The Knoxville News-Sentinel has an article on the KFAR rally at last night’s City Council meeting. While I still respect KFAR’s first amendment/civil disobedience stance, I’ll admit my opinion is shifting away from KFAR’s side of things.
There appear to be ways for KFAR to broadcast legally, and at least one local radio station has done this, WDVX. So if there is a legal way for KFAR to broadcast, why haven’t they explored this option?
well, first of all, if you follow the link to the LPFM page, you can see that the LAST window of opportunity to apply for a new low-power license with the FCC was… June 11 through June 15, 2000.
(http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/lpfm/prior_lpfm_window_dates.html)
Since KFAR is only THREE not FOUR years old, it means that we got into the game about a year too late. But if we had managed to get an application in during the 5 DAYS that the FCC was accepting new apps for LPFM, then we might be in the league with everyone else in Knoxville who has such a license.
oh, yeah, there is no foreseeable window to apply for a new LPFM license, so we’re kinda screwed on that one. but if we could apply legally for now, would we?
hell yeah! except for the fact that (thanks to the Nat. Assoc. of Broadcasters and NPR) congress has made it so that all LPFM stations should be 3 channels away from the nearest high-power station. 3 channels away. Which basically means that under the current statutes, even IF the FCC were to magically open a window for new LPFM apps, there are NO AVAILABLE SPACES IN KNOXVILLE.
So, that’s why we’re illegal.
(KFAR was in the process of applying anyway, asking for a waiver of applying outside of the application window, asking for a waiver of not being 3 channels away from the nearest big station, asking for a lot of waivers, actually)
also, WDVX is NOT a low-power FM station. It is a class C3 FM station, which is a full-power FM station.
anyone with enough money can buy their way in, eventually, although you’re looking at tens of thousands of dollars for an AM station, hundreds of thousands for an FM station.
also, WDVX applied back in 1996. the dial is a lot busier now.