In perhaps the slowest week in LPFM news so far this year, only two additional applications were approved. They went to the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, in Tulsa, and the Fayette Community Service Organization in Fayette, Mississippi. This doesn’t mean that low-power FM isn’t still on the front burner. The FCC’s five commissioners–along with […]
This week the number of newly granted LPFM applications surpassed 1200. The new batch of future radio stations includes several Catholic organizations in Indiana and Nebraska, a school district in Texas, Indiana University, an arts group in Maryland, and community groups in Texas and Detroit. There were also quite a few dismissals this week, including […]
From a trickle to a slow drip. That’s how one might characterize the approval rate of low-power FM applications right now. Since last week’s update there are only four new construction permits granted. This brings the total to 1197 as of May 14. The FCC still has yet to act on most of the frequencies […]
On Monday, Millbrae Radio became the latest San Francisco Bay Area applicant to have its LPFM application granted in the recent licensing window. Originally part of a much larger mutually exclusive group of applicants, Millbrae Radio modified its application in order to achieve singleton status on the San Francisco peninsula. Its proposed station will broadcast […]
The FCC released its first quarter radio station totals this week. And while the overall station count is up slightly in 2014, the number of LPFMs dipped two from the end of 2013. On the surface this might not make sense given the 1,148 low-power station construction permits the FCC has issued this year. But […]
The assignment of LPFM construction permits creeps forward, with the total now at 1137 new stations approved. It still seems like the FCC is not yet dealing with frequencies where there are multiple applicants, known as MX groups (for mutually exclusive). However, applicants that filed amendments in order to no longer compete with others are […]
The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator, Ofcom, just put out an invitation to apply for community radio licenses in West and East Midlands. These are official regions situated (as you might guess) right in the middle of England. What caught my eye, however, is this codicil in the announcement; “Applicants should note that there are currently […]
This week the total number of granted LPFM applications crossed 1100. LPFMs-to-be are already fundraising and making plans for their new stations. For example, in Portland, Oregon, Q Center’s station Wild Planet Radio, purportedly the “the world’s first nonprofit LGBTQ radio station,” is gearing up to get on the air, sharing a frequency with The […]
A new very low-power FM station hit the Portland, Oregon airwaves this week. XRAY.FM is a new community station that took over the license for Reed College’s legacy class D station at 91.1 FM in 2012 with the help of Common Frequency. The station mounted a very successful Kickstarter in January. Starting with a goal […]
Last Thursday the national board of the Pacifica Foundation fired Executive Director Summer Reese, who was hired for the position in November after serving on an interim basis for more than a year. The how and why of Reese’s ouster are unclear. According to the New York Times article that broke the story, board members […]
