FCC takes aim at local radio

FCC TAKES AIM AT LOCAL RADIO
[SOURCE: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, AUTHOR: Bill Virgin]
[Commentary] Lost in the uproar over the Federal Communications Commission's changes to media ownership rules last month was another proposal, voted on the same day, that could actually have bigger implications for radio station operators and listeners. Unfortunately, few people outside the FCC's five members know exactly what it was the commission approved Dec. 18 regarding local content and operation of radio and television stations. The FCC hasn't yet posted the findings of its report on localism or details of its proposed rule-making notice on its Web site; the only clues are in the FCC's own vague news release and the official statements from the commissioners themselves. The FCC release mentions only a proposal that radio stations set up permanent community advisory boards and that the commission adopt "renewal application processing guidelines that will ensure that all broadcasters provide some locally oriented programming." But how would that obligation be fulfilled? That's where conjecture has run rampant, with suggestions that proposals might include requirements for more local news, to measuring how much "local content" in music a station carries, to having someone in the station's studios at all times when it's on the air. But if the commission adopts specific recommendations, it will change how local radio stations operate, although not necessarily in ways it intended. Mark Allen, president of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters, says it wasn't that long ago that many stations signed off late at night. Allen says he's heard from some members that if the FCC requires studio staffing at all hours the station is on the air, they might go back to that pattern.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/347616_radiobeat17.html