Prometheus Communique

Free Radio Activists March to the FCC and NAB

Prometheus Press Releases

Prometheus Lawsuit Stays Implementation of New Ownership Rules
September 4, 2003

Study Shows Interference Claims Are Red Herring
July 13, 2003

More Releases

Prometheus in the News

Low Power, High Intensity
Columbia Journalism Review

Prometheus has played a significant role in the struggle by community groups to establish low-power radio stations - a struggle that has involved the FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters, and National Public Radio.

Read the Q&A with Petri

Opposition to Big Media
could invigorate low-power FM radio.
Salon.com

"Low-power radio stations
give voice to diversity of 'underserved' towns"
The Denver Post

"No Power to the People"
Scientific American takes a look at the low-power FM debate

Scientific American studies claims that Low-power FM radio will cause unacceptable interference and concludes that "congress may have been reacting more to political pressure than technical data, which suggest that whatever interference LPFM stations generate will be too low to matter."

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Prometheus Articles

Special Interest Noise
The NAB/NPR attempt to dupe Congress on interference

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October 1998

At the climax of the first national mobilization for free radio, microbroadcasters from across the USA will broadcast live on October 5th, straight into the offices of the FCC and NAB, who are working so hard to shut them down. The event is the culmination of a two-day gathering on October 4th and 5th where microbroadcasters will teach and learn radio skills, cement alliances, speak out to other media and protest at the FCC and NAB buildings. Free Radio Berkeley, Radio Mutiny (Philadelphia), Steal This Radio (New York City) and other microstations have all broadcasted live in public while challenging the FCC to shut them down in front of the press, but the agency has never dared to show itself.

"This time, we are going to take it right to their doorstep to tell them if they are so sure their dumb law is worth enforcing, then Chairman Kennard should come down from the 8th floor and put the cuffs on us himself," said Pete triDish, a Philadelphia radio pirate.

Sunday, 10 am-5pm : conference and workshops 10 workshops including how to run a station, transmitters 101, lawyers roundtable Latin American Youth Center: @1419 Columbia Rd. NW DC 7pm broadcast cabaret- launch party of ye goode shippe Radio Libre Mount Pleasant !!! musicians, poets, rants in Spanish, English and Vietnamese puppet making for demonstration @La Casa (3166 mount pleasant) with local poets, musicians, djs and political groups to give Mount pleasant a taste of the excellent radio that is microbroadcasting Monday 11:15am MARCH AND PUPPET PARADE starts at Dupont Circle, goes to the Federal Communications Commission building(1919 M street), and then marches on to confront the National Association of Broadcasters (1771 N street). During these protests, we will flip the giant free speech switches, turn on our transmitters and strike a blow against the meta-marrionettes: A giant puppet of Corporate America, which will in turn control a slightly smaller puppet of the National Association of Broadcasters, which in turn will operate a smaller puppet of the FCC, which in turn will be trying to stamp out microbroadcasters and our free speech rights. These demonstrations will also include a number of sneaky surprizes that are so cool that we can't even mention them here! Monday 2:00pm Meetings set up with people's congressional representatives for lobbying

There are currently thousands of microbroadcasters across the United States, who choose to defy the unconstitutional federal regulations regarding community broadcasting. The FCC, prodded by the NAB, initiated a crackdown in 1997 upon these small stations, even while FCC Chairman Bill Kennard confesses that proposals for the legalization of micropower broadcasting are important to promote locally-produced radio and minority ownership. The radio industry is currently racked by controversy over the effects of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This bill allowed for a sweeping deregulation of ownership requirements in radio, bringing about a massive consolidation of ownership and considerable downsizing of local staff in the industry. Some major broadcasters are currently being investigated for monopolistic practices by the US Department of Justice. As this issue comes to a head, microbroadcasters have issued six demands upon the FCC, calling for democritization of radio and a lift on the ban against low-powered community stations.

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Prometheus Radio Project
P.O. Box 42158 Philadelphia PA 19101
info@prometheusradio.org
(215)727-9620