OOPS ITS ALL
MY FAULT DOESN’T WORK WITH THE FCC
 |
| Peter Stebbins |
Peter Stebbins,
founder and president of WMIV in Miami has a problem: His new LPFM station Shake 108 (107.9 FM) failed an
inspection by the FCC. If the station can’t fix the problems it faces possible
license revocation.
Recently Shake 108 [link] had a routine visit by a FCC field agent. The agent found that the stations equipment didn’t
have FCC certification. Without a new FM transmitter and an Emergency Broadcast
System decoder the station could be shut down.
Stebbins told
station volunteers “It’s all my fault.”
Now Shake 108 needs $5,000 pronto for
the new gear. To raise the dough Shake
108 is having a party. Stebbins told Miami
New Times [link]:
“People had been bugging us to throw a
festival for a while. We decided we better do it before the FCC shuts us down. A
lot of people are coming together to save this little station.”
The inaugural Shake 108 FM Music & Comedy Festival
was held last Saturday 5/21 at Miami party venue Wynwood Yard. According the
station’s page at gofundme.com [link] the event raised $4,698. Way to go Miami
Shakers!
Shake 108 is just the kind of local voice folks had in mind when LPFM
began. The format is hard to define. I’d call it Triple A with a Caribbean
flair – lots of reggae, ska and hard driving roots rock. Like many LPFMs, Shake 108 was founded on a wish and a
prayer. Not enough attention was paid to finances and FCC standard practices.
The station began broadcasting on March 5, 2014
Stebbins and the
volunteers have no shortage of enthusiasm, but they are broadcasting newbies. Mistake
#1 was buying the transmitter off eBay from a company in China.
_______________
AIR’S “LOCALORE” IS A GREAT
IDEA THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
AIR (Audio
Independents In Radio) is launching a new collaborative documentary platform
called Finding America [link]. The
multi-platform effort brings together fifteen Localore producers telling stories about overlooked neighborhoods
where Americans live, work and play.
Localore is a highly praised initiative where indie producers are
embedded at a partner station for six to nine months to produce content for all
platforms. The stations participating are an impressive group. Localore
partners range from public radio biggies such as WAMU, WHYY, WUNC, WHBM and WWNO,
to emerging shops like KBCS (Bellevue, Washington), KOSU (Stillwater, Oklahoma)
and KNBA (Anchorage). Here is a map showing participating stations:
The new Finding
America site provides updates on stories, connections between the various
neighborhoods and news about future Localore
opportunities.
Principal funding for Localore
comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Wyncote
Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the National
Endowment for the Arts, and AIR’s network of more than 1,100 producers in 47
states and 30 countries. For more information contact
AIR’s Executive Director Sue Schardt at Sue@AIRmedia.org.
_______________
WBEZ-FM INTRODUCES NEW APP
TO ENHANCE LISTENER ENJOYMNET
It allows you to
listen to WBEZ anytime, almost anywhere you want. It lets you save your
favorite shows for future listening. It has a revolutionary replay feature that
allows you to go back in time and re-listen to a past driveway
moment. It slices and dices.
But wait, there is more!
The new WBEZ Mobile App [link] matches your mood and suggests
curated lists of shows and topics from WBEZ reporters and editors.
Best of all the app is free and is available now for both iOS and Android users.
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