Low-Power FM Radio to Gain Space on the Dial

[groovedaddy]

OPELOUSAS, La. — When John Freeman turned on his car radio one recent day and tuned to KOCZ, the voice he heard was a 2-year-old girl’s.

It belonged to Nyla Belton, the daughter of the afternoon D.J., Craig Belton. She’s better known on the air as “D.J. Scribble” and sometimes speaks up between songs.

Mr. Freeman, the station’s executive director, chuckled and pointed to the radio. “That’s what’s special about low-power FM,” he said.

KOCZ’s signal is a mere 100 watts, so low that its reach is only 10 to 15 miles. Mr. Freeman cannot even tune in from his home. But the station has become an unlikely lifeline in this town of 22,000, helping promote local artists and church events in ways that commercial stations either cannot or will not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/arts/25radio.html?nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=tha28&adxnnlx=1295974998-NAys0tYYGBNVgtTTfH9KEQ

[DBoon]

1. Is there a progressive non-profit out there to help with this?

Putting more of these stations in rural areas should be a high priority.

The monopoly of Clear Channel needs to be challenged

[groovedaddy]

3. One more good reason:Clear Channel still haunted by Minot toxic spill disaster

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/05/will-clear-channel-ever-live-down-the-minot-toxic-spill-disaster.ars

[MineralMan]

4. Actually, it'll probably be done by individuals, more on a hobby

basis than anything else. You can buy a 100 watt FM transmitter for around $1000, and feed it from any MP3 player, or plug in a mic and start talking. Or, you can opt for even lower power and pay much less.

What I expect, mostly, is going to be music addicts to do this and broadcast their own play lists. It is, though, an opportunity for political and talk radio as well. You can also expect churches to jump in, especially megachurches, broadcasting Christian programming. In fact, I expect that to be the dominant aspect of low power FM. They have the funds, the interest, and the capability.

It should be interesting, especially in large markets, where the FM dial is already pretty full.

If you want to do this, I'd start as soon as it's available. If you wait, there may not be space on the spectrum for your station. It's going to be very popular.

[thelordofhell]

5. The RIAA put the stake through personal play lists

They went after the internet broadcasters zealously, they'll do the same with low frequency FM broadcasts.

[Ozymanithrax]

2. This is like radio before TV...

There used to be neighborhood radio stations. This is a great idea, that along with broadcast over the Internet has great potential as Samizdat media.