Low Power FM Headed For Full House & Senate Votes…

Friday, November, 20, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

(Weekend Edition)

Now that the Senate Commerce Committee has unanimously passed the proposed Local Community Radio Act or S. 592, the next step will be putting the act up for full vote in both the House & Senate. While the National Association of Broadcasters is not opposed to the bill, it is opposed to the abolition of the third-adjacent channel protections which would allow equal-footing for LPFM with translators (which give low power terrestrial stations a boost in their signals). Under the terms of this bill, that protection would be lifted…

Low power FM stations are the equivalent of community access TV cable stations that sprouted up like mushrooms in the early days of cable and many of them are still on. You will not make money with a low power FM station because you can’t. They are non-commercial. Low power is just that. A typical low power FM station covers an area of a half to full mile — that’s it. Your station also carries an FCC license and those licenses can be taken away if you exceed your reach…

Folksy formatted KENC in the shadow of Salem (OR) was broadcasting merrily along with news, traffic, music and weather. They even carried a wedding — their own. Then the FCC did an inspection of their low power FM station and found that the station’s transmission line, antenna and ground lead exceeded the 3-meter height allowed. KENC was being heard about a mile and a half away or what the FCC knew was beyond their reach. In the words of Binh Nguyen, the local FCC resident agent, “We only inspect. If something surfaces in front of us or if we have a complaint.” Rather than face a $10,000 fine, the owners of KENC signed off. They will continue to stream online. Kind of makes you wonder why they needed a low power FM to begin with…   

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1877] Talking Machine: Thomas A. Edison announces the invention of the phonograph or as he calls it, his “talking machine.” (11/21)…
2. 1928] Debuted on this date: The Boston Bruins lose to Montreal 1-0 as the Boston Garden makes its debut (11/20)…
3. 1960] Knocked into Monday: Frank Gifford is leveled by the Eagles Chuck Bednarik in a blind-sided hit that will wind up ending the career of the Giants star running back. The Eagles clinch the Eastern Conference title. As a reward Gifford will wind up with Kathie Lee (11/20)…
4. 1962] MVP…MVP…MVP: Mickey Mantle wins his 3rd American League MVP award.  The Mick and Roger Maris starred in the movie “Safe At Home” the same year (11/20)…
5. 1963] A day we’d all like to forget but never will: John Fitzgerald Kennedy is gunned down in Dallas. A day we always remember what we were doing at the time. I was recording a Canada Dry spot at WMID, Atlantic City. LBJ is sworn in as our next president (11/22).  This is the infamous Zapruder Film…
6. 1980] “Happy Trails“: Aging blonde bombshell Mae West suffers a fatal stroke at 87 (11/22)…1997] INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, 37, is found hanging in his Sydney, Australia hotel suite (11/22)…
7. 1982] Youngest SNL host: That would be 7-year old Drew Barrymore who also made an appearance that year on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show…
8. 1987] Wedding Bells:  Demi Moore and Bruce Willis rock down the aisle. They divorce in 2000 when Demi discovers where Ashton Kutcher lives. She robs his cradle in 2005 (11/21)…
9. 1994] Rock and Roll transplant: David Crosby receives a liver transplant (11/20)…
10. 1998] Dr. Death: “60 Minutes” airs videotape of Dr. Jack Kevorkian unethically administering lethal drugs to a terminally ill patient (11/22)…









Music Memories: 

• 1962] Released on this date: “Big Girls Don’t Cry” - Four Seasons (11/20)….1968] I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” - Supes & Temps (11/21)…1995] “The Beatles Anthology I” (11/21) which sets a first-day sales record of 450,000 units. It contained the new song, “Free As A Bird“…
• 1966] Debuted on this date: “Cabaret” with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, opens on Broadway.  No one sings the title tune better than Liza Minnelli…
• 1964] Number One on this date: “Leader of the Pack” - Shangri-Las (11/22)…1971] “Theme from Shaft” - Isaac Hayes (11/22)…










“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: (11/20) J.D. Drew (34), Bo Derek (53, although we’ll always remember her as a ‘Perfect 10′), Mark Gastineau (53), Joe Walsh (62), Judy Woodruff (63), Veronica Hamel (66), Norman Greenbaum (67), Joe Biden (67), Dick Smothers (70), Richard Dawson (77), Estelle Parsons (82), Kaye Ballard (83) and Sen. Robert Byrd (92)…(11/21) Michael Strahan (38), Nicollette Sheridan (46), Lorna Luft (57), Livingston Taylor (59), Goldie Hawn (64), Earl Monroe (65), Tweety Bird (67), Dr. John (69), Marlo Thomas (72) and Stan Musial (89)…(11/22) Scarlett Johansson (25), Boris Becker (42), Mariel Hemingway (48), Jamie Lee Curtis (51), Steve Van Zandt (59), Billie Jean King (66) and Robert Vaughn (77)…

Timeline Countdown: 6 days until Thanksgiving, 21 days until Hanukah, 32 days until winter and 35 days until Christmas…

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