ELCA NEWS SERVICE
September 16, 2004
TV Special Chronicles Low-Power Radio, Airs Sept. 26
04-170-NCC*/JB
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- "LPFM: The People's Choice," a new documentary to
premiere on NBC-TV stations beginning Sept. 26, chronicles how low-power
FM radio is bringing diverse audiences closer together and giving new life
to declining communities, new strength to neighborhoods and new voices in
the marketplace of ideas, according to a news release from the National
Council of Churches USA.
"LPFM: The People's Choice" is produced by the United Church of
Christ(UCC) Office of Communication, Cleveland. The program is part of the
2004 "Horizons of the Spirit" series of the Interfaith Broadcasting
Commission (IBC), a partnership of the NCC, the Jewish Theological
Seminary, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern
Baptist Broadcast Communications Group. The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) is an IBC partner through the NCC.
Initiated by former Federal Communication Commission Chairman William
E. Kennard in January 2000, LPFM is a low-cost service designed to promote
diversity and localism and to encourage voices from the margins, the
release said. Despite LPFM's promise, there have been powerful forces
seeking to halt its presence. The National Association of Broadcasters and
others have mounted significant challenges to LPFM, claiming that
low-power stations interfere with their larger signals. An independent
study ordered by the U.S. Congress has concluded that this is untrue, the
NCC release said.
In "LPFM: The People's Choice" viewers will meet the people who
helped launch low-power FM radio and see LPFM stations in action from
Florida to Maine, California to Washington, D.C., and in the heartland of
the United States. Viewers learn how a low- power radio service withstood
the rigors of Congress and special-interest attacks, the NCC release said.
The program includes interviews with Kennard and a variety of other
government, media and church leaders:
+ Michael Bracy and Cheryl Leanza, media advocates
+ Michael Copps, FCC commissioner
+ The Rev. Robert Edgar, NCC general secretary
+ Wade Henderson, executive director, Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights
+ U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey
(D-Mass.)
+ Pete Tridish and Andrea Cano, LPFM organizers
+ Gloria Tristani, former FCC commissioner
+ The Rev. Leslie Tune, NCC communication officer, Washington, D.C.
The UCC is promoting a bill in Congress that would enable the
licensing of thousands of new LPFM radio stations, the release said.
---
*Information was provided by the National Council of Churches USA.
Information about the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission is at
http://www.interfaithbroadcasting.com and
http://www.ncccusa.org/about/comcomtv.html on the Web.
The home page of the United Church of Christ is at http://www.ucc.org
on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
