wfn.org | Interest in low power radio sweeps country

[powellb@ucc.org]

March 18, 2000
Andrea Vargas, press contact
(503) 236-0527
<microradioproject@ucc.org>

[EDITORS:  A list of contacts for local initiatives and
spokespersons for national organizations is available upon
request.  Contact Andrea Vargas at (503) 236-0527;
<microradioproject@ucc.org>.]

National advocacy program prompts creative initiatives
across the United States for low power community radio

     PORTLAND, Ore. -- As a result of the unprecedented
decision by the Federal Communications Commission (Jan.
20, 2000) to issue licenses for non-commercial low power 10-
watt  and up to 100-watt FM radio stations, hundreds of
proposals and queries have emerged from more than 25 states
from Maine to California, says Andrea Vargas, director of the
Microradio Implementation Project, a national program to
assist faith groups, community organizations and
multicultural/multiracial populations in establishing low-
power FM stations.
     Groups preparing to apply for low-power licenses
include community and civic organizations, municipalities,
faith groups and churches, social service agencies, ministerial
alliances, human rights organizations and many others.  Their
purpose:  to reach audiences not being served or being under
served by existing high power radio stations.
     "New voices will be heard with regional and linguistic
accents and cadences,  reflecting a variety of cultures,
community values, traditions and distinct experience of
millions of people who are or desire to be active participants
in this society," says Vargas of the microradio opportunities.
"Low power will also offer a forum function and two way
communication.  It will also offer a training ground for new
generations of people who want to be part of the
communications and information industries."
     Among those beginning to plan for community radio
are:

* Simple Living, a coalition of social service agencies and
non-profit organizations in Columbus, Ohio;

* Noah's Ark Baptist Church, who wants to offer community
news, cultural and religious education to the English, Creole
and French speaking community of 10,000 Haitians in Naples,
Fla.;

* The Beartooth Front Community Forum linking isolated
communities near Red Lodge, Mont.;

* Ministerial groups who want to serve particular
communities, including the aging rural population in Colby,
Kan., and the growing Latino community in Cleveland, where
Spanish language radio is non-existent.

* Retirement communities like Sun City Vistoso in Tucson,
Ariz., and Pilgrim Place in Claremont, Calif.

* The Muslim Educational Trust in Portland, Ore., who cares
for recently arrived refugees and immigrants from Kosovo,
Russia and the Middle East.

* The Hmong American Partnership in St. Paul, Minn., for the
growing southeast Asian community.

* Groups serving migrant farm workers on the West Coast.

     "The variety of interested groups indicates an
extraordinary groundswell of interest and response not only by
the folks who have called us directly, but also many, many
others who will benefit from community radio," says Vargas.
Due to the overwhelming response for information, the
Microradio Implementation Project also is coordinating with
the Media Access Project, a Washington, D.C.,-based legal
firm, the National Lawyer's Guild Communications
Committee, the United Methodist General Board
communications staff, the Catholic Communications
Campaign, and the Low Power Radio Coalition, among
others.
     The licensing of low power stations "is an
unprecedented opportunity granted to the people of this
country," says Vargas.  "In a time when high technology is
permeating our lives, low power radio allows us to take
control of a small part of the information gathering and
dissemination process for a given constituency.  Because of
the geographic restraints of the broadcast areas, we'll have to
identify our audiences and remain attentive to hem.  We will
discover who are our neighbors and relate to the people who
comprise our communities in ways we haven't before."
     "The decision by the FCC to move forward with low
power licensing allow it to meet its statutory mandate
embodied in Section 307(b), that has been at the heart of the
Communications Act's public interest goals," she says.  "The
purpose of low power radio is not simply an exercise in radio
development, it is the instruction and praxis of a
communications model for building community and
strengthening social interactions. And we expect all of the
members of Congress to understand this."
     Based in Portland, Ore., the Microradio
Implementation Project offers

* General information and education about low power radio
development and the FCC licensing process

* Local and regional workshops on program planning,
administration, technology and implementation

* Referrals to lawyers, engineers, technicians, and people who
have community radio experience and expertise

* Continuing education and advocacy for community-based
communications and FCC rulings.

     The Microradio Implementation Project was created by
the United Church of Christ, and is underwritten in part by the
Ford Foundation.  For the last four decades, the UCC has been
at the forefront of citizen's access and participation in the
public airwaves and related issues before the Federal
Communications Commission.  Last year, the national
Protestant denomination of 1.4 million members joined other
national organizations as an advocate for low power FM radio
licensing.

                 #   #   #