Local Community Radio Act Expected To Increase Radio Ownership For Minorities, Some LPFM Advocates Say
Implementation of the Local Community Radio Act (LCRA) could lead to more community radio stations and community involvement in minority communities, some LPFM advocates said Monday at a New America Foundation event in Washington. There are some hurdles that applicants and the FCC must take on to make the process successful, they said.
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Additional LPFM stations could help communities of color stay afloat if the FCC adopts new media ownership rules, said Joe Torres, Free Press senior advisor for government affairs. The rules will “further target people of color and it’s going to make it harder for them to maintain the stations they own,” he said. “Ownership is critically important because who owns the media outlet determines who gets to speak.” LPFM is critical because “it democratizes our media system,” he added. More stations will increase localism in communities, said Steven Renderos, media justice program director for Main Street Project in Minnesota. In the Minneapolis area, there’s a transformation by new populations due to immigrants moving into the city, he said. “Those are the kinds of places where we need to have a voice and LPFM can provide that."
Having enough frequencies available may be difficult, said Prometheus Radio Project. In some communities, religious conglomerates applied for the same frequencies that communities wanted, said Kai Aiyetoro, a member of PRP’s board. Prometheus worked on helping the commission to recognize the multiple applications from a small community to make sure “it [frequency] should go to the local ones instead of another group,” she said.
The FCC seems to be headed in the right direction in terms of ensuring that LCRA benefits minority communities, said Renderos. “I'm not a hundred percent certain we'll get all the way there, but I think there is a real sense from the FCC that they'd like to make as many radio stations available as possible.” The commission seems to be dealing with the backlog of translator applications, he said. “The sense that we've gotten … is that they're looking towards dismissing most of those in order to make the most amount of channels available.” A rulemaking notice also asks questions about the use of second-adjacent frequency waivers, “which would allow for places that are more densely populated to have the availability of some channels,” he added.
The advocates agreed that mobile technology won’t replace the need for LPFM. Radio and mobile technology make a “good marriage,” said John Freeman, executive director of KOCZ-FM Opelousas, La. “It’s not either, or.” While you can do many things with a smartphone, it’s not going to diminish the need for radio, he said. It’s going to help expand LPFM, and community involvement and participation, he added. There’s potential for apps to be developed for community radio stations, Renderos said: “You have to be conscious of where the trends are and where people are actually accessing media.”