Low-power FM

With all the blathering I've been doing (and have been keeping myself from doing, just so you know) about KUSF, this piece in the New York Times about low-power FM stations resonates with me in ways it might not have a week ago.

A majority of Americans “still get their news and culture over the broadcast dial,” said Hannah Sassaman, a longtime advocate of community radio. For Ms. Sassaman and others, this month’s bill signing was the culmination of 10 years of lobbying for more access to the airwaves. “I care about this because I have seen these stations light people up and cause political coverage, local music and community organizing to happen around the country and the world,” Ms. Sassaman said.

The bill in question was the Local Community Radio Act, which allows the FCC to give out more licenses for low-power FM stations. Such stations operate at 100 watts. To give you a basis for comparison, KUSF's transmitter ran at 3000 watts; commercial radio stations operate at even higher power levels.

Considering how much time the average person in the U.S. spends in a car, and how much broadband costs, an Internet stream just doesn't cut it if you want to reach a large number of people in the immediate vicinity. Radios are cheap and ubiquitous.

In short, if you give a damn about the local community, especially those who aren't well off, radio is still an extremely effective medium.

(It's okay, Father Privett, we know you don't give a damn.)