USCCB Commends Advance Of Community Radio Act

[Catholic_Press]

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commends the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet for marking up H.R. 1147, the Community Radio Act of 2009, and moving this important bill forward.

H.R. 1147 will create hundreds of new low power radio stations. These small radio stations offer Catholic programmers and Catholic dioceses and parishes (including the institutions they support, such as schools, health care entities, community development projects and refugee resettlement programs) a practical method of reaching their community with information and discussion of local issues.

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[havana1]

WASHINGTON—The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) commends the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet for marking up H.R. 1147, the Community Radio Act of 2009, and moving this important bill forward.

H.R. 1147 will create hundreds of new low power radio stations. These small radio stations offer Catholic programmers and Catholic dioceses and parishes (including the institutions they support, such as schools, health care entities, community development projects and refugee resettlement programs) a practical method of reaching their community with information and discussion of local issues.

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This bill has the endorsement of the USCCB? Cool. I have been on the board for “low power radio stations” for a long time. Everything on “free” radio is monopolized by the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters). It’s nearly impossible to find indie rock on the radio, not to mention local music. If it weren’t for indie-music blogs and sites like Pitchfork and KEXP and WFMU, I’d be stuck with Black Eyes Peas and Lady Gaga. It would be nice to hear stuff like Death Cab For Cutie and Yo La Tengo and Noah and The Whale on the radio once in a while. Many of the stations that air Catholic Answers are at the mercy of some nameless, faceless, ratings-obsessed suits. I’m all for more live, local, and NON-SYNDICATED radio.

I disagree, however, that it will create “hundreds” of new stations. The equipment ain’t cheap, and the FCC is still a behemoth of a bureaucracy that makes the IRS look like a kid’s lemonade stand by comparison.