wfn.org | UCC/Communication office receives Ford Foundation grant for

[powellb@ucc.org]

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microradio
Jan. 31, 2000
Office of Communication
United Church of Christ
William C. Winslow, press contact
(212) 870-2137
<winsloww@ucc.org>
On the web: <http://www.ucc.org>

Protestant communication office receives Ford Foundation grant to offer
microradio educational and advocacy services

     CLEVELAND -- The Office of Communication of the United Church of
Christ has received a $250,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to offer
educational and advocacy services to community-based groups interested in
low-power radio stations.
     With the two-year microradio grant, the Office of Communication will
offer a nationwide counseling service to local educational, religious,
health, community and government agencies that may want to apply for a
radio license.  The program is in response to a decision earlier this month
by the Federal Communications Commission authorizing the establishment of
small FM radio stations limited in power from 1 to 100 watts and reserved
for local nonprofit groups. The United Church of Christ, along with the
National Council of Churches and the U.S. Catholic Conference, are
supporters of microradio.
     In a series of workshops around the country, the church agency will
conduct an educational campaign to develop grassroots support for the FCC
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=92s
stations and then equip interested communities with the organizational =
and
technical skills to establish a station.  Andrea Vargas of Portland, Or=
e.,
a former media consultant with 25 years of church and secular communica=
tion
experience, will direct the microradio efforts.
     Microradio =93will offer a new forum for information and community=

building, particularly with and among diverse cultural groups,=94 said =
the
Rev. Robert Chase, executive director of the Office of Communication.  =
He
noted that since the deregulation of radio, which now allows a single
corporation to own hundreds of stations, there has been =93little
opportunity=94 for local expression.
     It also is =93an issue of justice=94 for these groups, said the Re=
v.
Everett C. Parker, director emeritus of the Office of Communication.
Parker was instrumental in bringing religious communication concerns to=
 the
attention of the FCC.
     The driving force for microradio has been FCC chairperson William =
E.
Kennard, who said that as he traveled around the country, he met =93doz=
ens of
people who want to use the airwaves to speak to their communities --
churches, community groups, elementary schools, colleges and minority
groups.=94
     One individual he heard from was the Rev. Anand Veeraraj, pastor o=
f
New Jersey Indian United  Church of Christ, a Princeton-based congregat=
ion
of Asian Indians. He said there are thousands of Indians within 10 mile=
s of
his church, but =93local broadcasters don=92t even know we exist.  I wa=
nt to be
first in line for a license.=94
     The Office of Communication is no stranger to media counseling. In=
 the
1970s, it received a $1 million 10-year grant from the Ford Foundation =
to
provide legal services to women and racial and ethnic constituencies to=

challenge the licenses of radio and TV stations that discriminated agai=
nst
them.  Those challenges frequently resulted in improved hiring practice=
s
and programming.  In the 1980s, the office helped municipalities negoti=
ate
favorable franchise agreements with cable companies to safeguard the pu=
blic
interest, assuring, for example, that local cable systems offered publi=
c
access channels.
     The 1.4-million-member United Church of Christ, with national offi=
ces
in Cleveland, has more than 6,000 local churches in the United States a=
nd
Puerto Rico.  Its Office of Communication carries out projects to prote=
ct
the public interest and advance affirmative action in telecommunication=
s,
provides educational programs in communication and handles public relat=
ions
for the denomination.

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