FCC decision strikes critical blow to broadcasting freedom!
Arbitary fascist rule violates First Amendment guarantee of free press.
WASHINGTON (PNN) - March 20, 2012 - A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision issued Monday clears the way for hundreds of new community radio stations that broadcast on low power FM signals, bringing community voices to urban areas that have for decades only known what’s being broadcast by major corporations.
In other words, the dismantling of Rush Limbaugh was just the beginning, and the whole FM dial is next.
The FCC’s decision on Monday wipes away a massive backlog of applications for FM repeater stations, which are transmitters that repeat signals broadcast by corporate radio operators - all of which rake in big dollars from the most popular syndicated talk shows.
The FCC’s decision also sets clear criteria for community radio stations in heavily populated urban areas.
“These [new, low power] stations can only be licensed to non-profit organizations, and you can only have one per customer,” said Brandy Doyle, policy director for the Prometheus Radio Project. “That way we won’t have these big corporate chains and media networks that are taking over the rest of the media landscape moving in on low power FM service. These stations have to be local, and they have to be independent. This clears the way for a real transformation of the FM dial.”
Instead of slowly grinding down thousands of repeater station applications that leave no room for community radio, the FCC essentially threw most of those applications away by limiting who can apply, how many filings a single entity can make, and which markets can consider new repeaters - all of which free up the regulatory body to examine applications for new community stations. The regulatory agency still gave some deference to corporate broadcasters, however, by allowing them one shot at revising their applications to fit the new guidelines.
Ed. Note: The fascist FCC is all about controlling the airwaves. It does not promote freedom in broadcasting.
