Washington newspaper endorses LPFM

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The Seattle Times is calling for Congress to pass the Local Community Radio Act before the year is out, saying there is no reason not to. The bill has made it through committee in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.


Washington’s Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) brought the bill to the Senate, and two of the state’s House delegation, Cathy McMorris (R-WA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) are co-sponsors, according to the paper.

“These stations, which would have a reach of only a few miles, go a long way to filling the local-programming void left because of the consolidation that took place after the Telecommunications Act of 1996,” the newspaper wrote.

It said that the stations would fill the “dead air” between existing broadcast stations.

RBR-TVBR observation: There isn’t very much “dead air” between stations here on the East Coast, where we do our writing and radio listening. With 3rd-adjacency protection eliminated to allow LPFM entry into urban areas, the dial will truly be crammed to bursting where these stations are audible. But resistance to LCRA in Congress has been virtually non-existent this year, and we think that LPFM supporters are going to get their wish.