Copyright 1999 The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
November 9, 1999, Tuesday, CITY EDITION
SECTION: TELEVISION, Pg. 4C
LENGTH: 433 words
HEADLINE:
ROCKERS SUPPORT FCC LICENSING FOR LOW-POWER FM
BYLINE: FRANK AHRENS; Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
Mired in eye-glazing technical language and First Amendment
rhetoric, the low-power FM radio licensing issue is finally
getting a little rock 'n' roll sexiness.
Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt,
Jackson Browne, Minutemen-founder Mike Watt, Jenny Toomey (of Simple Machines
and Tsunami) and indie rocker Archer Prewitt have joined a grass-roots movement
backing a Federal Communications Commission proposal to license 100- and
1,000-watt radio stations to private individuals. If the proposal becomes law, a
record collector could, for instance, get a low-power license to broadcast his
vinyl selection over a several-block area, or an inner-city health organization
could broadcast safe-sex announcements in Spanish to nearby neighborhoods.
The idea is being pushed by FCC Chairman William Kennard, who believes
the proposal would increase minority and noncorporate voices on the airwaves.
Corporate broadcasters -- which own most major radio stations -- oppose the
idea, fearing that the low-power stations will bleed into their frequencies. The
argument will eventually be settled by whoever has the most persuasive
engineering reports. Pushing the cause has been a coalition of illegally
operating "pirate" broadcasters, community radio advocates and folks who are
just plain tired of corporate radio. Now they are joined by a handful of
activist performers.
"Radio waves are a natural resource, and they
belong to the people, but just like other natural resources, corporations will
stop at nothing to gain control of the airwaves for their sole financial gain,"
said Indigo Girl Amy Ray.
The FCC will receive public comments on the
issue through early next month. There is no timetable for a decision, an FCC
spokesman said.
NBC suffers Halloween horrors
NEW YORK
(Variety) -- NBC's primetime fortunes are starting to look a little spooky after
a Halloween weekend in which rookies "Freaks and Geeks" and "Cold Feet"
performed like a couple of Nielsen cadavers. And those weekend horrors followed
a chilling Thursday in which NBC's usually fearless lineup scared up record-low
ratings. Last week's all-repeat lineup, quickly pressed into service when the
New York Yankees finished off the World Series in four games, slid to NBC's
lowest in-season regular-schedule Thursday homes rating ever, excluding holiday
nights.
ABC orders 'Ophelia' TV movie
HOLLYWOOD (Variety)
-- ABC is getting "girl power." The network is developing a two-hour TV movie
based on psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher's nonfiction best seller "Reviving
Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls."
LOAD-DATE: November 11, 1999 
