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The Great Spectrum Giveaway

This October might be the last chance for local community radio stations to receive high-power licenses from the FCC.

By Megan Tady

The window may be short, but what happens during a one-week period in October could have lasting implications on how many local voices are heard when listeners turn their radio dial. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is giving community-based non-profit organizations a chance—possibly their last—to snag some spectrum, or see the remaining high-power radio frequencies doled out to other groups competing… return to article

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    In the ‘60’s when I moved to a NY suburb with my young children, a new station came on the AM dial—WRKL. It had “1000 watts of power” (or as was once said, “a thousand pots of wower”) and broadcast only from dawn to dusk, because it was too close to a Connecticut station to be heard clearly at night.

    Rockland County was a new and growing suburb, complete with growing pains, and our local station provided information, communication and a feeling of community. The noon-time talk and call-in show, usually hosted by the station owner, was a clearing house for local concerns and problems. The music show in the early evening had a call-in “name that tune” kind of segment where you could win “prizes” usually contributed by local merchants. (Available only during the warm months, when the daylight lasted longer, and the station could stay on the air.) The morning man was also the station manager.

    The station was not a non-profit but owned by an escapee from the big city rat race and sponsored by local merchants advertising weekly specials and features. I remember fondly the owner of the local stationery emporium urging us to come in for our “skooza pies” in late summer.  Pens, paper, notebooks, the works.

    In fact, for a time, I had a 5-minute show on the air. I prerecorded (on reel-to-reel tape that I hand-edited, would you believe) a show for the local and state PTA, and featured local activists, etc. to keep listeners informed about what was happening in the county and the region concerning children and schools. It was a marvelous experience and I am sure that there are a whole bunch of people now who would love to be radio personalities and have a local 5-10 minute show.

    All these things can only be done by real local radio and the October auction is the ideal time to expand the number of independent FM stations on the dial. Times have changed, and perhaps today there are some local business people could be persuaded to contribute to the success of a local station if the people power is there to activate the watts of power. It’s worth it!!

    United States Posted by GillianB on Jul 25, 2007 at 4:47 PM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

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