New FCC Regulations Threaten Catholic Radio (and other christian radio stations as well)

Inside Catholic ^ | January 28, 2009 | Deal W. Hudson

[NYer]

 

 

As reported recently in the National Catholic Register, a new version of the so-called Fairness Doctrine is threatening Catholic radio. Under the new Obama administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will begin applying "localism" regulations to radio station licenses. Steve Gajdosik, president of the Catholic Radio Association, calls these regulations "the death knell for Catholic radio."

 

The Fairness Doctrine regulates the range of opinions that should be heard on a radio station, while localism regulates the service provided to the station's local community. But the impact of localism could be the same as the Fairness Doctrine, since the FCC can take away a station's license if it's found not to serve the "interests" of the local community.

 

President Obama, as a senator, advocated localism in a statement given to the FCC in Chicago. The head of Obama's transition team, John Podesta, was president of the Center for American Progress, which issued a report on "The Structural Imbalance of Talk Radio," complaining of "the absence of localism in American radio markets" and urging the FCC to seek "greater local accountability over radio licensing."

 

The head of the FCC transition team for Podesta and Obama is another supporter of localism standards: Henry Rivera, former chairman of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. The council spells out what is intended by localism:

"Broadcasters must . . . look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole."

 

In other words, the FCC can use the localism standard to determine whether Catholic radio stations, or any radio stations, are serving the "needs of minority groups" in their communities. (You can bet that Catholics are not one of those minority groups.)

 

In addition to ideological constraints, localism would affect small stations by requiring the main studios to be located within a broadcaster's community, to fully staff those studios during hours of operation, to restore community advisory boards, and to establish minimum levels of locally originated programming that responds to community concerns.

 

The nearly 200 Catholic radio stations around the country neither have the resources to meet these standards nor can they subsume their religious mission to local advisory boards. As Gajdosik puts it, "This gives a local review board oversight to decide whether a station's content serves the needs and interests of the local population."

 

 

The leading lobbying group for religious broadcasters, the National Association of Religious Broadcasters, has gone on record against "localism mandates, adverse definitions of 'public interest' obligation, and media reform rules that could disfavor Christian broadcasters."

 

The NRB believes that the Broadcaster Freedom Act, introduced on January 7, will prevent the FCC from determining the content of Christian radio stations. Reps. Mike Pence (R-ID) and Greg Walden (R-OR) are sponsors of the House bill, and Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and John Thune (R-SD) are the Senate sponsors.

 

Pence told the National Catholic Register that he and his colleagues will continue to push the Broadcaster Freedom Act: "There's no doubt that if it gets to the floor of the House, it will pass by a wide margin."

 

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken an in-between position on localism. Jessica Gonzales, an attorney for the Catholic bishops, explained that localism could be used as an incentive for "fast-track renewals" of station licenses. Gonzales said the USCCB is not concerned about the impact of localism "guidelines" on radio content, since "many broadcasters suggest they are already comporting with the guidelines."

 

On the other hand, the Catholic Radio Association, which exists independently of the USCCB, is deeply concerned about the impact of localism standards. Last April, CRA filed a 19-page brief with the FCC opposing localism and the problems it creates for smaller stations (and for Catholic radio in particular).

 

The FCC currently renews radio station licenses every eight years. If, as suggested by Human Events, the FCC decides on an accelerated license review every two years, then during Obama's first term, every radio license in America can be reviewed twice. Any station that fails to meet localism standards would then be subject to having its license revoked.

 

We'll keep you updated as events develop.

 

[Antoninus]

It becomes more and more clear that the USCCB bureaucrats are all liberals. That they are supported by many of the bishops. There is a defacto schism in the American Church.

Indeed. Between bishops who are Catholics and those who are Democrats.

[JoeFromSidney]

The idea of "localism" dates back to 1927 and the Federal Radio Commission (predecessor of the FCC). In a brilliantly prescient (/sarc) move, the FRC concluded that radio would put newspapers out of business (remember, this was 1927). Therefore radio stations should be forced to serve their local audiences, as local newspapers had in the past. The result was Balkanization of the airwaves. Peanut-whistle stations all over the country, on the same frequency, each limited in power so as not to interfere with the others.

Then came a problem. How to fill all those hours of air time in each of those localities, since there really wasn't enough purely local news. Thus came networks. They produced shows (mostly) in New York, and transmitted the signals to each of those peanut-whistle stations via phone lines. Thus every one of those stations served its "local" audience by broadcasting Amos & Andy, Jack Benny, etc., at the same time, to its pitifully small broadcasting area.

Had the FRC and later FCC not been infected with the idea of localism, we'd have seen "clear channel" stations, 50 KW power and up, each of which covered the entire country. This would have given some real "diversity" to broadcasting, since a station with nationwide coverage could aggregate dispersed audiences. There may be only half a dozen opera fans in Podunk, but over several thousand Podunks, it would have been worthwhile for a clear channel station to cater to them.

Ironically, we now have what the FRC/FCC tried to prevent: Sirius and XM satellite radio, with over a hundred channels, each aimed at a fairly narrow audience interest, but aggregating that interest over the whole country.

Localism was an unnecessary bit of social engineering, and was a failure from the beginning. Just one more example of the Law of Unintended Consequences at work.

[fatima]

“Broadcasters must . . . look for leaders in the civic, religious, and non-profit sectors that regularly serve the needs of the community, particularly the needs of minority groups that are typically poorly served by the broadcasting industry as a whole.”

Humm,What minorties,Homosexuals etc.

[annalex]

Get shortwave radios, people. Or, I hear there are those new satellite thingies.

It is too easy to subject locally originated AM content to full censorship. It will be done.

[livius]

Very interesting history! Thanks.

[livius]

Apb Raymond Burke actually criticized the USCCB for their misleading pastoral letter issued before the elections, and he also criticized CNS (Catholic News Service), which is basically the USCCB organ. I read once that the Pope is not very happy with the national bishops’ conferences, virtually all of which are dominated by elderly leftists, and feels they have way too much influence and prevent individual bishops from teaching their flocks.

[Natural Law]

This is just the opening shot in Obama’s assault on the Church. We should all expect a lot more Church sexual abuse show piece prosecutions soon in response to the Church's pushing back against Obama and his pro abortion administration. Just like their predecessors in Germany in the 1930s today's socialists are aggressively seeking to undermine moral authority of the Catholic Church. Check out this Time Magazine Article from May 31, 1937 to see the script the left is following:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847866,00.html

[nanetteclaret]

Especially since certain members tried (unsucessfully) to shut down Mother Angelica... Seems the battle lines are really being drawn ...