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Channel Surfing - July 12, 2007
Channel surfing

Written by Scott Zoback

Thursday, 12 July 2007

http://www.worcestermagazine.com/content/view/1672/97/



The chance to bring Worcester another community radio station

By Scott Zoback



Community radio and Worcester have a long history together — WCUW (once a Clark University station) is pushing 35, and WICN (with its origins at WPI and Holy Cross) is in its 38th year.



Now, there's a chance for another player to join the scene.



In October, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will open a one-week licensing window for full-power non-commercial/educational FM radio stations across the country; and Worcester is one of the eligible cities. It's a rare prospect, especially for a city of Worcester's size (the bigger the city, the more likely any new station would interfere with existing frequencies) and one that could open the doors for a WCUW/WICN alternative.



Libby Reinish, a coordinator for the Prometheus Radio Project, a national non-profit that is helping to organize community groups around the country to apply for the licenses, says that "any non-profit with an educational mission" can apply for the stations, which must be at least 100 watts. According to Reinish, "educational mission" is somewhat loosely defined — anyone such as schools and universities, local community groups, cable access stations and religious organizations can apply.



It's not every day the FCC opens up the gates for new radio licenses. Indeed, Reinish says, "The last time these kinds of licenses were available was 15 years ago.



"We have no idea of knowing when the next opportunity will be," she adds. And with such a high degree of attention being paid to the in-demand frequencies, "We're sort of expecting that all the licenses are going to get snatched up.



"This is really the last chance — especially for mid-size cities — to get a community radio station," Reinish adds.



The catch is that the brutally complicated application needs to be turned in during that one week in October; thus, interested groups need to step up their planning soon. To that end, local activists are beginning to coalesce around the GO List, an e-mail list used by local activists; and a recent post from Prometheus organizer Paul McCarthy on Worcester.indymedia.org calling for a Worcester brainstorming session in the next few weeks has reportedly generated interest among local parties.



It's an expensive, time-consuming process, from application through approval. Indeed, The Prometheus Radio Project's Web site links to an application process flowchart that contains more than 40 different "actions" that need to happen along the way, from submitting the application to station operation. The Prometheus Project recommends that groups hire an engineer and an attorney to complete the application; and groups will also need to demonstrate that they have enough funds to build and operate the station for the first six months (The Project estimates that, depending on technical details and size, a station could consume between $25,000 and $200,000 in start-up costs.) Other hurdles include the potential several-year FCC review process and the competition from "bulk filers," as Reinish calls larger religious organizations that are anticipated to be filing applications around the country in October.



But would Worcester be able to support another community station? While both WCUW and WICN have had their share of fiscal challenges over the years, Reinish says having multiple stations in one area hasn't been a problem historically. She points to the Pioneer Valley, where "every college has its own station" as a prime example. "How cool would it be to find a group, and serve a completely different market in the same community?" Reinish asks.



According to local community media activist Nicole Belanger. "The word is out and community groups are brainstorming about how to make this happen. My hope is that if community groups in Worcester have the energy and interest they can band together, step forward and get this going. Local media builds community and gets us talking with one another. Don't get me wrong, we have some great community media projects going on in Worcester, but I think more access to the airwaves equals more connections being made in our city and more opportunities for us and that's a great thing."



The aim of the Prometheus Radio Project is to help ensure that the licenses end up in the hands of community-based groups, not necessarily with "bulk filers" or National Public Radio (NPR).



"While NPR certainly has a place, it's not local programming," says Reinish.



For more information, visit prometheusradio.org and radioforpeople.org.