Keeping Up With Community Radio

[Commentary] Commercial broadcasters are less than thrilled that they'll soon have new neighbors on the nation's radio spectrum. They're worried about keeping up with hundreds of new noncommercial Low Power FM (LPFM) stations that will soon launch.

Last month, after multiple failed attempts, Congress finally passed the Local Community Radio Act, freeing up the dial for new community radio stations (100 watts) with a three- to five-mile reach. (President Barack Obama signed the bill into law this month.) These new locally owned stations will be run by non-commercial and nonprofit groups, including schools, churches, civil rights and social justice organizations, and emergency responders. The new law is particularly helpful for urban areas, because it repealed past restrictions that kept LPFM stations out of cities. The fight for community radio spanned a decade, as big radio broadcasters tried to block the bill, claiming-despite numerous studies saying otherwise-that LPFM radio stations will cause interference with their signals.