News Roundup: Local Community Radio Act

By Curtis Prendergast

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President Obama signed into law the Local Community Radio Act on January 4. The law allows the Federal Communications Commission to resume issuing licenses for Low Power FM radio stations.  These radio stations, known as LPFM, broadcast at less than 100 watts and are non-commercial.  The signing of the bill into law is the culmination of a decade-long effort on the part of the Prometheus Radio Project and other LPFM activists.

Below is a news roundup of the passage and signing of the Local Community Radio Act:

• Huffingtonpost.com: The Little Bill that Could (December 19, 2010)
• Radio and Television Business Report: Local Community Radio Act: It’s the law (January 5, 2011)
• Radiomagonline.com: Local Community Radio Act Signed into Law (January 7, 2011)
• Current.org: For LPFMers, radio act brings ‘a ton of joy’ (January 10, 2011)
• Washington Post: Advocates rejoice as Obama signs Local Community Radio Act (January 17, 2011)
• Prometheus Radio Project: Obama signs into law the Local Community Radio Act: FCC Chairman pledges ‘swift action to open the dial’ (January 2011)

The Sonoran Chronicle has followed this story for the past eight months. Below are LPFM stories previously published on the Chronicle:

• Sonoran Chronicle: A Brief History of the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (July 11, 2010)
• Sonoran Chronicle: Catalina Radio: Coming Soon? (June 2, 2010)
• Sonoran Chronicle: Radio Free Bisbee in waiting game (November 4, 2010)
• Sonoran Chronicle: Text of Amended Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (December 21, 2010)
• Sonoran Chronicle: Debate over LPFM bill in House and Senate (December 21, 2010)
• Sonoran Chronicle: LPFM bill passed in House and Senate (December 21, 2010)

Statements from Government Officials

- Follow this link for the official press release from the White House.

- Statement by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski (January 5, 2011):

“The Local Community Radio Act signed by President Obama is a big win for radio listeners.  Low-power FM stations are small, but they make a giant contribution to local community programming.  This important law eliminates the unnecessary restrictions that kept these local stations off the air in cities and towns across the country.  I commend Congressmen Mike Doyle and Lee Terry and Senators Maria Cantwell and John McCain for the successful passage of this legislation and their longstanding commitment to local community radio. The FCC will take swift action to open the dial to new low-power radio stations and the valuable local service they provide.”

- Statement by FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps (January 5, 2011):

“I have been waiting for this day for a long, long time!  Enactment of the Local Community Radio Act gives local radio stations, grassroots media, and consumers nationwide genuine cause to celebrate.  Thanks to this legislation, more than 160 million people underserved by local power FM will be able to reap the benefits of these stations.  This means potentially many new opportunities for local and independent broadcasters to provide truly local and independent programming—and to be heard.

In this day of way-too-much media consolidation, stifling program homogenization, and the decimation of local news, new voices are critically important to sustaining America’s civic dialogue and citizen engagement.

It has taken real leadership to get this done.  I would like especially to thank Reps. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Lee Terry (R-NE) for sponsoring this Bill and working so effectively for its House passage.  On the Senate side, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) offered bipartisan leadership on this issue.  Of course the leadership of the House and Senate Commerce committees under Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) was also key to this successful outcome.

How fitting that, as we begin the new year, we can turn the page on years of waiting to celebrate a victory for independent media voices and consumers nationwide. “

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