Apparently, Low Power FM stations that were approved by the FCC got lambasted in Congress. When the issue first came up, commercial radio stations (including National Public Radio) stated that they were simply concerned about the technical issues of LPFM stations interfering with their stations – that was what their whole claimed basis for protest was about. Here’s a great quote about that from the article, “The [National Association of] Broadcasters emerged victorious last week, as Congress passed — as part of the budget deal — a provision radically scaling back the low-power initiative. And it is worth noting that the language orders the FCC not merely to study the potential for interference but also to examine “the economic impact” on “incumbent FM radio broadcasters.” Turns out market protection was an issue after all.”

I’m certainly not surprised, are you? I mean, the IDEA of LPFM is cool, except that there were so many limits put on it as to hardly make it worth the effort – a broadcasting range of a thousand feet? I guess what I AM a little surprised about is that NPR was included in the protestors – afraid of losing their edge as ‘the alternative’?

Internet radio and portable internet radio gadgets are rapidly being developed now. So I wonder – when we can listen to internet radio in the car and on our walkmans – what will the NAB do then? That will mean that anyone can listen to YOUR radio show, without you having to invest a gazillion dollars and without restricting listeners to their computers. When options for radio stations come down to basically TWO major coporations that own them all (same thing that was going on with newspapers) and all the stations play the same ten songs over and over again, you just gotta know that SOMETHING was going to burst that little bubble. As we all learned in Jurassic Park, “Life finds a way.” *grin*

I’m interested in this because I want my own radio show – maybe even my own radio station with some friends. I did a radio show in college, and there’s so much GREAT MUSIC out there that just doesn’t fit the ‘play list formula’ (perhaps I’m being redundant here – LOL) and so many different POSSIBILITIES…. makes me grin just thinking about them all!