Chapter 1

Getting High Impact from Low Power

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introducing Low Power FM

Starting your own station

Building on your dreams

Your radio is hungry. It craves life, music, and conversation. It longs to connect neighbors with one another and unite enemies with a song. Radio dreams of broadcasting the sound of community to the people who live there. At long last, a group of radio activists have emerged to energize and empower the FM airwaves. They have started a Low Power Revolution and they are seeking a few good recruits!

Radio is dangerous, it is live, raw, and pervasive. It is powerful and unstoppable, which may be why it became so inaccessible. For nearly a century, commercial interests have tied up the FM frequencies leaving little room in between for community voices. But not anymore! Thanks to an unlikely partnership between pirates and politicians, the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 opened up these in-between spaces and put the power of radio into the hands of the people. If you've ever believed that you could change the world, you now have the opportunity. Take a deep breath and count to three, because an exciting journey lies ahead.

This chapter is your invitation to join the radio revolution and transform the FM dial one Low Power station at a time. Together we can bring real human voices back to the airwaves and discover new uses for this venerable medium. This chapter provides an introduction to the slow, complicated birth of the Low Power FM movement; looks at the rare, magical opportunity it has created; and considers the reasons why we must seize this chance to transform American media, one Low Power FM station at a time!

Getting to Know Low Power FM Radio

Low Power FM refers to a specific class of radio stations on the American FM dial. They are licensed to nonprofit organizations to operate with 100 watts of power at 100 feet of Height Above Average Terrain or HAAT (a mathematical formula you find out more about in Chapter 4). Commonly referred to as LPFMs (as you discover throughout the pages of this book), these hyper-local broadcasters are often listener supported and volunteer driven. LPFM stations have sprung up across the country in all shapes and sizes, bringing a fresh, homegrown flavor back to America's FM dial.

Low Power FM stations have a strict limit on their broadcast power, although with the right location, 100 watts can reach thousands of people on a daily basis. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss developing an installation plan that will cover your community with the best signal possible. Just like all other stations on the FM dial, Low Power stations are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and have a code of law that they are required to uphold (explained in Chapter 10). This differs from those stations that stream online only; they are not required to have any kind of license or uphold FCC broadcasting expectations.

Most LPFM stations simulcast their programs via a web stream so that listeners all over the world have the chance to tune in online. Chapter 5 describes the easy steps for making this a reality. If you don't have a LPFM license, you will find that there are still many ways to amplify your voice. You can then move forward and take advantage of the rest of the information in this book about managing and maintaining a radio station. With the exception of Chapters 3, 4, and 10, the rest of the information in this book is applicable to online broadcasters.

THE MAGIC OF RADIO

The magic of radio is impossible to explain. After just one taste, you will want it again. Forever. For the rest of your life. You will sacrifice so much time and energy making it sound good, and keeping it moving forward. But radio will reward you - a million-fold as a lover and a lifesaver, a storyteller and a first responder. Radio is your trusted companion, old friend, and life on the other end of the line. Radio is a brilliant educator, a stunning entertainer, and a powerful activist. To find out more about how radio can help build communities, check out Chapters 12, 14, and 15.

Radio can be used to share music, exchange ideas, and plan revolutions. In fact, few things cannot be accomplished by speaking to thousands of people at once. Which is why radio is also so dangerous, and why regulation has previously been so strict.

Understanding the American radio landscape

There was a time - a very brief moment - when radio could have become so much more than it is today. Nikola Tesla began demonstrating the power of his new wireless invention at the dawn of the 20th century (see Chapter 17), and it would be years before anyone thought to regulate the airwaves. Many folks were experimenting with the science just to see what it could do; radio clubs, technological schools, and Boy Scouts across the country were setting up radio stations in their attics and classrooms with transmitters made from copper wire and cardboard tubes. These amateur broadcasters began friendly competitions with one another to see who could get the farthest reception, who could have the clearest sound, and so on. They also worked together, self-regulating the airwaves, scheduling airtime through local networks so that they would not interfere with one another's signals. It is hard to imagine what radio sounded like at that time. Or what might have happened had this free access of the airwaves been allowed to thrive.

Instead, federal legislation beginning with the Radio Act of 1914 strongly favored broadcasters who had learned to monetize the airwaves, fatten their wallets, and hire the best lobbyists. As radio clubs tinkered away, these capitalist networks pushed for stringent broadcasting laws that could protect their source of income and prevent interference during their sponsorship announcements. It wasn't until the Communications Act of 1934 and the development of a government agency to police the radio waves that the new licensing rules were taken very seriously, but this time it was drastic. Under Herbert Hoover's direction, the radio spectrum was reallocated. The largest, clearest licenses were handed out to commercial networks. Educational stations operated by clubs, universities, and nonprofit organizations were corralled into a limited area of the spectrum. The complaints of listeners, broadcasters, and educators were met with federal agents assigned to enforce the new rules. In a matter of years, commercialization had conquered the airwaves. Advertisers invented schedules that they felt sold the most product and broadcasters began sculpting their programs around the latest sales theories. To this day, mainstream American radio broadcasters cater their programming to appeal to advertising dollars, not to listener interest.

Sailing on the open seas

Low Power FM was born out of the salty waters of the pirate radio movement. These countless unknown individuals have sailed the dark seas of the terrestrial dial for over 100 years, insisting on the constitutional right to broadcast with or without government permission. Forced into the shadows by threats of fines, property seizure, and federal imprisonment, these independent broadcasters may only be remembered in the minds of those who experienced their fleeting moments on air. Their role in American history has vanished into the ether from which it emerged. Their work, however, broke through the barricades of federal regulation and finally made room for community voices on the FM dial.

Operating a FM transmitter without a license is illegal in the United States.

Despite this, you might be surprised at how many unlicensed broadcasters you find in your area, on air, right now. Often belonging to churches or hobbyists, these micro stations rarely mean any harm. However, radio broadcasting can have a powerful effect on the community - both physically and mentally. For example, an untrained broadcaster providing inaccurate information can cause listener panic and put lives at risk (see Chapter 10 for federal laws on responsible radio reporting), and a broadcast antenna hung too close to an occupied space can create a radiation health hazard (Chapter 4 provides advice on installing your equipment safely). These regulations make sense. The counter-argument has been that FCC laws restrict the airwaves so much that they prevent the development of hyper-local radio, including rapid emergency response. Therefore, pirates argue that they have the potential to save lives with their broadcasts and can provide more local value than the national network beamed in from some distant location.

In 1994 a pirate radio station named Free Radio Berkeley (freeradio.org), was caught by the FCC and fined $20,000. Stephen Dunifer, who ran the station, refused to pay the fine and vowed to fight the judgment. Dunifer's actions were inspired by Mbanna Kantako of Human Rights Radio (humanrightsradio.net), who had previously been cited by the FCC for pirate broadcasting but refused to pay the fine - asserting that the First Amendment protected his right to free speech.

In defiance of the FCC raid on Free Radio Berkeley, Stephen Dunifer encouraged unlicensed broadcasters nationwide to take to the airwaves in protest of restrictive federal broadcast laws that made no room for community voices. He was represented in court by the...