Community Radio Around the World: [creative-radio] US Low Power Radio Bill Makes Huge Press Impact Nationwide with Hula Hoop Spectacle

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Prometheus Radio Project
Date: 15 December 2010 15:27
Subject: Low Power Radio Bill Makes Huge Press Impact Nationwide with Hula
Hoop Spectacle

The pressure continues to mount for the expansion of community radio
nationwide to churches, schools, and community groups nationwide.

After about 50 low power FM broadcasters and groups hoping to build low
power FM radio stations converged on the National Association of
Broadcasters -- telling them to stop making the Local Community Radio Act, a
bipartisan and widely loved bill that would expand community radio, jump
through hoops -- trade press, papers of record, and national media picked up
the trail.

*These stories show that the NAB looks increasingly foolish and isolated for
holding to its position in the face of such unified, bipartisan, and
widespread support for this issue*. One trade outlet, Radio Survivor, notes
that the NAB has received so many calls from LPFM supporters that they changed
their voicemail to accommodate the calls and
messages<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/r>
.

Read below and see attached for a press roundup: and remember, the time is
now to expand low power FM radio. Please support and work to pass Senate
Bill 592, the Local Community Radio Act, in this Congress.

Please contact info@prometheusradio.org if you have any questions or
concerns about this vital legislation, which would expand community radio to
save lives, put local voices of faith and family on the air, and strengthen
our towns and communities. *
*

- *NPR -- Bid to Revive Community Radio Stalls in Senate -- All Things
Considered, Rick Karr, 12/13/2010 *
-
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/132032417/Bid-To-Revive-Community-Radio-Stalls-In-Senate<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/y>
- *The Oregonian: Gordon Smith under fire from community radio activists
-- Jeff Mapes, 12/15/2010 *
-
http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2010/12/gordon_smith_under_fire_from_c.html<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/j>
- *National Journal -- Community Radio to NAB: Stop Clowning Around --
Tech Daily Dose, David Hatch, 12/13/2010 *
-
http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2010/12/community-radio-to-nab-stop-cl.php<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/t>
- *Washington Post -- A Roundabout Way to Protest -- Matt McLain,
12/14/2010*
- http://prometheusradio.org/washington_post_community_radio_hooping<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/i>
- *Radio World -- LPFM Supporters Stage Circus Acts In Front of NAB *
- http://www.radioworld.com/article/110654<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/d>

- *Huffington Post -- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to Kill Community
Radio *
-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-aaron/mr-smith-goes-to-washingt_b_796415.html<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/h>

Original photos, video, and release below.
------------------------------

Video of community radio advocates hula hooping in front of NAB here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPh68vh_Hc8<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/a>

Photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/prometheusradio/5257979225/<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/f>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prometheusradio/5257978141/<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/z>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prometheusradio/5258593000/<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/v>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prometheusradio/5257984481/<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/e>
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prometheusradio/5257980565/<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/s>
*
**Contact: Hannah Sassaman, 267-970-4007, hannahjs@prometheusradio.org
Contact: Jeff Rousset, 845-642-8145, jeff.rousset@gmail.com*

*Community Radio Station Hopefuls Hula Hoop in Front of
the National Association of Broadcasters, asking CEO Gordon Smith:
Stop Making Low Power FM Radio Jump Through Hoops*!

*From Washington State to the Chesapeake Bay,
Teachers, Pastors, and Citizens Push Congress to Expand Low Power FM*

WASHINGTON, DC – Executives at the National Association of Broadcasters
(NAB), the lobby group representing large commercial broadcast stations
across the United States, were surprised to look out their windows today to
see a veritable circus of community radio supporters.

Dozens of people hula-hooped, juggled, and asked NAB chief Gordon Smith,
former Senator from Oregon, to stop blocking a bill that would expand access
to 100-watt low power FM (LPFM) noncommercial community radio stations
across the US – *the Local Community Radio Act, HR 1147 and SB 592.*

They cheered at the NAB, "Stop making us jump through hoops! Support low
power FM radio and the Local Community Radio Act!" * They also asked their
Congressional leaders to pass this widely loved and bipartisan bill before
the end of the 111th Congress*.

"Low power FM radio stations not only put local music, news, and political
debates on the FM dial, they saved lives after Hurricane Katrina because
they put up-to-the-minute local information on the air – and they are small
and flexible enough to keep running with a car battery when the power goes
out," said *Pete Tridish, an organizer with the Prometheus Radio Project* , a
nonprofit that supports low power FM radio stations nationwide. "*By passing
this bill today, Congress will be supporting thousands of constituent
organizations instead of bowing to one big broadcast lobby's wishes. * Gordon
Smith is silencing voices across the country by opposing the expansion of
community radio. So we're here to say: Gordon Smith, don't make a circus of
our democracy – stop making us jump through hoops; work with Congress to
pass this bill."

There are about 800 stations on the air across the US, but thousands of
other groups were unable to get licenses when LPFM was established in 2000.
The Local Community Radio Act, which would expand LPFM, sailed through the
House in 2009, and has broad bipartisan support in the Senate. *But news
reports <http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/g>*
*showed that
NAB CEO and former Senator Gordon Smith is organizing secret Senate holds on
the bill to kill it* . The NAB claimed that they were working to compromise
or negotiate on expanding low power FM radio, but as of Monday the 13th,
they had rejected every offer that Senate sponsors and LPFM advocates have
brought before them.

"Over the 111th Congress, community radio advocates worked with Congress to
add 9 changes to the Local Community Radio Act, all suggested by LPFM
critics," continued Tridish. "But the NAB insists that every demand they've
made be met before they stop asking Senators to block passage of the
bill. They want to force the FCC to use an old, archaic way of finding
spots for LPFM stations that no other radio broadcasters are required to use
anymore for licensing. * If the FCC were forced to use this method of
licensing LPFM, there'd be no room for more LPFMs anywhere but unpopulated
areas and America's smallest towns."*

"Our station provides some of the only local service to Gillette when big
storms come through, and it puts great content on the air. That's why so
many in our town think it is such a vital resource. When I heard Senator
Barrasso (R-WY) was holding up a bill to expand community radio, I called
him up and explained to his office the work we do on our low power
FM," said *Pastor Joel Wright of the First Presbyterian Church of Gillette,
WY, licensee of KCOV-LP 95.7 FM* . "Senator Barrasso dropped his hold when
he learned how stations like ours serve seniors, faith communities, and
local leaders everywhere. If the NAB stops this hoop-la and tells the
Senate to stop blocking the bill, thousands of groups in cities and other
communities can get low power FM radio stations like we have here in
Gillette."

Hundreds of diverse groups support expanding low power FM radio nationwide,
including emergency responders, national civil rights and faith-based
organizations, and many others. They have waited years for the opportunity
to serve their communities, but the FCC has been unable to give out licenses
to them because Congress restricted LPFM. * The National Association of
Broadcasters has informed Senators that there are thousands of license slots
available across the US – without noting that most of those slots are in
unpopulated areas like deserts, news reports have
shown<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/w>
.*

"I work with poor people and workers in Baltimore. In this economy, it is
hard to get the word out about how to find better jobs and to make the
places we work dignified for everybody," said *Veronica Dorsey, of the
United Workers, a human rights organization in Baltimore. * "We make radio
pieces with lots of people, but can only distribute them online, and more
folks have access to the radio than the internet. Many folks work 2-3 jobs
and don't have time to come together with us or hear our stories online –
and a radio station would change that. We could speak to everyone and help
make Baltimore a better place. * That's why we're asking Congress to pass
the Local Community Radio Act, and why we're asking the National Association
of Broadcasters to stop making low power FM radio jump through hoops. Let's
pass this bill!"*

"Civil rights groups and community organizations have wanted low power FM
radio for years, and now the chance is almost here," said *Betty Yu,
coordinator of the Media Action Grassroots Networ* k, a national media
justice network with members in many cities that lost their chance to get
low power FM radio stations. "This circus is a celebration of what the
future of the radio dial can be. Our communities invite Gordon Smith and
NAB to stop making us jump through hoops, and to help communities serve
their neighbors with their own slice of the FM airwaves."

LPFMs have saved lives in powerful storms when big broadcasts lose power or
can't serve local communities in the eye of the storm. *WQRZ-LP in Bay St.
Louis, MS received awards from President Bush and other organizations post
Katrina in 2005, when one of the station operators swam across floodwaters
with fuel strapped to his back to keep his station on the air.* The
station proved so important that the Emergency Operations Center of Hancock
County set up shop with the LPFM to serve the community after Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. Bipartisan Senators and House members have expressed
support for the Local Community Radio Act as a vital way to expand emergency
service media across our nation.

"I'm Frank Bluestein from Germantown, Tennessee, one of the several large
suburban cities located just outside of Memphis. We have been fighting for
the past 10 years to persuade Congress to give communities like ours the
opportunity to establish a low power FM radio station. Our city wants to
provide community and civic groups, students of all ages, local artists and
others the power to communicate over their own LPFM channel," said * Frank
Bluestein, a media teacher and Executive Producer of Germantown Community
TV. *

"Equally important for Germantown, we need a dedicated communication outlet
that will serve the needs of our citizens in the event another tornado rips
through town or if any kind of natural disaster hits," continued
Bluestein. "In this day and age, emergency management is a must for a city
of our size and LPFM perfectly fits our needs. A low power FM radio station
can stay on the air even if the power goes out. Low power FM saved lives
during Katrina but strangely, the federal government is banning it from this
part of Tennessee. That is not fair or wise. We have the right to be as safe
as any other community in the US. * Congress should stand up for the
people and get this bill done, and Gordon Smith and the powers that be at
the NAB should stand aside and help us and other communities like ours get
Low Power FM radio. After 10 years, it is time!"*

"I'm a founder of WRYR-LP, 97.5 FM in Sherwood, Maryland," said *Mike Shay
of WRYR-LP, 97.5 FM in Sherwood, Maryland, on the Cheseapeake Bay. * "We
got one of the rare low power FM frequencies in 2000 and we've been on-air
for 8 years. Our town loves us because we put music, youth, political and
cultural leaders that would never be heard on the dial – and we've taught
dozens to become producers and makers of community media nationwide. *Now
is the time to expand LPFM! NAB, end this hoop-la, and Congress, bring
community radio to every city and town by passing Senate Bill 592."*

*To learn more about low power FM community radio, visit:
http://www.prometheusradio.org<http://prometheusradio.createsend3.com/t/y/l/axhky/nujjdidjh/yd>
*

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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