Hundreds Speak Out at Portland, Maine Hearing

On June 28th, hundreds of New Englanders made their way to Portland High School to speak to the FCC about localism. The hearing began at 4 pm and stretched on until midnight, and all of the FCC commissioners stayed and listened until the very end. The local people who came to the hearing spoke up loudly against media consolidation. As Maine state legislator Herb Adams said in his testimony, "In Maine we know that homogenization is good for milk, bad for media."

Many of the citzens who spoke during the two open microphone sessions asked the FCC to expand low power FM radio by passing the Local Community Radio Act of 2007. Their testimony did not go unheard - one of the commissioners even specifically acknowledged it at the close of the hearing. Thanks go out to all who came out to speak, with extra-special thanks to panelists Dennis Ross of WJZP in Portland and Tim Stone of WSCA in Portsmouth, as well as Dave Patterson of WJZF in Standish, Emily Sapienza of WRFR in Rockland, and everyone else who spoke up for low power FM.

Of course, you don't have to travel to a hearing to speak up for low power FM. You can contact your congressmembers any time! To find out more about how to support the Local Community Radio Act, click here

Links to press from the hearing: