By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | June 12, 2008

There is no address on the door or banner on the nondescript walls to identify TOUCH 106.1 FM, a small radio station based in Dorchester that touts itself as the fabric of the black community.

But two agents from the Federal Communications Commission found their way to the Grove Hall basement last year by tracking the station's signal. The agents warned the founder, Charles Clemons, that he has been breaking the law since going on air in early 2006 without a license.

Despite that warning, and subsequent warnings, the show continued. But last month, the commission fined Clemons $17,000.

Clemons said he may have some help in paying the fine; dozens of listeners have called to say they will chip in. But he will have a tougher time getting the license he needs to stay on the air legally. The FCC is not issuing licenses at present, saying the radio dial in Boston is too crowded already.

The station's plight is shared by dozens of broadcasters in Boston that operate at or below 100 megahertz, so-called low-power radio stations that have been outmuscled by more powerful broadcasters and have had little chance to get FCC licenses since Congress widened the buffer zones between frequencies in 2000.

FCC officials declined to comment on the record about TOUCH-FM, but referred all inquiries about regulations to the agency's website, fcc.gov. The agency explicitly warns against operating an unlicensed low-power station, saying even a weak signal can interfere with other stations. The FCC also pointed out that "the Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly ruled on this subject and concluded that no right to broadcast exists."

In the case of TOUCH-FM, Clemons says his station is filling a void left by the demise of WILD-FM, another station that broadcast to a largely black audience. Clemons says he sees it as his duty.

Regular subjects on the station's morning call-in show, hosted by program director MC Spice, include violence, erosion of the black family, and how to attract more investment to the community.

The music the station plays, Clemons says, is edgy and urban but never glorifies violence or guns or puts down women.

But by staying on the air, he faces severe penalties by the FCC, including an injunction that could land him in jail.

With a signal that barely extends past Jamaica Plain, TOUCH has attracted a small but ardent following. In addition to its conventional signal, the station broadcasts on the Internet, where Clemons said the number of listeners has jumped from 2,000 to 5,000 in months.

Regina Logan, a lifelong resident of Roxbury and Dorchester, said she is a regular caller to MC Spice's morning show.

"He makes you think seriously about the issues that concern our community, to think about improving yourself every day," she said. "I listen to the music all the day.

"It touches my family," said Logan, who has three daughters. "I think it's very important for our community to have this station, and a lot of people are talking about it. WILD was like a caterpillar in a cocoon, and now we have Touch 106."

John Talley, who grew up in Roxbury and now lives in Mattapan, said he listens to the station every day, on his car radio during his commute to work and on his computer at work. "This station is much-needed," said Talley, 39. "It took a long time coming. They aren't just playing music. They are calling for the men in the community to stand up and become mentors."

The station operates on a nonprofit basis and is organizing a series of block parties to encourage neighbors to meet.

Talley said: "Some residents are scared to interact when they see a neighbor's child do something wrong. But if they know them and know their parents, I think it would go a long way."

Clemons said TOUCH-FM uses music ranging from rap to classics as "bait to elevate the level of consciousness in the community, to unite families, and to bring the community back together."

Pete Tridish - founder of The Prometheus radio Project, a national campaign based in Philadelphia to promote community radio - said that when Congress widened the buffer between stations in 2000, it caved in to lobbying efforts by the National Association of Broadcasters to eliminate competition from smaller stations in urban areas.

A bill currently in the US House of Representatives, the Local Community Radio Act, would bring relief to the hundreds of small radio stations that have been waiting for years to secure a license, Tridish said. The bill would effectively shrink the buffers between frequencies, back to the configuration that existed before the change in 2000.

US Representative Edward Markey is chairman of the subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, which has direct oversight over the FCC. Clemons met with Markey earlier this year to urge passage.

Clemons started working as an intern at WILD-AM in 1979. At the time, that station was most popular among Boston's black community. His duties grew from getting lunch for the staff to hosting meetings with record labels and music publications.

Whatever happens, the staff at TOUCH appears entrenched in its basement digs. Several days ago, Courtney Boston, an intern who hosts several call-in shows, keyed up smooth R&B tunes inside a studio packed with audio equipment, Clemons and MC Spice hustled out to the Boston Police Department, to get licenses for the block parties.

via the Boston Globe