Last Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007, I met with Representative John Shimkus and Michael Townsend to discuss HR 2802, the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. The Senate Bill (SB 1675) was initiated by Senator John McCain who, like Shimkus, is a Republican. This is good because Shimkus will need all the cover he can get if he supports this legislation because the National Association of Broadcasters will likely come down on him with everything they've got.

It's typical to assume that the big players like Clear Channel or the NAB would have issues with these bills but Shimkus pointed out during the meeting that it is actually the smaller, independent broadcasters that will likely have more problems with the low power stations that would receive licenses from the FCC if the legislation goes into effect. Their concern, Shimkus points out, stems from the belief that these low power stations would create competition with the independent stations such as Midwest Family Broadcasting in our area (although I have no idea what MWFB's official position is.)

Michael Townsend, a retired Professor from Sangamon State/Univeristy of Illinois at Springfield and long-time supporter of microwatt radio efforts and I both agree that these low power stations would not be in any type of competition with the independent high power stations.

First, the MITRE study (price tag $2.2 million) determined that the LPFM stations would not cause the interference the NAB claimed they would and, second, LPFM licenses are typically sought by non-profit and church groups or people interested in informing the community about everything from severe weather conditions (the type that usually knock the high power stations off the air) to political issues that are too big for the usual 15 to 30 second sound bytes afforded them in commercial arenas.

Businesses that would likely take advantage of the underwriting such low power stations would offer are generally the smallest kind of "mom and pop" stores or self-employed individuals looking for affordable advertising opportunities. The cost of advertising alone limits opportunities for these smallest of businesses in our community and so the help that low power stations would provide could hardly be considered competition.

Another case brought to our attention by the Prometheus Radio Project has to do with WQRZ, a low power station which was granted their license in 2001, I believe, during the first round of licenses issued for LPFM transmission. The station, located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has received numerous awards for staying on the air during Katrina, including an award from President Bush. WQRZ was the only station to remain on the air during and after the storm, only being down for a brief period before strapping the transmitters to their backs, finding higher ground, and getting back on the air to tell listeners with battery-powered radios where to go to find shelter afterwards.

Prometheus Radio tells us the the WARN Act last year, passed by the 109th Congress, strengthens people's ability to get emergency information in times of crisis from radio, TV, and other forms of broadcasting. The more the merrier: LPFM would be fully-fledged parts of the EBS and we have WQRZ's example to prove the efficiency of these low power stations during times of crisis. Just try to strap a high power station's transmitter to your back and swim for higher ground!

These facts were received with interest by Representative Shimkus who said he definitely wasn't against HB 2802, but was frank about the pressure he receives from the NAB and the independent high power stations. I showed him the list of LPFM applicants from our area, from Springfield to West Frankfort, that includes church groups such as Springfield's First Assembly of God to the University of Illinois at Springfield to the Springfield Branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and in other cities and towns such as the Sugar Creek Ambulance Service in Trenton and the Performer's Workshop Ensemble in Urbana.

Clearly these types of groups are not a threat to the NAB nor to the independent broadcasters that Shimkus says are worried. The concerns of these groups are to be expected, but our job on Wednesday was to show the Congressman that they are unfounded. His honest approach and the fact that he is not planning on a 'no' vote were good signs that we left a favorable impression on him where low power radio is concerned.