Today REC Networks, Prometheus Radio Project, and a gaggle of D.C. media advocacy groups filed an 
emergency petition with the FCC for a freeze on the processing of translator applications from 2003. That was the application window in which 13,000+ applications were filed, of which 4,000+ were part of a scheme to provide turnkey radio networks to religious broadcasters.
The petition reports that World Radio Link, Inc. is apparently the marketing arm of the scheme. It advertised prominently at the National Religious Broadcasters annual convention last month that it
[r]epresents the two largest filers of FM translator applications in the FCC’s most recent FM filing window. These two applicants, Radio Assist Ministry and Edgewater Broadcasting, are making available for acquisition hundreds of these FM translator station construction permits to existing or new entrant Christian broadcasters throughout the country. Continue reading “Translator Invasion Freeze Petition Filed”
Month: March 2005
New Tracks from Wax Audio; Free Passes to Free Press Conference
Tom Compagnoni first dropped the world-leaders-as-rappers tip last year with WMD…and other distractions. He’s back (with crew) as Wax Audio, featuring a new album, Mediacracy. It’s a broader sonic critique of the geopolitical follies of the last couple of years, with special attention given to the media’s role in them. Not as much rapping, save GWB’s cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which is a feat in and of itself. Several of the cuts will eventually make their way into Truthful Translations this week but you can get ’em direct at a better bitrate from the link above. Continue reading “New Tracks from Wax Audio; Free Passes to Free Press Conference”
Scene Report: Florida
Amateurs on the offensive: The American Radio Relay League has formally petitioned the FCC to nullify Florida’s anti-pirate law passed last year. Not because hams like pirates, but because they’re afraid the law’s so broadly written that any amateur who inadvertently interferes could be branded a criminal. ARRL’s 10-page Request for Declaratory Ruling is an excellent encapsulation of the legislative and judicial history for why laws like Florida’s shouldn’t be on the books.
Meanwhile, some clenching reporter from a Fort Myers TV station put together an “exposé” of a local hip-hop pirate station using indecency as a hook, complete with bleeped clips and the shocked reaction of a (white) mother’s face after she tuning in for the cameras. 
The reporter, with help from a local commercial radio station worried about the pirate’s effect on its listenership, went so far as to track down the transmission location. It also calls use of the internet as STL a growing trend.
Religious Broadcasting As Franchise Operation
While the proliferation of FM translator stations by religious broadcast groups arguably constitutes spectrum abuse, it’s just one perspective on a larger problem. Religious broadcasters are not only snapping up translator channels on which real community LPFM stations might have been sited, they’re also engaged in LPFM broadcasting.
A recent SF Chronicle story illustrates how Calvary Chapel organizes LPFM station affiliate growth:
This month, the Calvary Chapel Radio Ministry of Costa Mesa in Orange County hosted 170 mostly Christian low-power broadcasters, offering them operational tips as well as up to “16 hours per day, seven days a week” of programming beamed in via satellite, according to its Web site. Continue reading “Religious Broadcasting As Franchise Operation”