Today, the Committee on Energy and Commerce voted unanimously in favor of the Local Community Radio Act. We anticipate the bill will move swiftly to a vote before the full House. Read More.

Please call your representative today to say it’s time to pass the Local Community Act, HR 1147!

Go to www.freepress.net/lpfm/cosponsors and put in your zip code.  You will be told where your rep stands, what their phone number is, and given some talking points.  It is so easy!

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Donations like yours make a big difference in our ability to expand community radio to hundreds more communities.  Thank you thank you!

Notice of Committee Markup

WHO: Committee on Energy and Commerce
WHAT: Markup of H.R. 1147, the Local Community Radio Act
WHEN: Thursday, October 15, 2009, at 10 a.m.
WHERE: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Last week, we were thrilled when the Local Community Radio Act of 2009 (H.R. 1147) passed out of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet by voice vote.

Tomorrow, community radio advocates may have more to celebrate. The full House Energy and Commerce Committee will vote on the Local Community Radio Act on Thursday, October 15 at 10 a.m. 

After years of fighting to expand people’s access to the airwaves, community radio advocates are finally seeing the fruits of our labor. This is the farthest the bill has come since it was first introduced in 2005, bringing hundreds of communities around the country one huge step closer to running their own radio stations. 

The Energy and Commerce Committee is chaired by longtime LPFM supporter Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). After the Committee markup, we expect the Local Community Radio Act to move swiftly toward a full House vote.

Community radio needs your support more than ever. Please call your representative today to say it’s time to pass the Local Community Act!

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This morning, the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet passed the Local Community Radio Act (H.R. 1147) in a near unanimous 15 to 1 vote.

"All I can say is, it's about time," commented Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), a co-sponsor of the bill.

The bipartisan bill gained the support of former LPFM doubters, including Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), a former lead co-sponsor of anti-LPFM legislation, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the only former broadcaster in Congress, and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who called for a study of LPFM interference in 2000.

H.R. 1147 is now poised to move to the full Commerce Committee, chaired by longtime LPFM supporter Rep. Waxman (D-CA).

Read More.

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TODAY Congress will debate the Local Community Radio Act (H.R. 1147) on Thursday, Oct 8 at 10 am, in the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

The Local Community Radio Act would allow the FCC to license hundreds of new low power non-commercial radio stations nationwide.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) reaffirmed his support for the Local Community Radio Act to an enthusiastic crowd at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit on Tuesday, calling it “our Christmas present this year.” Rep. Doyle has been leading the push for Low Power FM in Congress, along with lead co-sponsor Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE).

This is closest the bill has ever been to passage. We need your help! Contact your representative and tell them to SUPPORT LOCAL COMMUNITY RADIO!  TAKE ACTION NOW!

Washington, DC – A bipartisan bill to expand community radio has been scheduled for a vote by Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) on Thursday at 10 AM, in the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.

The Local Community Radio Act would allow the FCC to license hundreds of new low power non-commercial radio stations nationwide. Most communities, especially large cities, have had severely limited opportunities to apply for these new radio licenses.

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA) reaffirmed his support for the Local Community Radio Act to an enthusiastic crowd at the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit on Tuesday, calling it “our Christmas present this year.” Rep. Doyle has been leading the push for Low Power FM in Congress, along with lead co-sponsor Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE). Independent musicians have been longtime supporters of Low Power FM as a venue to share their music.

“We’d like to thank Congressmen Doyle, Boucher, Waxman and all Congressional supporters of low power radio. The hard work of these leaders and their staff to bring this legislation to a vote will yield great results for America’s local media landscape,” said Pete Tridish, founding member of Prometheus Radio Project.

The Local Community Radio Act reverses legislation from 2000 that limited the FCC's authority to license low power radio. Broadcasters claimed that low power radio would cause interference, but a Congressionally mandated study later showed that low power stations (which operate at 100 watts or less) do not interfere with full power stations.

"Thousands of communities could finally have a chance to have their own radio station,” said Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. "We hear from schools, churches, community groups, emergency responders, and local governments who want a local forum for news and information. They're eager for this opportunity."

Contact your Representative and tell them to support local community radio! 

For Immediate Release: New FCC Commissioners Unanimously Support the Local Community Radio Act
Bipartisan bill would expand low power radio

Contact:

Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Prometheus Radio Project (610) 761-5414 Pete Tridish, Prometheus Radio Project (215) 605-9297

September 17, 2009

Washington DC -- In the first Congressional oversight hearing since the three new FCC Commissioners took office, all five Commissioners endorsed the Local Community Radio Act HR 1147/ S592, unanimously reaffirming the FCC’s continued support for the bill.

FCC Chairman Genachowski and Commissioners Baker and Clyburn expressed support for the Local Community Radio Act in a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet. Introduced by Rep. Mike Doyle (PA-14) and Rep. Lee Terry (NE-2) in February, the bill would repeal a 2000 law that restricts Low Power FM radio (LPFM) radio to rural areas.

“We are very pleased that the Commission has again voiced their support for this important bill, which would allow community radio to expand into thousands of towns, cities and neighborhoods throughout the US,” stated Cory Fischer-Hoffman, Campaign Director at the Prometheus Radio Project.

This is the third time that the Commission has unanimously requested that Congress return authority to the FCC to manage “third adjacent channel restrictions” on Low Power FM radio (LPFM). These restrictions, imposed by Congress in 2000 in response to concerns that LPFMs could cause interference to full power stations – limited low power radio to rural areas. Since a 2003 congressionally-mandated engineering study showed that LPFMs do not harm full power stations, the FCC has told Congress they are ready to move forward with community radio. The bill now awaits a mark-up in the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Technology and the Internet.

LPFM stations are licensed to government, churches, emergency responders, and other noncommercial organizations. They have a three-to-five mile range and a maximum 100 watts of power. Today, over 800 local organizations operate LPFM stations around the country.

NYTimes featured low power radio as it's top online headline and as a feature in the A section of its print edition last Tuesday. Please help spread the word by posting the story to listservs, Twitter and Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/kucsfu.

Complete with a musical slide show, the story highlights progress on the Low Power Community Radio Act and tells the story of Scott Johnston who runs KXZI LPFM in Montana. Scott shares: "The creation of low-power radio was a great decision on the part of the FCC. Everything was starting to sound the same and the local voices were just totally getting cut out of the picture ... We're a Montana expression. Really unique voices need to be heard. I think that's about as American as you can get."

The Local Community Radio Act is poised to pass, which will create thousands more access points for local voices to be heard and bring low power radio to urban areas.

The Bilingual Capacity Building Fellowship is an unpaid position, in which college credits can be earned. We are seeking an applicant who could work 8 hours/week from September 15-December 15!

On June 30, 2009, a military coup ousted the democratically elected government of Honduras and president Manuel Zelaya. In response to a proliferation of misinformation in the corporate media concerning this coup, the Prometheus Radio Project along with local immigrant organizing group, Juntos, and the news website, Upside Down World, hosted an event at the Philadelphia Library to offer an alternative perspective. The event entitled "Community Media in times of popular struggle, political mobilization, and repression- from Venezuela to Oaxaca to Honduras" featured Adrienne Pine, a militant anthropologist, assistant professor at American University in D.C., and the author of "Working Hard, Drinking Hard, on Violence and Survival in Honduras", Ramor Ryan, an Irish anarchist writer who lives in Chiapas, Mexico and reports on popular struggle, and Prometheus’ own Cory Fischer- Hoffman and Andy Gunn.

Adrienne Pine spoke to the more than 100 people in attendance about the severe repression against those opposed to the Coup government, especially those involved with community media outlets including participatory radio stations. Ramor Ryan and Cory Fischer-Hoffman contextualized the Honduran Coup against a backdrop of repression and resistance across Latin America. Then Prometheus’ Technical and Training Director Andy Gunn spoke about his recent trip to Honduras working with Community Station Radio Lenca and about the nationwide media blackout blocking any information about the huge grassroots resistance to the coup.

Following the event, over 70 people marched from the Library to the offices of the Philadelphia Inquirer demanding that they stop printing lies about the Honduran Coup.