Category Archives: radio

The Local Community Radio Act (H.R. 1147/S. 592)

Does Your Representative Support Local Radio?
BREAKING NEWS: Bipartisan legislation in Congress (H.R. 1147/S. 592) that promises to open the radio dial to thousands of new Low Power FM stations across the country is being debated in Congress on Thursday, October 8, 2009. The Local Community Radio Act would bring fresh music, local perspectives and community news to the public airwaves.

Join the thousands of people from across the country who are picking up their phones to contact Congress in support of this important bill.

Here’s the official summary of S. 592 from OpenCongress:

Official Summary

3/12/2009–Introduced.
Local Community Radio Act of 2009 – Repeals provisions in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 that required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to:
(1) modify rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations to prescribe minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels;
(2) prohibit applicants who have engaged in the unlicensed operation of any station from obtaining a low-power FM license; and
(3) conduct a program to test whether low-power FM radio stations will result in harmful interference to existing FM radio stations if minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels are not required. Requires the FCC to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation requirements between specified stations. Requires the FCC to retain rules that provide third-adjacent channel protection for full-power noncommercial FM stations that broadcast radio reading services via a subcarrier frequency from potential low-power FM station interference. Requires the FCC, when licensing FM translator stations, to ensure that:
(1) licenses are available to both FM translator stations and low-power FM stations; and
(2) such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community.

Happy Bobmas!

Today is Bobmas, the holiest day of the knitting year, for today is the day that Ravelry was conceived.

It’s only fitting that today should be the day that most NPR affiliates broadcast “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.” For you see, Mo Rocca recently stated on the air that handknitted sweaters were itchy. Well, you can imagine what happened next!

If you lack imagination, I’ll tell you: a group made Mo a beautiful, soft, non-itchy sweater that fit beautifully. How do we know it fit beautifully? These fabulous knitters presented it to him this week at a taping of the show.

(The segment is Panel Round Two – Mo Rocca vs. the Knitters: An Update and Reconciliation).

Chicago Public Radio’s blog gives the scoop:

A couple of weeks ago, Mo Rocca made an off-hand comment that handmade sweaters were “itchy.” A fairly innocuous thing to say one would think.

Following the broadcast, Mo received tons of angry emails from a nationwide group of knitters. Yes. Knitters. People who knit. And they were smoking mad.

The first attempt at assuaging the burbling rage of the yarn spinners was a phone-in apology by Mo during a broadcast. Apparently, it was not enough. The bruised egos of those who crochet would not be salved by a mere apology. There had to be face-to-face confrontation.

After a digression about audiences for show tapings, the post continued with this humorous observation:

The knitters (from a group called Ravelry,) were lovely people who sat in the front row with balls of yarn at their feet. I’m pretty sure they were knitting throughout the whole show, like victims of OCD but with pointy needles.

If you scroll down to the bottom of their post you can see pictures of Mo in his nice new (non-itchy) sweater.

Happy Bobmas, one and all!

I want to go dance in the streets

I’ve discussed the current Administration’s hellbent mission to relax the ownership rules on television, radio and newspapers and the tomfoolery the FCC has been engaged in since 2003, most recently in this post.

In a turn of events too good to believe true, the U.S. Senate, led by North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan, voted to roll back the media ownership rule the FCC had recently passed with a 3-2 vote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Thursday night voted to nullify a Federal Communications Commission rule that allows media companies to own a newspaper and a television station in the same market.

The unusual “resolution of disapproval,” sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and 26 other senators, was approved by a voice vote. The measures sponsors include both Democratic candidates for president, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

…..

The White House is, of course, already pumping out it’s patented brand of misinformation, misdirection and outright lies. Stop Big Media has a piece posted debunking the media ownership lies being propagated by the White House.

Ann Chaitovitz Appointed Executive Director of Future of Music Coalition

Exciting changes at the [tag]Future of Music Coalition[/tag]:

Future of Music Coalition (FMC) is pleased to announce that [tag]Ann Chaitovitz[/tag] has been named its next Executive Director. Chaitovitz replaces [tag]Jenny Toomey[/tag], who was recently appointed Program Officer for Media and Cultural Policy at the Ford Foundation. Chaitovitz brings more than 15 years of experience in artist rights, copyright and new media technologies to her new role at FMC, which she will assume on February 4, 2008.

[read the whole press release]

I feel that Ann’s years of experience at AFTRA, ASCAP and the USPTO, plus her years on the FMC Board, make her the perfect choice for this position.