: If people don't feel represented by their
government, do we have the will to collectively pull through the next war
or national tragedy?
LPFM will help re-establish a republic with room at the
table for everyone's stories , culture and music.
MINUS:
An African Proverb comes to mind, "When the Elephants fight, it is
the grass that suffers."
The "Big Dogs" , the "Elephants" of "Government radio" (National Public
Radio, NPR) and the larger commercial radio groups represented by their
lobbyists (National Association of Broadcasters, NAB) are opposed to Low
Power FM.
If there was ever any question, the LPFM issue has demonstrated once
and for all that a politician that votes purely in the public interest
is rare and Congress is largely a building full of wind-vanes.
It really comes down to who blows harder, the money of the
big institutional lobbyists, or you and I?
MORE INFO BELOW ...
Jump straight to "How Do I Start My Own Station?"
... or if you don't have the time or inclination
to go to the substantial pain the *** to do any of your own programming
on your own station ...
you just want to hear some programs that speak to your
soul, "What Can little ol' I Do?" |
Solution Two: (AltToFM)
Help us build the "Alternative to the FM dial 'reverse
network' "
This will draw off listeners until the FM stations are as devalued as
the AM dial then we can move in and buy the stations at bankruptcy auctions.
THEN
we can get the diverse local radio we really wanted.
Here's how it works.
Technology such as MP3 players and 56+kbaud Internet access
has brought us to the point where your favorite new programming could be
downloaded nightly to your Diamond
Rio player, or Minijam
MP3 Player for your Handspring
Visor Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). You could also download the
MP3 files directly to your Casio
PDA for play. Then again, there will soon be devices that download
programming like the Internet, but without a computer or phone line ...
wireless subscription services like Command
Audio and Cue Corporation products.
What is different this time ...
Unlike other "virtual radio networks" such as
Command
Audio, Audible and Webactive,
or for that matter the new direct audio satellite broadcast services of
Sirius
and XM Corporation, the Radio 4 The
Rest Of US Network would provide programming that is :
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free to the listener ...
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controlled by the listener ...
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downloads to your MP3 player for one-button playing the next
day whether portably or on your desktop.
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creates a new opportunity for new and niche interest
programming providers to find listeners outside the traditional
networks.
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And is of-course a good meeting place for programmer providers
to get uploaded by smaller radio stations.
PLUS:
This kind of network puts an unprecedented amount of power in the hands
of the listener.
This turns the traditional programming network on its head.
This is the "information revolution" brought to life "for the
rest of us" ignored by the traditional networks.
MINUS:
Not everyone has a good enough computer to enjoy audio on the Internet.
Not everyone has a good enough Internet connection. Not everyone has an
MP3 player. Not everyone by a long ways.
This will unfortunately contribute the the further balkanization of
America ... an America of those with choices and the tools to create and
accept opportunity and those who are largely left out and left behind.
ALSO: There is unlikely to be any local
component to this network. At least at first.
Only after MP3 players are as cheap as a simple walkman for $30 and
the fast and stable Internet connections and this kind of network
has been established for a while can we establish local studios that will
have a significant audience for that local area.
And even then, the programming will be often delayed, not live.
Already there are some interesting efforts in that direction at the
A-Infos
Radio Project and at the
Independent
Media Center that provides
an alternative to a so-called "objective" centralized press.
We hope that our effort would be more like an internet based version
of Command Audio ... but unlike
Command, with a broader selection of programming that is often not
already available on your local FM dial.
For more information visit our AltToFM
page ...
and for chuckles read Why LPFM is the best
thing that ever happened to FM (for broadcasters no less!)
Gives pause for thought that the NAB and NPR
opposition is not entirely a matter of cold logic alone. |
RESOURCES:
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Virginia Center for the Public Press
testified with Amherst
Alliance for LPFM in the HR3439 hearings. This testimony preceeded
by one week the now famous reply by the FCC that the NAB and NPR 's testimony
was misleading. In other words, citizen action created room for
sympathetic bureaucracy to move forward.
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"Elephants" oppose "grass"(roots) creating alternative
to their centralized FM radio networks:
African Proverb:
"When Elephants fight, it is the grass that
suffers." |
The Big Broadcasters represented by the National Association
of Broadcasters (NAB) and National Public Radio (NPR) don't want the competition
and are pressuring Congress with misleading testimony!
Their contention:
That you receiver will not be able to separate the signal
from their multi-thousand watt stations and our little 100 watt stations.
The only problem with this testimony:
If this were going to be a problem, it would
already
have been a problem for over 30 years!
There are already existing hundreds of hugely powerful
"Short Spaced" stations that have been transmitting
for 30 years spaced the same (and sometimes even less) distance apart as
the LPFM stations would be. There has been no substantial problem for these
20,000 and 50,000 watt stations … there won't be for our 100 watt stations
either.
Similarly, NPR is contending that the "Subcarrier"
based Reading Services for the Blind will be disrupted by LPFM stations.
Again, if that were true, then it would already be
a problem. It is not and if it were, you can bet the companies that serve
business services over the "subcarrier" channels would also be strongly
opposing LPFM.
They are not.
The big broadcasters claim that they are simply serving
the marketplace and if your story, your music and culture, your values
are not reflected on the radio dial, it is because there are not enough
of you to justify creation of programming.
That is true only because the big broadcasters
are lazy and have created and are now trying to enforce an artificial
scarcity of channels that would have created competition on the radio dial.
Bottom line: This struggle makes it all the clearer
that if you want your story and cultural values to be heard on your local
radio dial you'll have to do it yourself.
The National LPFM Applicants Committee (NLPFMAC) is formed
to provide a group and a collection point for resources for those of us
who have decided to address the lack of diversity and representation on
the radio dial by jumping through all the many hoops that are required
for a legal radio station. Luckily, the FCC has really tried quite
hard to make this process under the LPFM application quite doable for smaller
civic and educational volunteer organizations.
The NLPFMAC also exists to provide a place where policy
recommendations and critiques of policies can be created that are presented
from their perspective of those who are trying to work with the
system ... yet do not accept the current status quo in radio.
RESOURCES:
In the US House of Representatives,
bill number HR3439, "Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 1999"
has only one purpose ... to cripple LPFM and thereby to "preserve"
the status quo in radio where 30%
of America is ignored. The Senate version of the "Broadcasting Preservation
Act" is SB2068.
On 4/13/00 just under 2/3rds of the US House of Representatives
voted for HR3439, the "Broadcast Preservation Act" based on the misleading
testimony of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and National
Public Radio (NPR). President Clinton has publicly declared he "strongly
opposes" the Broadcast Preservation Acts that the Senate (Bill # S2068)
is expected to be considering in May.
HR3439 reduces the number of LPFM stations from over 400
to about 70 (and none in major cities) by unfairly disallowing LPFMs fair
use of the same spacing rules allowed hundreds of existing "Short Spaced"
full powered stations.
In the Senate, The Senate
version of the "Broadcast Preservation Act", S2068 outlaws LPFM entirely.
Codifying into law this favoritism to the big broadcasters
violates the 14th Amendment that guarantees equal treatment for all.
ALSO IN THE SENATE: the latest move
was to introduce a "compromise" called the "FM Radio Act of 2000"
that would essentially require that anyone alleging an LPFM is causing
interference must bury that LPFM under lawsuits. This is not to be required
of Full Power Broadcasters alleged to cause interference and thus
is once again a violation of the 14th Amendment that guarantees us all
equal treatment under the law.
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In order to claim an opportunity to create free airtime,
you must spread the word and persuade your Senator and Congressmen you
will support them if they support you. The larger broadcasters are working
to persuade your Senator or Congressman to kill your opportunity to
be on the air. The broadcasters have the money and the space on public
property, the FM dial, but you have the vote!
"Broadcast Preservation" has picked up a substantial number
of co-sponsors and without your help getting the word out, LPFM may be
just a barely remembered dream.
TACTICS: TO GET YOUR OWN STATION:
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CONTACT PRESIDENT CLINTON
... ask him to follow up on his threat to veto the "Broadcast Preservation
Acts" and also ask for Clinton to Veto the "FM Radio Act of 2000" as well.
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CONTACT
YOUR SENATORS ... ask that they vote NO on "Broadcast Preservation
Act" (SB2068) and "FM Radio Act of 2000" (SB2518) as well.
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CONTACT
YOUR CONGRESSCRITTER ... ask that they vote NO on HR3439, the "Broadcast
Preservation Act" in the US House of Representatives when the bill comes
back from a Veto for another vote. If your Congresscritter already stood
up for freedom by voting NO on HR3439 the first time through ... THANK
THEM!!!!
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Please fill out our partner's Letter
of Intention form now. We along with New Horizon's Radio and thousands
of others need your support to help secure the future of the Low Power
FM (LPFM) Radio Service that will enable millions of Americans to hear
thousands of new free radio stations This Letter
of Intention will be packaged with our request to the President of
the United States and Members of Congress to indicate need for this type
of community service.
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Leave us your
email. Tell us what state and town you live in and what organization
you work with. We can then tailor our response to your area. BE SURE
TO LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER.
Ask us to mail you our
videotape to play on your Cable Public Access Channel. A local version
of this ran in Richmond Virginia and brought 60 hits a day to that website!
The tape consists of an MS Powerpoint slideshow on the visual portion that
discusses LPFM and related issues and provides viewers with phone
numbers and web resources to gain more information and places to take action
such as writing to their Senator and the President. Then you put whatever
soundtrack you want on the audio portion of this tape. You can re-submit
the tape to the Cable Public Access station with a new audio content, a
kind of "radio on your TV" as often as you can arrange with your Cable
station. The Richmond version had both local content as well as examples
of other community radio programs downloaded over the Internet or passed
along by tape. This was the single most effective
education tool
we have found yet.
We can insert a video page with
your local contact
information as well.
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Join other organizations in your area so you can influence
the FCC to give you the license as well as prove to your elected officials
that they should support you. The Low Power FM service is designed by the
FCC for nonprofits. In order to win the stiff competition you will need
to form a coalition of groups in your area. You will need to show the FCC
that you have Letters Of Intent from your neighboring nonprofits and interest
groups and churches to demonstrate that you will provide community
service and value.
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Have these organizations write Letters Of Intention
to help you build the station and create programming that is relevant to
your community. It will help if the programming and the sources of programming
are identifiably different from that which is already on the air
on other stations.
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Send these letters to the President
of the United States. Ask that President Clinton
veto
the "Broadcast Preservation Act".
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Send these letters to your Senators
and Congressmen.
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And educate yourself and others
about this effort to create at least one station in each area that allows
you to tell your story! You can start my clicking
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FINALLY ... yes APPLY
for the LPFM license. Some basic instructions to get you started HERE
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If you want
to keep updated
SUBSCRIBE TO NLPFMAC-E-ZINE
(FREE)
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VIRGINIA
CENTER FOR THE PUBLIC PRESS PRESENTS:
FM4U.S.
This is an effort to ensure that the public's airwaves are kept open for
the benefit of all, not just the beautiful, rich or popular.
This site is designed to address efforts by a powerful minority to bend
public policy to their aide and benefit at our expense and loss of liberty
and access to the many voices of a healthy democratic republic.
VIRGINIA CENTER FOR THE PUBLIC PRESS PRESENTS:
FM4U.S.A
This is an effort to ensure that the public's airwaves are kept open
for the benefit of all, not just the beautiful, rich or popular.
This site is designed to address efforts by a powerful minority to bend
public policy to their aide and benefit at our expense and loss of liberty
and access to the many voices of a healthy Democratic Republic.
The Basic Plan: Destroy the remaining stations
that have resisted consolidation including any new LPFM stations that are
started.
How? Force a new standard for Digital Audio Broadcasting
(IBOC-DAB) * that destroys your ability to hear weaker
and/or more distant stations.
Eliminating LPFM in only the beginning to the longer range plan.
Eliminating LPFM only makes it easier to convert the FM
dial into a huge wireless Broadband Internet pipeline at the expense of
your favorite programming. IBOC-DAB will double the width of radio
stations thereby legally jamming any lower power or more distant station
that formerly competed for your attention.
With IBOC-DAB in place, you will have less and fewer of the smaller
independent stations to choose from..
And that is ultimately the real goal, have all advertising and
underwriting go through just a few owners hands, to simplify and reduce
the number of different radio programming providers.
Saving LPFM is only the beginning.
Please call your Congressmen and
Senators ... make sure they know you know that you want to
hear your favorite station on the radios you already own!
Lookup
Your Congressmen
and Senators
by ZIP Code HERE
Ask your Federal Representatives and Senators
to send a letter to the FCC Commissioners that we must:
1) Keep the FM dial FM
(no "mandatory sunsetting" [prohibition] of affordable
analog FM broadcasting)
2) We want access to more choices in program values
and sources [stations], not less.
Tell them to tell the FCC not to force a new standard
for the FM dial for Digital Audio that will block your ability to hear
the LPFM and smaller stations.
3) Help Digital Audio find a third separate "Digital Band"
just as we moved FM to a different band from AM in the 1950s.
* What is "IBOC-DAB"? ("In Band On Channel--Digital
Audio Broadcasting")
Digital Audio Broadcasting sends the sound out coded
the same way a fax machine codes a picture, as little blocks that are "on"
or "off" (the binary language of computers and other digital devices).
In Band On Channel describes where that digital
signal is placed, in this case IN the FM BAND and centered
ON
their original signal center location "CHANNEL" on the
FM dial.
If you drive up toward Washington DC and tune your radio
to 106.5, then get within 20 miles of the test IBOC-DAB station, WJFK 106.7
in Alexandria, Va., you will hear a "buzz saw " sound, that is the digital
carrier of the on-off-on encoded signal.
(NOTE: This station has turned off the IBOC test since
this website went up.) |
MORE INFO on how IBOC-DAB
(Digital Audio Broadcasting) will have effects similar to Nazi single-channel
radio of the 1930s.
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