Dear Fellow Environmental, Peace and Social Justice Activists in the Ithaca area,
Are you tired of : Having the issues you care about ignored in the media? OR reduced to a sound byte? OR even mischaracterized and lied about? Would you like to be able to: *Play a role in deciding what is "news" and worthy of coverage? *Be able to reach thousands of local people to dialog on important issues and the future direction of our communities, region, nation, planet? *Use radio to organize and mobilize? Then please help us get a full power, community-owned and operated radio station for the Ithaca area. We face a now or never chance. Read on for the details. The broadcast media in the US are among the most heavily censored of "free" societies. It is done not through a board of censors but through access via the back door of ownership. The hurdles of the licensing system, including financial, ensure most radio stations will be owned by a class of people whose interests are congruent with a corporate-dominated society, and thus their coverage of issues will be biased in a corporate-friendly way. This applies even to the "non-commercial stations" which like NPR rely on big grants from corporate foundations and corporate "underwriting, " and often operate on an ethic that excludes the voices of "average" people as broadcasters on the grounds we lack "expertise" and "qualifications." Community radio is different. It asserts the basic premise that anyone with a passion to communicate on issues of importance can learn the skills of radio broadcasting and journalism and "be the media" in order give voice to movements from below, rather than serving as a megaphone through which the priorities of the rich and powerful are handed down. Never has the divergence between the interests of the people and the actions of the "leaders" been more obvious. Never has the need for a people's media been more pressing, IMHO. Ithaca, a community of active people taking steps build a sustainable, just and free society has no radio station to support these efforts...yet. Ithaca Community Radio was formed five years ago to put such a station on the air. We've been waiting for the Federal communications Commission (FCC) to accept applications for new non-commercial FM radio licenses, and this window to apply will finally open from Oct 12-19 . For the past five years we've been operating 88.1 and have been rebroadcasting WEOS. The FCC has licensed 88.1 only as a translator; in other words we are only allowed to rebroadcast an existing full-power non- commercial station. If we want to decide on the programming, and if we want to do the programming, we need our own full power station and that's what we're setting out to get! The FCC has not accepted new apps for more than 7 seven years, and most people in the know believe that this window is pretty much the last chance to get a license for a new station, as the bands are already so crowded. The Fundamentalist networks are expected to blanket the nation with applications for every available frequency - their excessive presence on the airwaves is already responsible for the lack of open frequencies for everyone else. We have been saving up from the contributions the community has given us over the years in anticipation of this day, and fortunately already have the funds we need for the expensive application process. While the FCC doesn't charge for a non-commercial license, in order to apply one must hire engineering consultants to perform studies to justify and then prepare the application technically, as well as communication lawyers to oversee the non- technical aspects. We have retained some of the finest and best respected people in the field who also have a commitment to putting more community radio stations on the US airwaves. ***But we urgently need PLEDGES OF FUTURE FUNDING now. I'm going to explain in detail below so you understand the hurdles the government is making us jump through; the licensing requirements are crafted in such a way as to exclude the "have-nots" from media ownership, without expressly stating that goal This is part of the de facto ideological censorship through ownership I referred to earlier. Because this is the last chance for a frequency, our technical/legal advisors have advised us (and all the other community groups trying to get stations around the nation) to apply for as many possible frequencies within their 25- mile local area as the engineers can identify, increasing the odds of getting one. We are not taking "NO!" for an answer - our engineers have identified five possible frequencies, and we are applying for them all, in the hope of getting ONE. Now I'm getting to the rub. I'm sorry this is so long, believe it or not I'm simplifying this to a very great degree. The FCC has a list of qualifications that applicants must meet. One of these is financial - the FCC requires that the applicant already have on hand, or have commitments of funds, to cover purchasing and setting up the station facilities and operating it for 3 months. Long story short, because we are filing apps for five stations, we have to show financial commitments enough to build five stations, even though we aren't going to be granted five stations, even though we are just trying to get one station the air and must file five because of the Fundamentalist onslaught. You can see how the hidden agenda of censorship comes in. Even though an applicant has three years to build a station from the time the FCC approves the application, which is plenty of time of raise money based on a reality, the FCC demands people already have the funds, a hurdle designed only to let those with deep pockets move forward...or those who have a community that intends to have a station hell or high water. ***This is is how you can help. Our situation basically is that we have to get commitments of funds to build more stations than we will actually be granted by the FCC; statistically, only 50 percent of applicants are successful in getting a license from the FCC - (receiving even one therefore is total victory for us) Therefore, we are asking you to pledge money that in all likelihood will not be needed for its pledged purpose (buying transmitters and other gear, leasing towers, etc.) We are asking, and need, pledges of support five times in excess of reality. In the eventuality that the FCC grants us more than one license (a nice problem to have) we can deal with that when it happens. Remember, the reason we have applied for so many is that every frequency is expected to have competing applicants. (The FCC has criteria for deciding among them, and we have positioned our applications to gain the maximum number of points possible, including a perpetual commitment to local control - if you want the details on this call me, this post is already way long) This is why we need pledges from you and we need them now! We must raise 250K in pledges immediately. These pledges can be: A pledge to make an outright donation of any amount (the more the better) in the eventuality we are awarded a license OR A pledge to loan ICR some amount for the purpose of building the station. This can include the use of a credit card or equity line OR A pledge by your organization to hold a fundraiser that will raise xxx dollars OR The donation of an item worth xxx to be auctioned - please be prepared to document its reasonable market value, as we would have to if challenged. OR The donation of necessary pieces of broadcast/audio equipment, new or used - if you have such things. Please contact me directly to discuss what you might have, as this is rather specific and involves items from small to large. Thanks for reading this far. I guess if you have, you understand how important this is, and what a positive difference a station will make to all our efforts. You can make pledges by filling out a form we've created on our web site http://www.ithacaradio.org Just click on the make a pledge button and fill out your details. These pledges are ***not a contract**** How could we possibly ask you to actually give us the funds until we knew whether the FCC was in fact going to give us the license. Your pledge forms won't be sent to the FCC at this time. They are kept in our files to be used if a competitor challenges our application on the grounds of financial viability, causing the FCC to demand we show proof of our financial support If what you wish to pledge requires further discussion, please call me at home 607-535-0147 any time - I get up early and go to bed late as a rule. I can't emphasize enough that your pledges of support are just as vital to making a station a reality as a good engineering study, as we MUST meet every requirement the FCC demands, whether fair, reasonable or not. I firmly believe that who controls the media will greatly impact our future for good or ill, and unless we are able to organize effectively for the world we want, we'll be stuck with a nightmare imposed upon us by others for their own benefit. We have all seen it taking shape on many fronts. Thanks for reading, and I hope, for pledging! Please forward this widely. I'm sending this message to the lists and groups I belong to, and it would help if you could do the same. I'm sure many of you have questions I haven't addressed in this post. If so, call me, whether you already know me or not. Thanks, Lyn (607) 535-0147 co-founder and Board member, Ithaca Community Radio Producer/host "Unwelcome Guests" radio show Democracy School movement activist Graduate, Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute co-founder and co-manager, Watkins Glen Farmers Market _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
