Copyright 2000 The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San
Diego Union-Tribune
January 20, 2000, Thursday
SECTION: NEWS Pg. A-1
LENGTH: 855 words
HEADLINE:
FCC to open airwaves to low-power radio; New FM rules would give diverse groups
an outlet
SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
BYLINE: Stephen Labaton
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
WASHINGTON -- Moving to open the radio airwaves to hundreds of small
broadcasters, the federal government is planning to approve rules to allow
educational, religious and community groups to run inexpensive low-power
FM radio stations.
Over the objections of the nation's largest
broadcasters, the Federal Communications Commission is expected today to adopt
licensing rules that will permit the addition of noncommercial stations with
broadcasting ranges of as much as seven miles.
Government officials say
the rules, proposed a year ago, hold great promise to transform the airwaves at
a time when the rise of broadcasting conglomerates has sharply reduced the
diversity of voices. Such low-power station licenses have not been issued for
more than 20 years.
"This will bring many new voices to the airwaves
that have not had an outlet for expression, and it happens at a time when the
radio business has consolidated in very dramatic fashion," said William E.
Kennard, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
"I've
been struck by the outpouring of interest on this issue as I've talked to people
around the country," he said. "From cops and clergy and community groups of all
kinds. Local governments, Indian tribes and a whole range of subcultures, such
as the Creole community in Florida, zydeco fans in New Orleans and others who
would love to have an outlet."
The nation's largest broadcasters have
fought to block the rules through intensive lobbying and legislation, asserting
that the so-called microradio stations could create interference for established
stations in the form of static or distorted signals.
Last week, after
the National Association of Broadcasters, the industry's trade group, failed to
delay the commission's vote, it issued a statement vowing to "aggressively seek
ways to undo the damage."
Officials at the association said yesterday
that they were considering seeking a court order to strike down the new rules.
"In our view this comes down to one issue: interference," spokesman Dennis
Wharton said. "If tens of thousands of people cannot hear their hometown radio
station, it's hard to understand how this benefits the public.
"The FCC
has come up with a way to confound the law of physics," he said. " We've
documented in an unassailable case that this will result in additional
interference on already crowded airways."
FCC studies concluded that the
airwaves in the nation's three biggest markets -- New York, Chicago and Los
Angeles -- are so crowded that the commission cannot issue any licenses for
100-watt stations, which could cover a broadcast area seven miles in diameter.
Engineers at the FCC are studying whether 10-watt stations, with a range
of two to four miles, could be licensed in those markets.
Kennard said
FCC studies had convinced him that the new rules would not lead to any
significant new interference. He said some broadcasters had told the commission
they were as concerned about losing their own listeners as they are about
interference.
"They shouldn't see this as a threat," he said of the
broadcasters. "As I envision this, the broadcasters will have a whole new pool
of talent they can incubate, and since these will all be noncommercial stations,
there will be no threat that they will be going after the same advertisers."
While usually a formidable lobbying force, the National Association of
Broadcasters, which represents the nation's largest broadcast networks and
station groups, was beaten out at the commission by a grass-roots coalition of
churches, schools, musicians, municipalities and "pirate" radio stations that
billed itself as a civil-rights movement intending to democratize the airwaves.
The supporters of the FCC's move, who produced their own engineering
studies showing no significant interference would result, included the U.S.
Catholic Conference, the United Church of Christ, and musicians such as Bonnie
Raitt and the Indigo Girls.
About 130 colleges and universities have
licenses to operate low-watt stations under rules that were repealed more than
20 years ago. The stations were allowed to continue broadcasting after the rules
were changed. About 140 colleges have stations that are unable to broadcast on
FM frequencies because of current restrictions.
Under the new rules, the
spectrum available for low-power stations would not be parceled out through
auctions, as frequencies for the larger stations are. Instead, FCC officials
will award licenses based on a group's ties to the local community the station
would serve.
Though the rules do not go as far as many supporters of
low-power radio had sought, supporters expressed excitement. "This clearly will
be the most significant opportunity in decades for community groups, educational
institutions, religious organizations and local governments," said Michael
Bracy, executive director of the Low-Power Radio Coalition.
Commission
officials said it was impossible to know how many station applications would be
submitted, though they and industry experts predicted it could be a thousand or
more.
LOAD-DATE: January 21, 2000
