Our Cities, Our Airwaves: Tell the FCC that our cities and towns need community radio!

On July 12, 2011, the FCC asked the public to comment on a plan to expand community radio and allow new stations in urban areas.

Let policy makers know that your city needs local, diverse voices on the air by taking this e-action!   Or download our letter writing tips and write your own letter to the FCC to tell them why you need community radio in your city or town. 

Want more information? 

Translating the Translators - This page explains the FCC's recently released plan in more depth.

What happens in your city? - A list of cities with an explanation of what the plan means in each place.  

Thanks to the recent passage of the bipartisan Local Community Radio Act, there will soon be an opportunity to build low power FM community radio stations across the nation, and for the first time, in urban areas. Before the FCC can allocate open channels to new community stations, they must first address a backlog of thousands of pending applications for translators which are radio transmitters that repeat the signal of existing stations. The way the FCC handles this will determine whether urban schools, churches, and non-profit organizations will have access to low power radio.
 
Prometheus and our allies fought for ten years to pass this law because we wanted to see vibrant community radio in all of our communities. Show the FCC that this is still our priority, and join us in calling for a resolution of these pending translator applications that gives community groups in urban areas a chance at the airwaves. These are our cities, our airwaves!

Take action!

There are two ways you can tell the FCC you care about community radio. 

Submit a petition letter to your elected officials and the FCC through the Media and Democracy Coalition website. 

Or you can go more in depth, and write the FCC your own letter describing the need for local radio in your community, and tell them why you support preserving space for LPFM channels. Download our letter writing tips for ideas about writing and easy intstructions for submitting your letter online, and get in touch if you have any questions.