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Radio station getting static
JOHN LATIMER. The Daily News. Lebanon, Pa.: Jul 27, 2006. pg. n/a

Abstract (Document Summary)
That type of programming is exactly what the Neatrours said they had in mind in 2000, when they invested their time and money to apply for a low-power FM license from the Federal Communications Commission. They received the license in 2003 and changed format from a commercial AM station to a nonprofit, educational FM station broadcasting as WOMA-LP at 93.1.

Radio station getting static
JOHN LATIMER. The Daily News. Lebanon, Pa.: Jul 27, 2006. pg. n/a

Abstract (Document Summary)
That type of programming is exactly what the Neatrours said they had in mind in 2000, when they invested their time and money to apply for a low-power FM license from the Federal Communications Commission. They received the license in 2003 and changed format from a commercial AM station to a nonprofit, educational FM station broadcasting as WOMA-LP at 93.1.

As part of the requirements to receive the license, the radio station was required to be run by a nonprofit, educational organization, so the Neatrours established Latino America Media Organization of Pennsylvania Inc. and created a five-member board of directors. The Neatrours are on the board, as is George McCrory, a Harrisburg radio executive. The other two seats are vacant.

About a month ago, however, many of the volunteers and their radio programs were put on hiatus after the Neatrours required that in addition to just broadcasting shows, the volunteers also assist with the other menial tasks of running a station, including cleaning chores and translating public service announcements into Spanish.

Full Text (702 words)
Copyright Lebanon Daily News Jul 27, 2006
Lebanon’s only Spanish-language radio station is facing criticism from a citizens’ group, but the station’s operators say they don’t understand who is behind it or why.

Doug and Dalila Neatrour are the station manager and program director of Radio Omega, a low-power station that has broadcast locally since 1998, first on AM and now on FM.

Recently, the couple said they became aware of a petition that is being circulated in the Latino community by a group calling itself Movimiento Hispano Progresista — or Progressive Hispanic Movement.

There are also rumors, according to the Neatrours, that the radio station’s offices at 750 Willow St. will be picketed by the group.

One city resident, who asked not to be identified, said an organization opposing some of the station’s practices has formed, but it was not ready to come forward with its complaints at this time.

A copy of the petition obtained by the Daily News does not identify the members of the organization, but it contains the following statement:

“We protect the interests of the people. We demand a noncommercial radio station that is conducted with the highest standards and professionalism and it is an asset to the community of Lebanon educationally, culturally and socially following the regulations of the FCC and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“With this petition we ask the change of administration of Radio Omega to Movimiento Hispano Progresista.”

That type of programming is exactly what the Neatrours said they had in mind in 2000, when they invested their time and money to apply for a low-power FM license from the Federal Communications Commission. They received the license in 2003 and changed format from a commercial AM station to a nonprofit, educational FM station broadcasting as WOMA-LP at 93.1.

As part of the requirements to receive the license, the radio station was required to be run by a nonprofit, educational organization, so the Neatrours established Latino America Media Organization of Pennsylvania Inc. and created a five-member board of directors. The Neatrours are on the board, as is George McCrory, a Harrisburg radio executive. The other two seats are vacant.

The station, in the midst of the FCC license-renewal process, has been the target of a written complaint sent to the FCC by a group called Concerned Citizens of Lebanon, Doug Neatrour said.

Neatrour said he has yet to see the letter, but he is convinced it and the petition came from the same group of people, some of whom may have worked as volunteers at the station.

The group has no legal grounds to take the station away from its current administration, Neatrour maintained.

“I just wish I knew what was in the letter and why they didn’t come to us directly,” he said. “We are certainly willing to listen to any constructive criticism.”

From the outset, the Neatrours said, they have encouraged local residents to volunteer at the listener-supported station and help guide its growth.

About a month ago, however, many of the volunteers and their radio programs were put on hiatus after the Neatrours required that in addition to just broadcasting shows, the volunteers also assist with the other menial tasks of running a station, including cleaning chores and translating public service announcements into Spanish.

Family and other time commitments prevented anyone from doing that now, according to the Neatrours, so the volunteers were let go.

Currently, the radio station is operating almost around the clock, seven days a week, broadcasting popular Latino music and news reports from a Spanish-language public broadcasting company. But its local programming is limited to just a few shows, including a children’s show on Sunday and a Friday night informational program run in cooperation with Hispanic Outreach and the Latino-American Center.

While much of the programming is on hiatus, Doug Neatrour said, he and his wife are taking the time to make some “mid-course corrections” and plan to report more local news in the near future. He also said they welcome the return of volunteers who are willing to make a commitment to the full operation of the station.

“We look forward to getting back good volunteers … well-rounded people willing to do everything, not just put on a show,” he said.

[email protected]

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

New Stations For FM Listeners To Try
BILL VIRGIN P-I reporter. Seattle Post – Intelligencer. Seattle, Wash.: Oct 28, 2004. pg. C.2

Abstract (Document Summary)
[Sandi Woodruff] has been working on several applications that have made it through the application pipeline. One is for 92.9 in the Seattle area, which will retransmit KGHO-LP (94.3), a low-power FM station with a rock-oldies format broadcasting in Aberdeen-Hoquiam.

New Stations For FM Listeners To Try
BILL VIRGIN P-I reporter. Seattle Post – Intelligencer. Seattle, Wash.: Oct 28, 2004. pg. C.2

Abstract (Document Summary)
[Sandi Woodruff] has been working on several applications that have made it through the application pipeline. One is for 92.9 in the Seattle area, which will retransmit KGHO-LP (94.3), a low-power FM station with a rock-oldies format broadcasting in Aberdeen-Hoquiam.

The specific formats that those translators will carry haven’t been announced. Woodruff, who consults with low-power FM stations, as well as commercial enterprises, says one idea is to tie LPFM stations and Web-based broadcasters into a sort of network that would use translators to cover the entire region. The low-power FM stations and the Webcasters would originate programming, since under FCC rules translators aren’t allowed to originate programming themselves.

Fret not, “Music With Moskowitz” fans. While the Sunday evening version of the program is no more, what with the demise of KYCW-AM, the Madman’s show of comedy and novelty songs is returning to Everett community station KSER-FM (90.7) noon-2 p.m. Saturdays. The theme for this week is Halloween songs.

Full Text (582 words)
Copyright Hearst Communications Inc., Hearst Newspapers Division Oct 28, 2004
RADIO BEAT

Radio listeners throughout the region are about to encounter some new stations on the dial, thanks to the addition of translators.

Translators are simply a way of retransmitting a station’s signal, on a different frequency. They’re often used by radio stations to cover shadows in their signal coverage caused by terrain, although the Federal Communications Commission also allows translator stations to extend a station’s coverage beyond its primary territory.

Last year the FCC opened a filing window for translators and got swamped by 13,000 applications. The commission has since been working through the backlog of applicants and has granted some approvals, including in Seattle.

“It’s going to be a very full FM band when they’re done,” says Sandi Woodruff, an Olympia-based broadcast engineering consultant.

Woodruff has been working on several applications that have made it through the application pipeline. One is for 92.9 in the Seattle area, which will retransmit KGHO-LP (94.3), a low-power FM station with a rock-oldies format broadcasting in Aberdeen-Hoquiam.

Two others in the Seattle area, at 94.5 and 97.7, were applied for by Sam-Sno Educational Media, which Woodruff says is a group interested in community radio.

The specific formats that those translators will carry haven’t been announced. Woodruff, who consults with low-power FM stations, as well as commercial enterprises, says one idea is to tie LPFM stations and Web-based broadcasters into a sort of network that would use translators to cover the entire region. The low-power FM stations and the Webcasters would originate programming, since under FCC rules translators aren’t allowed to originate programming themselves.

One of the most prolific application filers has been Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Idaho, which uses translators to distribute two radio networks it operates, one for contemporary Christian music (with seven outlets in Washington, according to its Web site), the other with religious talk and instruction (25 translators in the state).

In other radio notes:

Fret not, “Music With Moskowitz” fans. While the Sunday evening version of the program is no more, what with the demise of KYCW-AM, the Madman’s show of comedy and novelty songs is returning to Everett community station KSER-FM (90.7) noon-2 p.m. Saturdays. The theme for this week is Halloween songs.

Live performances on KEXP-FM (90.3) include The Femurs, 8 p.m. Saturday; Delgados, 11 a.m. Monday; The Hurricane Lamps, 1 p.m. Monday.

Orson Welles’ classic production of “The War of the Worlds” airs on KUOW-FM (94.9) at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Infernal Noise Brigade performs on “Sonarchy” at midnight Saturday on KEXP-FM.

Jim Kampmann interviews David Ziskin, author of “The Real Police,” on Sandusky Radio’s public affairs programs which air Sunday at 5 a.m. on KLSY-FM (92.5), 5:30 a.m. on KIXI-AM (880), 6 a.m. on KWJZ-FM (98.9) and 7 a.m. on KKNW-AM (1150).

Kate Daniels interviews Marcia Angell, author of “The Truth About Drug Companies,” on “Sunday Morning Magazine” at 5:30 a.m. Saturday on KRWM-FM (106.9).

Don Riggs’ guests on “Introspect Northwest” at 7 a.m. Sunday on KMPS-FM (94.1) and KPTK-AM (1090) include author T.C. Boyle.

Smokey Robinson is the guest on “Rock and Roll Time Machine” at 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday on KBSG-FM (97.3).

Lee Callahan interviews BBC filmmaker Greg Palast about “Bush Family Fortune” on “Mountain Magazine” at 7:30 a.m. Sunday on KMTT- FM (103.7).

The Sunday edition of Jim French’s “Imagination Theatre,” heard at 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on KIXI-AM (880), includes a new adventure of Raffles the Gentleman Thief.

P-I reporter Bill Virgin can be reached at 206-448-8319 or [email protected].

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Low-Power Radio Station Is Making Its Voice Heard
Joel Brown, Globe Correspondent. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Feb 5, 2006. pg. 1

Abstract (Document Summary)
“I thought it was great,” [Joe Galli] said with a smile. Low-power WSCA- FM (106.1), which went on the air in September 2004 from studios at 909 Islington St., is dedicated to offering music, news, and community programming not found anywhere else on the dial, from the obscure rock of “Split Brain Experiment” to the locally oriented talk of “Portside”; from John Lovering’s “Audio Theatre” productions to the adolescent banter of “Tres Amigas.”

Low-Power Radio Station Is Making Its Voice Heard
Joel Brown, Globe Correspondent. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Feb 5, 2006. pg. 1

Abstract (Document Summary)
“I thought it was great,” [Joe Galli] said with a smile. Low-power WSCA- FM (106.1), which went on the air in September 2004 from studios at 909 Islington St., is dedicated to offering music, news, and community programming not found anywhere else on the dial, from the obscure rock of “Split Brain Experiment” to the locally oriented talk of “Portside”; from John Lovering’s “Audio Theatre” productions to the adolescent banter of “Tres Amigas.”

“They’re one of the strongest stations out there,” said Hannah Sassaman of the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, which supports low-power FM stations. Of course, she’s talking about community strength, not signal strength. To tune in WSCA’s 100-watt signal, listeners usually have to be inside the rough triangle formed by the highway toll booths in Hampton, Kittery, Maine, and Dover.

[Tim Stone] and Galli note that the station has had some right-wing programming in the past. The station’s real ideological stance is against corporate radio. The bare-bones decor think dormitory basement includes a “Clear Channel Emergency Preparedness Equipment” kit hanging on the wall that contains earplugs and cotton balls, a joking reference to the nation’s largest radio station owner.

Full Text (950 words)
Copyright New York Times Company Feb 5, 2006
GLOBE NORTH 1 PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

The first time Joe Galli looked at Portsmouth Community Radio’s weekly Top 30 list, he didn’t recognize a single song a problem, you would think, for the station’s new general manager.

“I thought it was great,” Galli said with a smile. Low-power WSCA- FM (106.1), which went on the air in September 2004 from studios at 909 Islington St., is dedicated to offering music, news, and community programming not found anywhere else on the dial, from the obscure rock of “Split Brain Experiment” to the locally oriented talk of “Portside”; from John Lovering’s “Audio Theatre” productions to the adolescent banter of “Tres Amigas.”

“They’re one of the strongest stations out there,” said Hannah Sassaman of the Philadelphia-based Prometheus Radio Project, which supports low-power FM stations. Of course, she’s talking about community strength, not signal strength. To tune in WSCA’s 100-watt signal, listeners usually have to be inside the rough triangle formed by the highway toll booths in Hampton, Kittery, Maine, and Dover.

“We call those the gateways to the station,” said Tim Stone, president of the board of trustees, with a chuckle. The station is also available online via a link on the website of the local weekly, The Wire (www.wirenh.com).

Within its target area, the station is starting to have an impact, sponsoring events, raising issues, and giving a voice to citizens who are otherwise in no danger of commandeering the airwaves.

“We saw community radio as really a link that brings the community together,” Stone said. “It’s a new space that anyone can come into, that they can voice their opinions, that there’s an exchange of ideas going on, and anyone can listen. . . . We have kids as young as 12, even 11 years old, as well as senior citizens who are on the air.”

One sign of growth came just before the holidays, when Galli signed on as the station’s half-time general manager. The former Cablevision executive took early retirement to work with Portsmouth nonprofits.

“We do a great job with the radio part of it,” he said, but the all-volunteer model made it hard to handle day-to-day matters. He was brought on board to among other things, establish a business infrastructure, and increase fund-raising. “I think we’re now at about 350 members with a $100,000 budget, and I really do feel the growth potential in the next year or two is significant,” Galli said. “By building this back office infrastructure, I see us in a couple years being at 2,000 to 2,500 members with a quarter-of-a- million-dollar budget.”

The station is currently seeking a new volunteer program director and other leaders for positions that would roll over on an annual basis. And this week it unveiled a revamped schedule that will make for more consistent programming, including moving the “Portside” talk show from 11 a.m. to noon in expectation of a larger audience.

“There are lots of right-wing talk show hosts but not a lot of progressive talk show hosts, and I feel clear that there’s a market for it in Portsmouth,” said Burt Cohen, a former state senator and host of “Portside.” His subjects have ranged from anti-Iraq War groups to issues affecting the seacoast fishing industry. He also interviewed the Portsmouth City Council candidates last fall.

Stone and Galli note that the station has had some right-wing programming in the past. The station’s real ideological stance is against corporate radio. The bare-bones decor think dormitory basement includes a “Clear Channel Emergency Preparedness Equipment” kit hanging on the wall that contains earplugs and cotton balls, a joking reference to the nation’s largest radio station owner.

Stone and other community leaders began planning the station in 2000, driven by memories of college radio and dissatisfaction with existing broadcasting options. But the complexity of the Federal Communications Commission process and rule changes pushed through Congress by the National Association of Broadcasters and NPR limited the number of frequencies available and put the Portsmouth effort on hold for more than two years. They finally got a construction permit in May of 2003, giving them 18 months to get up and running.

They raised about $25,000. And Prometheus Radio Project agreed to hold a radio “barn-raising” in September 2004, which eventually involved about 120 people, many from out of the area. “I think of it as they gave us the jump start to get on the air,” Stone said. “We ordered all the equipment. The equipment was still arriving up until the Friday they arrived, and by 7:10 on Sunday we went on the air full-time.”

“The great thing about community radio is that people who have full-time jobs and families will drop everything to get the station on the air,” said the Prometheus Project’s Sassaman, who helped organize the barn-raising.

After a while, though, a hiring like Galli’s is a logical step, she said. Stone says many volunteer because they’re tired of the commercial radio chains whose shows are recorded and beamed in from “an office in Texas.”

He likes to tell the story of a message left on the station’s answering machine by a caller he won’t say whether it was a man or a woman who had just listened to the weekly singer-songwriter show “Writers in the Round” on the way to work.

As Stone tells it, “He or she said, `That was riveting radio, and to think I work for one of the local radio stations, and I’m sitting in my car in the parking lot, and I have to go play crappy classic rock for the next four hours.’ ”

For more information, go to http://www.wscafm.org. To listen, go to http://www.wirenh.com and click on Wire Radio link.

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.

Clearing the air
Steven Oberbeck. The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah: Sep 24, 2005. pg. C.3

Abstract (Document Summary)
Since it started broadcasting in October 2002, the tiny, nonprofit KAAJ radio has ingrained itself into the daily life of Monticello, a town of about 2,000 in southwestern Utah some 60 miles south of Moab.

Clearing the air
Steven Oberbeck. The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah: Sep 24, 2005. pg. C.3

Abstract (Document Summary)
Since it started broadcasting in October 2002, the tiny, nonprofit KAAJ radio has ingrained itself into the daily life of Monticello, a town of about 2,000 in southwestern Utah some 60 miles south of Moab.

Communications consultant John Broomall, whose Christian Community Broadcasters in Atlanta helped KAAJ and well over 100 other low-power stations get on the air, said there is a rich broadcasting tradition among churches and ministries.

KAAJ traces its beginning to a Federal Communications Commission decision five years ago that authorized licenses for low-wattage radio stations capable of broadcasting a signal only a limited distance, typically three to 10 miles.

Full Text (902 words)
Copyright Salt Lake Tribune Sep 24, 2005
MONTICELLO — Pastor John Williams of the First Baptist Church was sitting in his office three years ago when a listener called to complain about the offensive programming carried on the church’s new low-power radio station, KAAJ – LP.

A Monticello councilman uttered a profanity during the town meeting the night before and KAAJ, which was carrying the meeting live, broadcast the expletive throughout the city.

“It’s the only complaint we’ve ever received,” Williams said. “Since then, members of the city council have gotten used to the idea their remarks are being broadcast. We like to think that maybe we’ve helped clear the air a little.”

And maybe help a few souls as well.

Several times each weekend, the station re-broadcasts Williams’ sermon from the previous Sunday. “It provides an opportunity for our members to hear the message if they missed it, or maybe listen again if they would like,” he said.

Yet such strictly religious-based programming isn’t a large part of the station’s family-friendly broadcasts. “We’re never wanted to hit anyone over the head with our doctrine,” Williams said. “And there are other ways that we can be of service.”

Since it started broadcasting in October 2002, the tiny, nonprofit KAAJ radio has ingrained itself into the daily life of Monticello, a town of about 2,000 in southwestern Utah some 60 miles south of Moab.

To the delight of many residents, KAAJ carries Monticello High School football and basketball games at home and on the road. And the station, whose signal under the best conditions can be picked up no more than 15 miles out of town, gained a multitude of new listeners when the Buckaroos won the state 1-A football title last fall.

“The games and the city council meetings probably are the most listened to shows,” said plumber Steve Dunow. “My boss’s dad, who I’ll occasionally go out on a job with, likes to listen to the music. It’s usually pretty good, but sometimes its gets a little gospelly.”

Communications consultant John Broomall, whose Christian Community Broadcasters in Atlanta helped KAAJ and well over 100 other low-power stations get on the air, said there is a rich broadcasting tradition among churches and ministries.

“For 2,000 years spreading the gospel has been a mandate for disciples of Christ,” Broomall said. “And as technology evolved, Christians of all denominations have eagerly embraced whatever new media is available to help them spread the word of the Lord.”

KAAJ’s owners also believe they serve the Lord when they serve their community, which explains the local sporting events, national news, regular weather forecasts and interviews with elected community leaders and candidates when elections draw near.

“And there also is a lot of family friendly programming available from a variety of sources that fit right in,” said station manager Rhett Sifford, KAAJ’s only employee.

Sifford, who has a background in broadcasting, moved to Monticello from Indianapolis two years ago after visiting his brother. “I immediately wanted to become part of this church, but I also knew I should only do it if I could be involved with the station.”

Sifford may not have had a job if Broomall hadn’t given Williams a call about setting up a low-wattage station.

“I’d never meet him, but he called one day and asked if we would be interested in setting up a station,” Williams said. “He explained how it would work and that he could help with the licensing and paperwork and get us on the air.”

Money, though, was a problem. Compared with setting up a full- power station, low-wattage stations are relatively cheap, costing in the range of $15,000 to $25,000. Still, that was a lot of money for the small Baptist congregation.

“We just approached it with the idea that if we were meant to go on the air, that the Lord would provide for us,” Williams said. “And he did.”

A church in Roanoke, Va., donated enough money to buy the station’s transmitter. A businessman from California donated the broadcasting tower.

“He heard we needed a tower and said he had something that we could use,” Williams said. “He even shipped it out here himself and put it up for us.”

KAAJ traces its beginning to a Federal Communications Commission decision five years ago that authorized licenses for low-wattage radio stations capable of broadcasting a signal only a limited distance, typically three to 10 miles.

While the federal government envisioned the licenses would be snapped up by municipalities and community groups and bring a range of new voices and new views to the airwaves, church groups proved to be the real beneficiaries. Of the 485 low-power FM stations now broadcasting throughout the country, 243 or 50 percent are church owned.

Community organizations operate 168 stations, schools and universities 44 and municipalities 30.

“Churches have been much more organized than community groups in applying for low-power stations,” said Carol Pierson, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters in Oakland, Calif. “They’re willing to help each other get their stations going.”

Pastor John Williams of the First Baptist Church in Monticello points to the broadcast tower donated by a California businessman who wanted to help the church-owned KAAJ-LP get on the air. “He heard we needed a tower and said he had something that we could use,” Williams said. “He even shipped it out here himself and put it up for us.”

Posted as Good Faith Fair Use: Transformative, educational, nonprofit use of articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words, factual in nature, not for use as entertainment or reward, the use is instructional, the place is non-profit multimedia and the use will not negatively affect the value of the copyrighted material.