“When you get AIDS, pal, the door opens up to you. You have got all  kinds of government goodies, including a maid to clean your house, transportation … there's just a wealth of wonders that come.” - – Jim Quinn, Clear Channel’s syndicated radio host.

Talk radio is known for being the voice of intolerance.  We’re fostering thousands of community radio stations that can talk back.  

The FCC has proposed rules to expand low power community radio into urban areas, asking the public to comment by May 7. But the same commercial broadcast lobby that blocked the Local Community Radio Act for the better part of a decade is still at it. To beat them again, we have to make our voices heard.

What’s at stake

At its simplest, the issue is whether new low power FM (LPFM) stations must be at least three clicks on the dial away from existing stations, or whether LPFM stations can be just two clicks away, using “second adjacent channel waivers.” Getting to broadcast just three clicks away from other stations (on the “third adjacent channel”) was the hard won victory of the Local Community Radio Act, opening many cities to community radio. But for many other cities, where the dial is more crowded, three clicks away is too much, keeping community radio locked out.  (Watch our four-minute video for a visual breakdown). 

Fortunately, the Local Community Radio Act also authorized the FCC to license low power stations just two clicks away from other stations, waiving the rules on second adjacent frequencies, as long as the LPFMs won’t cause interference to neighboring stations. This could allow new community radio stations in urban areas, doubling or tripling the number of channels available nationwide! (Find out if your community would require a second adjacent frequency waiver with our zip code lookup and check out our national radio forecast maps.) 

Broadcast lobby at it again

The bad news is that commercial broadcasters think they own the radio spectrum, and they won’t give up a sliver without a fight. Last week, a spokesperson for the National Association of Broadcasters said they “have concerns that waiving protections for second adjacent channels will result in very real and very serious interference for millions of radio listeners.” 

Gullah People's Movement - Radio for the Low Country

When Jabari Moketsi finally gets his low power radio station on the air in Beaufort, S.C., the first program on his schedule will be hosted by octogenarians. The show, entitled “Keepers of the Culture,” will provide an oral history of the African-American community in lowcountry South Carolina and Georgia, who are often referred to as Gullah or Geechee. Though Brother Jabari plans to feature other music, news, and public affairs programming, all of it will serve the same purpose of preserving and strengthening Gullah culture, and sharing it with the rest of the community.