New FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced his staff appointments today, and there is potentially good news for public interest advocates and supporters of innovative radio in his appointment of Public Knowledge president Gigi Sohn as Special Counsel for External Affairs. Sohn co-founded Public Knowledge in 2001, and under her leadership the group has been a […]
Tag Archives | FCC
FCC makes official proposals for AM revitalization, but nothing on the all-digital question
It looks like Commissioner Ajit Pai got a special Halloween treat from his fellow FCC commissioners with the adoption Thursday of a proposed rule making to revitalize the AM radio band (PDF). This looks like a parting gift of sorts from Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn as she gets ready to pass the gavel to new […]
Halloween is a pirate radio holiday
As the Shortwave Listening Post reminds us, Halloween is a peak broadcast day for unlicensed shortwave pirates. For folks with a shortwave radio, SWLing blogger Thomas instructs, “Turn on your radio anytime today, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,920 – 6,980 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear […]
FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel champions radio and LPFM to the Future of Music Summit
In her Tuesday keynote address to the Future of Music Summit, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel emphasized the still relevant role of radio in her remarks about the relationship between the music industry and the work of the Commission. First, she revealed that her brother is a professional bongo player, as a percussionist for the alt […]
Poof!? Why are Low Power FM stations vanishing?
In our last post on the latest broadcast station statistics I noticed that while the number of FM radio stations is steadily increasing, the number of Low Power FM stations has been consistently declining. Take a look at the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast station spreadsheet (excel download): over 860 LPFMs in March of 2010, down […]
Post-shutdown LPFM application deadline extended to Nov. 14
Now that the FCC is back in business and clearing out its queue the deadline for low-power FM applications has been extended to November 14 at 6 PM ET(PDF), two weeks later than the original October 29 date. This is shorter than what a group of LPFM advocacy has hoped for–they asked for an extension […]
FCC reaffirms that there will be no 10-watt LPFM stations
Today, on its first day back at work, the FCC released a Sixth Order on Reconsideration of its Sixth Report and Order on low-power FM. Basically, this means the FCC received a number of filings challenging LPFM rules, along with suggestions and requests for clarification. While today’s order mostly reaffirms the status quo for LPFM, […]
Groups request LPFM application extension from FCC due to government shutdown
As they promised, a coalition of low-power community radio support groups submitted a filing with the FCC today, the Commission’s first day back at work after the government shutdown, addressing the LPFM licensing window that was originally scheduled to open this past Tuesday. That filing has already been posted to the FCC’s database and is […]
Groups making post-shutdown plans for LPFM support
The government shutdown was the topic of our weekly email newsletter, the Radio Survivor Bulletin, this week. In it we touched on its effect on the upcoming low-power FM licensing window, as well as the impact on indecency and unlicensed broadcast enforcement. Here is an update on the LPFM front. Four business days of government […]
The government shutdown’s impact on licensed and pirate broadcasters
We’re nearly a full work-week into the government shutdown, and there have been many questions about what the effect will be on radio braodcasters. I covered this topic in this past week’s Radio Survivor Bulletin email newsletter. What follows is an updated version of that piece. To make sure you receive exclusive news and content […]