Flurry of New Low-Power FM Radio Stations Ready to Hit the Airwaves

The promise of dozens of new low-power FM (LPFM) community radio stations is coming true. The spirit of many full-power stations like KKFI 90.1 FM is evident in the pronouncements of many of the stations.

Ann Arbor (Michigan) Community Radio hopes to start broadcasting by end of 2014. The station is gearing up "to promote greater on-air diversity as well as support for local voices and independent music on the airwaves of 'Tree Town, USA'". The station is also working to include independent news, cultural and music programming, as well as serve as a "learning outlet for local students interested in pursuing careers in media and broadcasting."

Another group in Michigan one hour from Ann Arbor should have their new LPFM station on-air in the Fall of 2014. The new station will serve the area around Addison Community Schools with "educational and occupational" programming, along with broadcasting local sporting events in a 3.5 mile range.

Radio advocates in California applied for 280 LPFM stations, including one by a Process Theatre, a media arts organization in Sacramento. This group teaches media arts production skills and produces public performances, among other activity.

In a recent Merced Sun-Star article Todd Urick with Common Frequency, one of the leading advocates for LPFM, said “I can tell you that Common Frequency encourages formats that promote music and voices not heard on commercial radio, the 99 percent of music commercial radio refuses to play, community affairs programming, local and independent news, and underrepresented voices tackling subjects important to the community, like local debates/elections and neighborhood/local/citywide concerns,” Urick said.

Closer to home, small Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, 40 miles south of Wichita, has applied for a LPFM license. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and currently runs KSWC, a 10-watt station. 

And the St. Joseph Music Foundation in St. Joe, Missouri plans to build a new tower after applying for a LPFM license with the FCC. The non-profit organization formed in 2007, seeks to provide musical instruments and instruction to children. They operate SJMF, an Internet radio station, playing "everything from Mozart, Clapton, Willie Nelson, Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Metallica, guest artists and local musicians playing their original material - all in one sitting."

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