Low-power stations to get a spot on the radio dial

The electricity flickered in the basement offices at the Calvary United Methodist Church at 48th Street and Baltimore Avenue last week, and the heat wasn't so reliable either. But Brandy Doyle and Maggie Avener of the Prometheus Radio Project, bundled in heavy clothes, weren't complaining.

After about a decade of lobbying and community organizing from these humble poster-filled rooms in West Philadelphia, Prometheus Radio finally had scored with federal legislation that will legalize hundreds of, and perhaps as many as 2,000 to 3,000, low-power FM radio stations in cities and rural markets.

The seven-employee nonprofit group seeks to diversify what it views as generic radio content resulting from corporate ownership with low-power FM stations. Prometheus argues that even low-power FM stations can force full-power commercial stations to pay more attention to local news and content.

The Local Community Radio Act of 2010 passed the House on Dec. 17 and the Senate on Dec. 18 and is awaiting President Obama's signature. Matt Dinkel, the communications director for Rep. Mike Doyle, a Pittsburgh Democrat and a lead House sponsor of the legislation, said: "That's going to happen. It's just a function of when."

When it does, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to develop rules for adding the new low-power stations to the FM radio dial. There could be three to seven added in the Philadelphia area, depending on the FCC rules, officials said.

The Local Community Radio Act was a hard-won victory for Prometheus and the Washington nonprofit group Free Press, both of which have lobbied against media consolidation in TV, newspapers, and radio. While Free Press has more broadly attacked media consolidation, Prometheus has mostly focused on radio and considers itself the nation's leading advocate for low-power FM stations.

"We are thinking of low-power radio as something that revitalizes radio all around," said Avener, a broadcast engineer and Prometheus employee. "We are going to make sure the licenses are available in every city and then build those stations."