From class D to LPFM: The high-powered politics of low-power radio

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 78, Issue 2, 2001, Pages 340-354

  Stavitsky, Alan G ^a   Avery, Robert K ^a   Vanhala, Helena ^a  

^a NONE

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0039248381     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769900107800209     Document Type: Article

References (106)

1. The authors appreciate the assistance of Philip Thompsen. This project was supported by an Edwin L. Artzt Dean's Research Grant from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. 2.
2. Federal Communications Commission, "FCC Approves New Non-Commercial Low Power FM Radio Service," 20 January 2000, News Release, http://www.fcc.gov; Stephen Labaton, "F.C.C. to Approve Plans Supporting Low-Power Radio," New York Times, 20 January 2000, sec. A., p. 12;
3. Federal Communications Commission, "FCC Approves New Non-Commercial Low Power FM Radio Service," 20 January 2000, News Release, http://www.fcc.gov; Stephen Labaton, "F.C.C. to Approve Plans Supporting Low-Power Radio," New York Times, 20 January 2000, sec. A., p. 12;
4. Bill McConnell, "LPFM OK'd," Broadcasting & Cable, 24 January 2000, 22.
5. Quoted in Labaton, "F.C.C. to Approve," sec. A, p. 12.
6. Stephen Labaton, "His Civil Rights Challenge: Equal Access to Technology," New York Times, 15 May 2000, p. 12. Kennard resigned early in 2001 and was replaced as chairman by Michael Powell, an advocate of telecommunication deregulation. See Yochi J. Dreazen, "FCC's Powell Quickly Marks Agency as His Own," Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2001, sec. A, p. 28.
7. Stephen Labaton, "His Civil Rights Challenge: Equal Access to Technology," New York Times, 15 May 2000, p. 12. Kennard resigned early in 2001 and was replaced as chairman by Michael Powell, an advocate of telecommunication deregulation. See Yochi J. Dreazen, "FCC's Powell Quickly Marks Agency as His Own," Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2001, sec. A, p. 28.
8. Jon Pareles, "Fracturing the Formula: A Hope for the Offbeat on Small FM," New York Times, 9 February 1999, sec. B, pp. 1-2.
9. Eric Boehlert, "Pirate Radio Goes Legal," Rolling Stone, 2 March 2000, 32; Greg Kot, "Pirate Radio Goes to Washington," Rolling Stone, 22 June 2000, 37; Stephen Labaton, "F.C.C. Heads for Showdown with Congress Over Radio Plan," New York Times, 27 March 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
10. Eric Boehlert, "Pirate Radio Goes Legal," Rolling Stone, 2 March 2000, 32; Greg Kot, "Pirate Radio Goes to Washington," Rolling Stone, 22 June 2000, 37; Stephen Labaton, "F.C.C. Heads for Showdown with Congress Over Radio Plan," New York Times, 27 March 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
11. Eric Boehlert, "Pirate Radio Goes Legal," Rolling Stone, 2 March 2000, 32; Greg Kot, "Pirate Radio Goes to Washington," Rolling Stone, 22 June 2000, 37; Stephen Labaton, "F.C.C. Heads for Showdown with Congress Over Radio Plan," New York Times, 27 March 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
12. Alan G. Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism in U.S. Public Radio, "Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 38 (winter 1994): 19-34; Alan G. Stavitsky, "'Guys in Suits with Charts': Audience Research in U.S. Public Radio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 39 (spring 1995): 177-89.
13. Alan G. Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism in U.S. Public Radio, "Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 38 (winter 1994): 19-34; Alan G. Stavitsky, "'Guys in Suits with Charts': Audience Research in U.S. Public Radio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 39 (spring 1995): 177-89.
14. Media Access Project, Low Power Radio Supporter's Kit, http:// www.civilrightsforum.org/microkit.pdf
15. Quoted in Boehlert, "Pirate Radio Goes Legal," 32.
16. Andrea Adelson, "Disputed Radio Plan Stirs Hope in Navajo Land," New York Times, 22 February 1999, sec. C, p. 9; Frank Ahrens, "Political Static May Block Low-Power FM," Washington Post, 15 May 2000, sec. A, pp. 1, 10-11.
17. Andrea Adelson, "Disputed Radio Plan Stirs Hope in Navajo Land," New York Times, 22 February 1999, sec. C, p. 9; Frank Ahrens, "Political Static May Block Low-Power FM," Washington Post, 15 May 2000, sec. A, pp. 1, 10-11.
18. See, for example, Paige Albiniak, "Big flap over little stations," Broadcasting & Cable, 6 September 1999, 39, 42.
19. Ahrens, "Political Static."
20. Quoted in Labaton, "F.C.C. Heads for Showdown," sec. C, p. 2.
21. H.R. 3439, Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, 106th Cong., 2d session (a similar bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 2068); "Powering Up," The M Street Journal, 19 April 2000, p. 1.
22. H.R. 3439, Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, 106th Cong., 2d session (a similar bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 2068); "Powering Up," The M Street Journal, 19 April 2000, p. 1.
23. See http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Public_Notices/Brdcst_Applications/ ap010412.txt
24. The act, as signed into law, can be found at: 106th Cong. Report, House of Representatives, 2d Session, 106-1005, Making Appropriations for the Government of the District of Columbia and Other Activities Chargeable in Whole or in Part Against Revenues of Said District for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2001, and for Other Purposes, ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/cp106/hr1005.txt. For commentary on the act, see "Congress De-tunes Low Power FM," M Street Journal, 20 December 2000, p. 1; Stephen Labaton, "Congress Severely Curtails Plan for Low-Power Radio Stations," New York Times, 19 December 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
25. The act, as signed into law, can be found at: 106th Cong. Report, House of Representatives, 2d Session, 106-1005, Making Appropriations for the Government of the District of Columbia and Other Activities Chargeable in Whole or in Part Against Revenues of Said District for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2001, and for Other Purposes, ftp:/ /ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/ cp106/hr1005.txt. For commentary on the act, see "Congress De-tunes Low Power FM," M Street Journal, 20 December 2000, p. 1; Stephen Labaton, "Congress Severely Curtails Plan for Low-Power Radio Stations," New York Times, 19 December 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
26. The act, as signed into law, can be found at: 106th Cong. Report, House of Representatives, 2d Session, 106-1005, Making Appropriations for the Government of the District of Columbia and Other Activities Chargeable in Whole or in Part Against Revenues of Said District for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2001, and for Other Purposes, ftp:/ /ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/ cp106/hr1005.txt. For commentary on the act, see "Congress De-tunes Low Power FM," M Street Journal, 20 December 2000, p. 1; Stephen Labaton, "Congress Severely Curtails Plan for Low-Power Radio Stations," New York Times, 19 December 2000, sec. C, pp. 1-2.
27. Robert K. Avery, ed., Public Service Broadcasting in a Multichannel Environment (White Plains, NY: Longman, 1993); Alan G. Stavitsky and Timothy W. Gleason, "Alternative Things Considered: A Comparison of National Public Radio and Pacifica Radio News Coverage," Journalism Quarterly 71 (winter 1994): 775-86.
28. Robert K. Avery, ed., Public Service Broadcasting in a Multichannel Environment (White Plains, NY: Longman, 1993); Alan G. Stavitsky and Timothy W. Gleason, "Alternative Things Considered: A Comparison of National Public Radio and Pacifica Radio News Coverage," Journalism Quarterly 71 (winter 1994): 775-86.
29. Jacqueline Conciatore, "Don't undercut us with low-power FM, public radio urges," Current, 16 August 1999, 1, 15; Philip Thompsen, "Going Digital: Not that there's anything wrong with that!" (paper presented at the annual meeting of the Broadcast Education Association, Las Vegas, 2000).
30. Jacqueline Conciatore, "Don't undercut us with low-power FM, public radio urges," Current, 16 August 1999, 1, 15; Philip Thompsen, "Going Digital: Not that there's anything wrong with that!" (paper presented at the annual meeting of the Broadcast Education Association, Las Vegas, 2000).
31. NPR, Inc., "In the Matter of Creation of a Low Power Radio Service: Reply of National Public Radio," Federal Communications Commission, Mass Media Docket No. 99-25 (9 May 2000); "Who's the Boss?" The M Street Journal, 12 April 2000, p. 1.
32. NPR, Inc., "In the Matter of Creation of a Low Power Radio Service: Reply of National Public Radio," Federal Communications Commission, Mass Media Docket No. 99-25 (9 May 2000); "Who's the Boss?" The M Street Journal, 12 April 2000, p. 1.
33. William Kennard, "The Voice of the People," Washington Post, 23 October 2000, sec. A, p. 23.
34. Robert K. Avery and Robert Pepper, "Balancing the Equation: Public Radio Comes of Age," Public Telecommunications Review 7 (March/ April 1979): 19-30; Robert W. McChesney, Telecommunications, Mass Media & Democracy (NY: Oxford University Press, 1993); Willard D. Rowland, "Continuing Crisis in Public Broadcasting: A History of Disenfranchisement," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 30 (summer 1986): 251-74; Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism."
35. Robert K. Avery and Robert Pepper, "Balancing the Equation: Public Radio Comes of Age," Public Telecommunications Review 7 (March/ April 1979): 19-30; Robert W. McChesney, Telecommunications, Mass Media & Democracy (NY: Oxford University Press, 1993); Willard D. Rowland, "Continuing Crisis in Public Broadcasting: A History of Disenfranchisement," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 30 (summer 1986): 251-74; Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism."
36. Robert K. Avery and Robert Pepper, "Balancing the Equation: Public Radio Comes of Age," Public Telecommunications Review 7 (March/ April 1979): 19-30; Robert W. McChesney, Telecommunications, Mass Media & Democracy (NY: Oxford University Press, 1993); Willard D. Rowland, "Continuing Crisis in Public Broadcasting: A History of Disenfranchisement," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 30 (summer 1986): 251-74; Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism."
37. Robert K. Avery and Robert Pepper, "Balancing the Equation: Public Radio Comes of Age," Public Telecommunications Review 7 (March/ April 1979): 19-30; Robert W. McChesney, Telecommunications, Mass Media & Democracy (NY: Oxford University Press, 1993); Willard D. Rowland, "Continuing Crisis in Public Broadcasting: A History of Disenfranchisement," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 30 (summer 1986): 251-74; Stavitsky, "The Changing Conception of Localism."
38. David Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM Broadcasting," NAEB Journal 26 (March/April 1967): 53-64; S.E. Frost, Education's Own Stations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937); Warner J. Severin, "Commercial v. Non-commercial Radio During Broadcasting's Early Days," Journal of Broadcasting 22 (fall 1978): 491-504: Alan G. Stavitsky, "New York City's Municipal Broadcasting Experiment: WNYC, 1922-1940," American Journalism 9 (summer/fall 1992): 84-95.
39. David Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM Broadcasting," NAEB Journal 26 (March/April 1967): 53-64; S.E. Frost, Education's Own Stations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937); Warner J. Severin, "Commercial v. Non-commercial Radio During Broadcasting's Early Days," Journal of Broadcasting 22 (fall 1978): 491-504: Alan G. Stavitsky, "New York City's Municipal Broadcasting Experiment: WNYC, 1922-1940," American Journalism 9 (summer/fall 1992): 84-95.
40. David Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM Broadcasting," NAEB Journal 26 (March/April 1967): 53-64; S.E. Frost, Education's Own Stations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937); Warner J. Severin, "Commercial v. Non-commercial Radio During Broadcasting's Early Days," Journal of Broadcasting 22 (fall 1978): 491-504: Alan G. Stavitsky, "New York City's Municipal Broadcasting Experiment: WNYC, 1922-1940," American Journalism 9 (summer/fall 1992): 84-95.
41. David Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM Broadcasting," NAEB Journal 26 (March/April 1967): 53-64; S.E. Frost, Education's Own Stations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1937); Warner J. Severin, "Commercial v. Non-commercial Radio During Broadcasting's Early Days," Journal of Broadcasting 22 (fall 1978): 491-504: Alan G. Stavitsky, "New York City's Municipal Broadcasting Experiment: WNYC, 1922-1940," American Journalism 9 (summer/fall 1992): 84-95.
42. Federal Communications Commission, Annual Report (Washington: GPO, 1938).
43. Avery and Pepper, "Balancing the Equation," 22.
44. Federal Communications Commission, Annual Report (Washington: GPO, 1940).
45. Federal Communications Commission, Annual Report (Washington: GPO, 1945).
46. Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM," 59-60.
47. Joe O. Olson, ed., Education on the Air: Nineteenth Yearbook of the Institute for Education by Radio (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1949), 228-30; Olson, ed., Education on the Air: Twentieth Yearbook of the Institute for Education by Radio (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1950), 230-32.
48. Joe O. Olson, ed., Education on the Air: Nineteenth Yearbook of the Institute for Education by Radio (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1949), 228-30; Olson, ed., Education on the Air: Twentieth Yearbook of the Institute for Education by Radio (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1950), 230-32.
49. Federal Communications Commission, Annual Report (Washington: GPO, 1948); Olson, ed., Education on the Air. Nineteenth Yearbook, 200-201.
50. Federal Communications Commission, Annual Report (Washington: GPO, 1948); Olson, ed., Education on the Air. Nineteenth Yearbook, 200-201.
51. Avery and Pepper, "Balancing the Equation," 22.
52. M. McCabe Day, "Passe or Promising? A look after ten years of low-power FM broadcasting," NAEB Journal 19 (January/February 1960): 44.
53. Eshelman, "The Emergence of Educational FM," 60-62.
54. Olson, ed., Education on the Air: Twentieth Yearbook, 231.
55. David Giovannoni, AM Radio Listening (Takoma Park, MD: Station Resource Group, 1991), 14.
56. James Robertson and Gerald G. Yokum, "Educational Radio: The Fifty-Year-Old Adolescent," Educational Broadcasting Review 7 (April 1973): 108.
57. Kenneth R. Clark, "Ten Watts Searching for an Audience," NAEB Journal 24 (May/June 1965): 8.
58. Robert K. Avery, "Has the FCC Misplaced Public Radio?" Public Telecommunications Review 3 (September/October 1975): 22-27.
59. Federal Communications Commission, Notice of Rule Making Docket 14185, 31 Fed. Reg. 14755 (1966), 14756.
60. National Association of Educational Broadcasters, "Comments of the National Association of Educational Broadcasters in the Matter of Revision of FM Broadcast Rules," NAEB Journal 26 (July/August 1967): 43.
61. National Association of Educational Broadcasters, "Comments," 52.
62. National Association of Educational Broadcasters, "Comments," 44.
63. Public Law 90-129, 90th Cong., 1st sess., 7 November 1967.
64. While the 1967 act represented the first federal expenditure for the operation of noncommercial broadcasting stations, it should be noted that federal funds for construction of noncommercial stations had been available since 1962 through the Educational Television Facilities Act (today called the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program). See John Witherspoon, Roselle Kovitz, Robert K. Avery, and Alan G. Stavitsky, A History of Public Broadcasting (Washington: Current Publishing, 2000), 124.
65. Samuel C.O. Holt, "Recommendations of the Public Radio Study," Educational Broadcasting Review 3 (June 1969): 3-13.
66. Witherspoon, Kovitz, Avery, and Stavitsky, A History of Public Broadcasting, 32.
67. Noncommercial educational broadcasting generally became known as public broadcasting after passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
68. Witherspoon, Kovitz, Avery and Stavitsky, A History of Public Broadcasting, 31-33.
69. Avery, "Has the FCC Misplaced?" 27.
70. Quoted in Avery, "Has the FCC Misplaced?" 27.
71. See, for example, Ronald S. Camp, Memo to the Federal Communications Commission from KUNC-FM (Greeley, CO), 22 September 1975, Ken Garry Papers, Box 1, Folder 1, National Public Broadcasting Archives.
72. APRS, now defunct, was a trade association that represented public radio stations. It merged in 1977 with NPR, which assumed many of its functions. See Avery and Pepper, "Balancing the Equation," 23-29.
73. Quoted in Avery, "Has the FCC Misplaced?" 27.
74. "FCC moves to overhaul rules for noncommercial radio and TV," Broadcasting, 12 June 1978, 50; Federal Communications Commission, "In the Matter of Changes in the Rules Relating to Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Stations," 68 F.C.C. 2d, 988 (7 June 1978).
75. "FCC moves to overhaul rules for noncommercial radio and TV," Broadcasting, 12 June 1978, 50; Federal Communications Commission, "In the Matter of Changes in the Rules Relating to Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Stations," 68 F.C.C. 2d, 988 (7 June 1978).
76. Translators are low-power transmitters that extend the reach of a station's signal.
77. Federal Communications Commission, "In the Matter of Changes in the Rules Relating to Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Stations," 70 F.C.C. 2d, 972 (21 December 1978).
78. Federal Communications Commission, "Notes on Class D Non-commercial Educational Stations," http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/asd/ bickel/d-aside.html
79. Ted M. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties with Unlicensed Microradio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 43 (fall 1999): 582-602; Steve Jones, "Unlicensed Broadcasting: Content and Conformity," Journalism Quarterly 71 (summer 1994): 395-402; Andrea Lafayette-Fisher and Alan G. Stavitsky, "Radio On-Line: The Medium is the Metaphor" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, Atlanta, 1994); Andy Opel, "Pirate Radio's Challenge to the FCC: Direct Action and the Judiciary as Tools for Change" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, New Orleans, 1999).
80. Ted M. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties with Unlicensed Microradio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 43 (fall 1999): 582-602; Steve Jones, "Unlicensed Broadcasting: Content and Conformity," Journalism Quarterly 71 (summer 1994): 395-402; Andrea Lafayette-Fisher and Alan G. Stavitsky, "Radio On-Line: The Medium is the Metaphor" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, Atlanta, 1994); Andy Opel, "Pirate Radio's Challenge to the FCC: Direct Action and the Judiciary as Tools for Change" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, New Orleans, 1999).
81. Ted M. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties with Unlicensed Microradio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 43 (fall 1999): 582-602; Steve Jones, "Unlicensed Broadcasting: Content and Conformity," Journalism Quarterly 71 (summer 1994): 395-402; Andrea Lafayette-Fisher and Alan G. Stavitsky, "Radio On-Line: The Medium is the Metaphor" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, Atlanta, 1994); Andy Opel, "Pirate Radio's Challenge to the FCC: Direct Action and the Judiciary as Tools for Change" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, New Orleans, 1999).
82. Ted M. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties with Unlicensed Microradio," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 43 (fall 1999): 582-602; Steve Jones, "Unlicensed Broadcasting: Content and Conformity," Journalism Quarterly 71 (summer 1994): 395-402; Andrea Lafayette-Fisher and Alan G. Stavitsky, "Radio On-Line: The Medium is the Metaphor" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, Atlanta, 1994); Andy Opel, "Pirate Radio's Challenge to the FCC: Direct Action and the Judiciary as Tools for Change" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the AEJMC, New Orleans, 1999).
83. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties," 584. Microradio in this context is typified by Steven Dunifer's Radio Free Berkeley and other stations aligned with the progressive Free Communications Movement. See Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties," 586-95.
84. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties," 584. Microradio in this context is typified by Steven Dunifer's Radio Free Berkeley and other stations aligned with the progressive Free Communications Movement. See Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties," 586-95.
85. Coopman, "FCC Enforcement Difficulties," 596-97.
86. The FCC in 1982 authorized a new low-power commercial television service (LPTV), with a broadcast range of twelve-to-fifteen miles, intended to promote minority ownership and diversify programming. Though more than 2,000 LPTV stations were broadcasting in 2000, their impact has been marginal, few produce local programming, many are owned by chains as opposed to local entities, and most experience financial hardship.
87. Clea Simon, "Niche Radio Finds Its Footing on the Internet," New York Times, 9 October 2000, sec. C, p. 9.
88. Internet radio has become increasingly popular among college radio broadcasters as a means to supplement, or substitute for, their over-the-air services. See Beth Fratkin, "A Case Study in Shifting from FM to Internet Broadcasting" (paper presented to the annual meeting of the Broadcast Education Association, Las Vegas, 2000).
89. Online radio listeners were dubbed "streamies." See www.edisonresearch.com/Internet5sum.htm
90. Quoted in David Leonhardt, "Let A Thousand New Voices Bloom," New York Times, 16 July 2000, sec. 4, p. 4.
91. Nicholas Johnson, How to Talk Back to Your Television Set (Boston: Little Brown, 1970).
92. Ahrens, "Political Static," sec. A, p. 10.
93. Quoted in Labaton, "F.C.C. Heads for Showdown," sec. C, p. 2.
94. Stephen Labaton, "Communications Lobby Puts Full-Court Press on Congress," New York Times, 24 October 2000, sec. A, p. 1, sec. C, p. 12.
95. Quoted in Labaton, "Communications Lobby," sec. C, p. 12.
96. See Patricia Aufderheide, Communications Policy and the Public Interest (New York: Guilford Press, 1999), 41-43; James C. Foust, Big Voices of the Air: The Battle Over Clear-Channel Radio (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 2000), 224-27.
97. See Patricia Aufderheide, Communications Policy and the Public Interest (New York: Guilford Press, 1999), 41-43; James C. Foust, Big Voices of the Air: The Battle Over Clear-Channel Radio (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 2000), 224-27.
98. Yet another illustrative case from the 106th Congress involved the religious broadcasters lobby. The episode followed a long struggle by activists in Pittsburgh to block public TV station WQED from transferring the license of its secondary channel, WQEX, to a noncommercial religious broadcaster. The FCC, in approving the transfer, included language that sought to clarify instances in which religious programming would not constitute educational programming in terms of meeting the licensee's "noncommercial educational" designation. Under fire from the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, members of Congress, and even then-Vice President Al Gore, the commission later deleted the controversial language. Legislation was subsequently introduced, at the behest of the religious broadcasters, that protected their right to hold noncommercial educational licenses. The bill never came to a vote, however, as Congress rushed to adjourn late in 2000. See H.R. 4201, The Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act, 106th Cong., 2d session; Stephanie Lash, "Senator thwarts bill protecting religious broadcasters on educational channels," Current, 30 October 2000, 4; Jerold M. Starr, Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting (Boston: Beacon Press, 2000).
99. Yet another illustrative case from the 106th Congress involved the religious broadcasters lobby. The episode followed a long struggle by activists in Pittsburgh to block public TV station WQED from transferring the license of its secondary channel, WQEX, to a noncommercial religious broadcaster. The FCC, in approving the transfer, included language that sought to clarify instances in which religious programming would not constitute educational programming in terms of meeting the licensee's "noncommercial educational" designation. Under fire from the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, members of Congress, and even then-Vice President Al Gore, the commission later deleted the controversial language. Legislation was subsequently introduced, at the behest of the religious broadcasters, that protected their right to hold noncommercial educational licenses. The bill never came to a vote, however, as Congress rushed to adjourn late in 2000. See H.R. 4201, The Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act, 106th Cong., 2d session; Stephanie Lash, "Senator thwarts bill protecting religious broadcasters on educational channels," Current, 30 October 2000, 4; Jerold M. Starr, Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting (Boston: Beacon Press, 2000).
100. Yet another illustrative case from the 106th Congress involved the religious broadcasters lobby. The episode followed a long struggle by activists in Pittsburgh to block public TV station WQED from transferring the license of its secondary channel, WQEX, to a noncommercial religious broadcaster. The FCC, in approving the transfer, included language that sought to clarify instances in which religious programming would not constitute educational programming in terms of meeting the licensee's "noncommercial educational" designation. Under fire from the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, members of Congress, and even then-Vice President Al Gore, the commission later deleted the controversial language. Legislation was subsequently introduced, at the behest of the religious broadcasters, that protected their right to hold noncommercial educational licenses. The bill never came to a vote, however, as Congress rushed to adjourn late in 2000. See H.R. 4201, The Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act, 106th Cong., 2d session; Stephanie Lash, "Senator thwarts bill protecting religious broadcasters on educational channels," Current, 30 October 2000, 4; Jerold M. Starr, Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting (Boston: Beacon Press, 2000).
101. An illustration of such ties is the relationship between Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and NAB President Edward O. Fritts, close friends since their college days at the University of Mississippi.
102. Alan Stavitsky, "The Rise and Fall of the Distress Sale," Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 36 (summer 1992): 249-66.
103. See, for example, "Last Gasp," M Street Journal, 6 December 2000, 1.
104. It's worth noting that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill early in the 107th Congress that sought to enhance the development of LPFM. McCain's Low Power Radio Act of 2001 would remove the third-adjacent-channel protection for full-power stations provided in the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, unless the FCC found the LPFM station was causing "harmful interference" to the full-power broadcaster. See S. 404, Low Power Radio Act of 2001, 107th Cong., 1st session.
105. See Thomas Streeter, Selling the Air: A Critique of the Policy of Commercial Broadcasting in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996).
106. Susan J. Douglas, Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination (New York: Times Books, 1999), especially chapters 9 and 10.