REC supports radio

Across the country, broadcasters big and small are celebrating a day for radio.  National Radio Day is a time to honor the medium that has relevance in the lives of every modern generation.  While at one time, radio was solely on AM, the medium would eventually evolve to FM, SDARS (Sirius/XM) and terrestrial digital audio broadcasting.  But the medium of radio does not stop there.  Webcasting, podcasting and even predecessor mediums such as satellite audio subcarriers and telephone entertainment lines are and were used to deliver free thoughts, ideas and expression.  Long before podcasting, REC was delivering this form of free speech through telephone entertainment lines of the late 1980s and there were predecessors doing the same thing since the 1970s.  

While the days of the phone lines are long gone, REC is supporting the medium of audio transmission we call radio, both terrestrial and otherwise through several initiatives:

Coming up this Friday, July 29, 2016, the next filing window opens for AM broadcast licensees and other entities that wish to rebroadcast an AM station (with their permission, of course) to be able to move an FM translator to provide "fill-in" service for an AM station under the FCC's "AM Revitalization" plan. Starting Friday:

Today, the FCC has granted the original construction permit application for Lighthouse Network, Inc. which applied to operate on 101.5 in the northern part of San Antonio, Texas and dismissed the application for Message Radio which was proposing to operate on 99.9 in northwest Tucson, Arizona. 

Following the window, a Petition to Deny the Message Radio application was filed by Global Change Multi-Media, an applicant that was mutually exclusive at the time but was able to relocate to a different channel and was granted.  In addition, an informal objection was filed by Tucson LPFM station Xerocraft, Inc. 

Despite the objections of Educational Media Foundation, the FCC has granted the application for Razorcake/Gorsky Press for a new LPFM station on 92.7 to serve the Pasadena, California area.   

Razorcake was one of four applicants who applied for 92.7 during the 2013 window.  All 4 applicants were mutually exclusive.  Subsequent to filing these applications, Educational Media Foundation (K-Love), licensee of KYLA, Fountain Valley, CA filed a concern about all four of the applications stating that the interference contours of the proposed LPFM stations would overlap with the 60 dBu protected service contour of the co-channel Class A station and they needed a clarification whether this is covered by the Local Communit Radio Act. EMF claims that because the LCRA stated that LPFM stations on second adjacent channel waivers are not to cause interference to "any radio service", the term "any radio service" also includes co-chanel.  

The FCC has reached a decision in the long-contested MX Group #37, which included four applicants filing to operate on 102.5 in San Francisco.  During the 2013 window, five organizations including SF Indefest, San Francisco Public Press (SFPP), Outsound, San Francisco Community Radio (SFCR)  to use 102.5.  All four applicants claimed 5 points and therefore were all tentative selectees.   A fifth applicant, Independent Arts and Media (IAM) was dismissed just prior to the MX window due to a inconsistent application. A board member appeared on more than one application.

During the MX window, Outsound and SFPP filed a time share agreement to aggregate their points.  SFCR and SF Indefest also filed a similar time share agreement.  After the MX window, all groups except Independent Arts and Media were 10 points thus resulting in the dismissal of IAM.   Several petitions to deny and informal objections were also filed during the window.