Fwd: [sovernspeakout] Fwd: community radio stations

Fri Jan 21 21:19:17 UTC 2000

>Heres a crazy idea, how about a CJ radio station? We could get a website
>and broadcast Chinook Jargon 24 hours on the web. ALL Chinook, ALL the time.
>CJK Chinook Jargon radio or CWK Chinuk Wawa radio? Would this be a great
>thing to do from Grand Ronde,.  Chinook Wawa webcasting, yeah!
>David
>
>12:42 PM ET 01/20/00
>
>>>FCC OKs Very Local Radio
>>>
>>>  FCC OKs Very Local Radio
>>>  By KALPANA SRINIVASAN=
>>>  Associated Press Writer=
>>>            WASHINGTON (AP) _ Cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, jazz, rock. The
>>>  Louisiana music scene boasts a range of styles that the state's
>>>  artists work to keep alive each day.
>>>            But getting the eclectic mix of music onto the airwaves poses
>>>
>>>  another challenge altogether.
>>>            ``A lot of Louisiana music falls through the cracks because
>>>of
>>>  commercial radio programming,'' said Steve Picou, assistant
>>>  director of the Louisiana Music Commission.
>>>            Federal regulators are moving ahead with a plan that could
>>>help
>>>  the music commission and hundreds of other groups tap into local
>>>  interests: the creation of low-tech FM radio stations.
>>>            A proposal that would allow for at least 1,000 low-power FM
>>>  stations run by community groups, churches and schools to spring up
>>>  nationwide won approval today from the Federal Communications
>>>  Commission.
>>>            It marks one of the most significant changes in FM radio in
>>>  decades.
>>>            The plan would let groups obtain noncommercial licenses for
>>>  10-watt and 100-watt stations and tailor their broadcasts to the
>>>  interests of people in their listening areas. The power of current
>>>  FM stations ranges from 6,000 watts up to 100,000 watts.
>>>            The plan has faced opposition from commercial broadcasters,
>>>who
>>>  fear low-power stations would interfere with existing FM stations.
>>>            One strong proponent is the FCC chairman, Bill Kennard, who
>>>  hopes the plan would allow for greater diversity on the airwaves at
>>>  a time when the media industry is consolidating.
>>>            ``The airwaves can accommodate lots of voices,'' Kennard said
>>>in
>>>  an interview Wednesday.
>>>            He hopes the low-power stations ``will allow some of these
>>>  nontraditional voices to speak to their community.''
>>>            For example, high schools could set up their own radio
>>>stations
>>>  or local broadcasters could serve non-English speaking groups or
>>>  distinct musical interests in their regions, Kennard said.
>>>            A 100-watt station, using a 100-foot antenna, could serve a
>>>  7-mile area, according to FCC officials. Smaller stations of 10
>>>  watts would cover a 4-mile radius.
>>>            Kennard estimates these power levels will allow for at least
>>>  1,000 new stations around the country. The plan will contain some
>>>  limitations on the number of licenses a single entity can own and
>>>  will have some requirements to ensure that license holders have a
>>>  base in the local community, according to Kennard.
>>>            ``We want to maximize the opportunities,'' he said.
>>>            Opponents such as the National Association of Broadcasters
>>>have
>>>  commissioned studies to document what they say would be the
>>>  degradation in service to listeners that could result from such
>>>  low-power stations.
>>>            ``We've provided what we believe is unassailable evidence
>>>that
>>>  low-power stations will add to the interference on an already
>>>  congested radio band,'' association spokesman Dennis Wharton said.
>>>  ``Thousands of people won't be able to hear their hometown radio
>>>  stations because of this.''
>>>            Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., a member of the House Commerce
>>>  Committee, made a last-minute pitch to the FCC on Wednesday, urging
>>>  the commission to make sure all harmful interference issues had
>>>  been addressed before the commission made its decision.
>>>            Kennard has said he would not do anything to interfere with
>>>  standard FM service. The FCC has said it was confident that
>>>  low-power stations could coexist with full-power FM stations.
>>>            In an effort to help regular FM stations grow and become
>>>  financially solid, the FCC stopped licensing low-powered FM radio
>>>  stations around 1978. But once the commission offered a proposal to
>>>  reintroduce low-power stations last year, it was flooded with
>>>  thousands of comments from interested parties.
>>>            Public interest groups say they will welcome the opportunity
>>>for
>>>  more people to have access to the airwaves, but stress that it's
>>>  only one step.
>>>            ``I wish this could address all of the concerns about mass
>>>media
>>>  consolidation,'' said Cheryl Leanza of the Media Access Project, a
>>>  public interest law firm. ``It's a meaningful step, but it's
>>>  certainly not a complete answer.''
>>>            Separately, the commission was expected to vote today on
>>>rules
>>>  to ensure broadcasters and cable companies are recruiting
>>>  minorities and women to fill vacancies. This comes after a 1998
>>>  court decision that scuttled the FCC's 30-year-old equal employment
>>>  opportunity rules for TV and radio stations, declaring them
>>>  unconstitutional.
>>>
>>>--
>>>-----------------------------------------------------
>>>Click here for Free Video!!
>>>http://www.gohip.com/freevideo/
>>
>>
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David Lewis                     541.684.9003
P.O. Box 3086           Cell 541.954.2466
Eugene, OR 97403

talapus at kalapuya.com, coyotez at darkwing.uoregon.edu,
         coyotez at oregon.uoregon.edu

                 http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~coyotez

ICQ# 45730935
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