Right now, if you tune the radio dials here in WNY, on the FM band, you get some music stations, one NPR, a conservative talk radio station, and 5-6 Christian talk stations (Conservative talk, really) and that's it. Only two stations carries anything remotely resembling local programming: 103.3 WEDG, and 107.7 WBEN.
WEDG has some local DJ's; but they just play the satellite feed given to them by their corporate honchos. Drive-home time has Shredd and Ragan. They do a pretty good job covering local stuff. WBEN has a drive-home conservative talking head (Sandy Beech), but the rest of the time is fed programming that has naugh to do with local events.
How does the current state of affairs serve the public interests? It doesn't. All the stations are owned 2 corporations, and the Christian talk is owned by 2 different corporations *cough cough* I mean non-profits, who spout anti-progressive rhetoric as much as the conservative yokels do. The 5-6 Christian talk stations are generally just simulcasts of each other.
One example stands out in the dark for local programming: WTF Radio: 94.9 FM. It's a "pirate" radio station, but serves up plenty of local music, obviously the DJ's are local, and if you listen to it, they play everything on there. Even some Democracy Now! feeds occasionally.
So, is WNY really 75% conservative, and 20% "easy listening", and 10% wants some state and federal level news (With a smidgeon of science, car chat, and brain food programming)? I don't think so.
So, since I hate people who spout off problems, but offer no solutions, what is the solution? Pirate Radio? I don't advocate illegal actions. LPFM (Low power FM)? Nope, LPFM licenses are closed, and the few channels available for it are occupied for Christian Talk simulcasts. Buy a full-power station? Good luck. Corporations don't want the small guy having any of the bands, so their use their full might to make sure the FCC wont grant you a license.
Well, I've been through all the options, right?
Nuh-uh. There's another licensing portion: Part 15. Bah! Right off the bat, people who know what Part 15 is will balk: "It only gets like, 50ft!". Yes, it does. However, what it does allow is a legal way for citizens to use what is ours. And, if we coordinate, we can cover a whole city on Part 15 FM. Part 15 AM is easier to do it, but FM is where most listeners are.
One part 15 transmitter per block can usually cover a good portion of that stretch. One on each side of the block will cover the entire block, with programming WE feel is important, not what some corporate master decides we should listen to.
It's something I'm taking a serious look into, provided a selection of audio feeds for community organizers to use. Not everyone is a content creator. But, people submitting content, and the community electing to use that content on their "Broadcast Station" would be a huge leap forward!
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