Religious broadcasters are squeezing community radio right off the dial

http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21639

Right-wing Radio

By Sarah Posner, AlterNet. Posted April 5, 2005.


Religious broadcasters are squeezing community radio right off the FM dial.

The story of low-power radio is a cautionary tale on how a progressive victory can quickly be turned to conservative gain. Thanks to Rupert Murdoch, Clear Channel, and Sinclair Broadcasting, the right wing has long dominated corporate media. Now religious broadcasters are busy pushing community radio right off the FM dial.

Low-power FM (LPFM) radio is a service created five years ago by the Federal Communications Commission – in response to an effective lobbying by progressive activists -- that enables schools, churches, civic associations, or clubs to establish their own neighborhood radio stations. Yet this vision of locally operated, independently programmed, and not-for-profit media is being threatened with extinction before it even gets off the ground.

The Dream of Low Power Radio

For years, media reform activists have fought valiantly to force the FCC to issue licenses for low power radio stations. Their dream: to create a space on the radio dial for true locally produced community programming, untainted by the profit considerations of large media conglomerates. Low power radio would finally give voice to those who needed it most: people of color, low-income communities, local organizations.

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