The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group with a mission to resist corporate
media consolidation
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
and
radio homogenization
Radio homogenization is the shift to stations airing the same pre-recorded program material and central-casting via Internet or satellite.
Background of corporate consolidation
Deregulation
The 1996 Telecommunications Act removed all national an ...
in the United States.
[Hill, Ricky. "Prometheus Radio Project (United States)." ''Encyclopedia of Social Movement Media'', edited by John D. H. Downing, SAGE Reference, 2011, pp. 423-424. ''Gale Virtual Reference Library''.] Founded in 1998 by a small group of radio activists in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, Prometheus has participated in the community radio movement by providing technical training, helping marginalized communities gain access to affordable media outlets, and creating a network of
low power community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
stations. A lot of Prometheus' efforts have focused on legal advocacy for low-power FM (
LPFM
Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly " ...
) stations.
Origins
The Prometheus Radio Project evolved out of Radio Mutiny, an unlicensed station based in
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
which broadcast in the mid-1990s. Radio Mutiny was shut down by the
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
in 1998. In response, the Radio Mutiny organizers held a protest at Benjamin Franklin's printing press and stated that "for every station
he FCC
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
harassed or shut down, we would teach people to build ten more." After Radio Mutiny came to an end, some of the pirate broadcasters involved formed the Prometheus Radio Project in order to advocate for new low-power FM licenses and help community groups to establish independent radio stations.
Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC
In 2003 the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
, under Chairman
Michael Powell
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...
, sought to significantly relax media outlet ownership regulations. In
Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC
''Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC'', was a series of cases heard and adjudicated by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2010. A civilian activist group, Prometheus Radio Project, challenged new media ownership rules put forth by ...
, a number of broadcasters and citizens groups, including the
Consumer Federation of America
The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance consumer interests through research, education and advocacy.
According to CFA's website, its members are nearly 300 consumer-oriented non-profits, w ...
, the National Council of Churches of Christ, and
Media Alliance
Media Alliance is an American media resource and advocacy center for media workers, non-profit organizations, and social justice activists. Through policy work and grassroots organizing, Media Alliance aims to ensure the unfettered flow of infor ...
, sued to prevent the FCC from following through on the decision. Prometheus was represented by Andrew Jay Schwartzman and Cheryl Leanza of th
Media Access Project On September 3, 2003, the
U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay which prevented the new rules from being enforced pending the outcome of the litigation. In 2004, the majority ruled 2–1 in favor of Prometheus and mandated the FCC re-examine its media ownership rules. They ruled that a "diversity index" used by the FCC to weigh cross-ownership (of radio, television and newspapers) employed several "irrational assumptions and inconsistencies." Dissent by Chief Judge
Anthony Joseph Scirica noted that the majority were simply employing their own assumptions.
The
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
later turned down an appeal, so the decision stands. The FCC was ordered to reconfigure how it justifies raising ownership limits.
Barnraisings
![WMXP Barnraising 6-07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/WMXP_Barnraising_6-07.jpg)
In the spirit of the
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...
barn-raising
A barn raising, also historically called a raising bee or rearing in the U.K., is a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by members of the community. Barn raising was particular ...
tradition, where a community comes together and erects an essential structure, Prometheus holds radio barnraisings. These events bring together the local community with community radio advocates from around the world to build a
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
station, while advancing the movement for
media democracy
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
. Prometheus barnraisings gather Low Power FM radio advocates, journalists, radio engineers, students, lawyers, musicians, activists and other folks from across the country to build a studio, raise an antenna mast, and put the station on air for the first time – all over the course of three days. At a typical barnraising, the organization invites expert facilitators to lead workshops on a wide variety of topics, like understanding the workings of the FCC, introductions to various aspects of radio engineering, updates on
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
and democracy campaigns, and how radio can promote social change today. In the inclusive spirit of Prometheus's mission, the events are open to the public.
![Valley Free Radio Barnraising 1 20080807](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Valley_Free_Radio_Barnraising_1_20080807.jpg)
Prometheus has held eleven community radio barnraisings to date:
*
WRYR-LP
WRYR-LP (97.5 FM) was a low power radio station licensed to Sherwood, Maryland, United States. It served portions of Anne Arundel, Calvert, Queen Anne, Talbot, Dorchester, and Caroline Counties, including Maryland's capital city of Annapolis. Th ...
– February 16–18, 2002 –
Deale, Maryland with South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development.
*
KOYO-LP
KOYO-LP (107.1 FM) is a low-powered community radio station licensed to serve Oroville, California. The station is owned by the African American & Family Cultural Center. It airs a variety format. The studio is located on Bird Street in Oroville ...
– April 12–14, 2002 –
Oroville, California
Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 200 ...
with the Bird Street Media Project (originally KRBS-LP).
KOCZ-LP– November 15–17, 2002 –
Opelousas, Louisiana :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.''
Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...
with the Southern Development Foundation.
*
KYRS-LP – October 24–26, 2003 –
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
with Thin Air Community Radio (who later launched full-power station
KYRS
KYRS, known as "Thin Air Community Radio", is a non-profit, non-commercial, full-power community radio station in Spokane, Washington (licensed to Medical Lake, Washington) at 88.1 MHz FM. The station has a translator, K222BG, at 92.3 FM, lic ...
).
*
WCIW-LP
WCIW-LP (107.7 FM, "Radio Conciencia") is an American low-power radio station licensed to serve the community of Immokalee, Florida, United States. The station is operated by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization representing far ...
– December 5–7, 2003 –
Immokalee, Florida
(your home)
, nickname =
, settlement_type = Census-designated place
, motto =
, image_skyline = File:Immokalee-Zocalo Plaza 2018.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption ...
with the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization based in Immokalee, Florida, which focuses on the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. Built on a foundation o ...
.
*
WSCA-LP – September 10–12, 2004 –
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...
with Portsmith Community Radio.
*
WRFN-LP
WRFN-LP is a community LPFM non-commercial radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates at a frequency of 107.1 MHz and is branded as Radio Free Nashville. The station features a mix of music, talk and public affairs programming, almost ...
– April 1–3, 2005 –
Pasquo, Tennessee
Pasquo is a region of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, along Tennessee State Route 100, State Route 100 in Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County, within Bellevue, Tennessee, Bellevue. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government ...
with Radio Free Nashville.
*
WXOJ-LP
WXOJ-LP (103.3 FM, "Valley Free Radio") is a non-profit, independent community radio station licensed to serve Northampton, Massachusetts as well as the central Pioneer Valley region. The station was first licensed to Foundation For Media Educat ...
– April 5–7, 2005 –
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an acade ...
with Valley Free Radio.
*
WRFU-LP – November 11–13, 2005 –
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois with Radio Free Urbana.
KPCN-LP– August 18–20, 2006 –
Woodburn, Oregon
Woodburn is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated in 1889, the community had been platted in 1871 after the arrival of the railroad. The city is located in the northern end of the Willamette Valley between Portland and ...
with Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste.
*
WMXP-LP – June 8–10, 2007 –
Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...
with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
WGXC-FM– September 24–26, 2010 –
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...
with Free103point9.
Prometheus has also been active internationally, working with groups in
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
, and
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
.
Prometheus Involvement with the Local Community Radio Act
For many years, Prometheus has strived to gain community members and nonprofit groups a fair share of the radio spectrum. Most recently, Prometheus was involved in the passing of the Local Radio Community Act. The act, proposed in 2009, opened up a portion of the radio spectrum to low-power community radio stations (LPFMs). Before then, community members could apply for licenses for full-power stations, which are five to ten times as expensive as LPFMs. Those groups who did not have the capital to build a full-power station were forced into piracy.
The Prometheus Radio Project did everything possible to ensure the passage of the
Local Community Radio Act
The Local Community Radio Act is an act of broadcast law in the United States, explicitly authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to license local low-power broadcasting in the FM broadcast band (LPFM). After five years and fou ...
. Members of the organization discovered that while the bill circulated in Congress,
secret holds were put on it to prevent its passage. People who opposed the bill, like
Senator Gordon Smith – the president of the National Association of Broadcasters – were persuading other senators to vote against it. The moment the Prometheus Radio Project found out about this, members began contacting all the citizens they could. They encouraged their contacts to call their senators to show they were aware of these holds. Their efforts turned out to be successful when the Local Community Radio Act was finally passed in 2010.
What signing this act means is that “the FCC
asa new mandate to expand low power radio,” says Brandy Doyle, Policy Director for the Prometheus Radio Project. However, the FCC will not begin to automatically hand out licenses. Doyle states that “we think the FCC will need to do a rule making to clarify the intent of the new law and update the rules going forward.” (Doyle) Because of this act more groups will soon start to apply for licenses and they will need a lot of support in order to “navigate the process” says Vanessa Maria Graber, Community Radio Director at the Prometheus Radio Project. Now, however, “many low power stations are under a significant and substantive threat of encroachment.” Low Power FM Encroachment Report, 2/15/2005. Encroachment is something that Prometheus will have to work on combating next.
Prometheus saw the act's passage as an opportunity to give a voice to local community radio and bring community radio to urban areas.
[Prendergast, Curtis and Stephenson, Hank. (2010, July 10). A Brief History of the Local Community Radio Act of 2009]
sonoranchronicle.com/2010/07/11/a-brief-history-of-the-local-community-radio-act-of-2009
Prometheus' current Outreach Campaign involves the contacting and support of groups wishing to attain their own low-power FM community radio station.
See also
*
Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC
''Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC'', was a series of cases heard and adjudicated by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2010. A civilian activist group, Prometheus Radio Project, challenged new media ownership rules put forth by ...
*
LPFM
Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly " ...
*
Media ownership
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
*
Media Access Project
The Media Access Project (or MAP) was a non-profit group that promoted the public's interest before Congress and the US court system. MAP grew out of a 1960s lawsuit against the United Church of Christ and was eventually formed in 1972 in order ...
*
Community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
*
Media democracy
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
*
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (french: link=no, Association Mondiale Des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires, AMARC) is the international umbrella organization of community radio broadcasters founded in 1983, with nearly 3,000 me ...
(AMARC)
*
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of t ...
*
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
*
Citizen media
Citizen media is content produced by private citizens who are not professional journalists. Citizen journalism, participatory media and democratic media are related principles.
Background
"Citizen media" was coined by Clemencia Rodriguez, who ...
References
External links
Prometheus Radio Project official siteFree Press– National organization working to reform the media
Rec Networks– LPFM database
– Text of the act, supported by
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
and the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
, which was overturned in the lawsuit
Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC
''Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC'', was a series of cases heard and adjudicated by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2010. A civilian activist group, Prometheus Radio Project, challenged new media ownership rules put forth by ...
H.R. 2802{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704132906/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.2802: , date=2016-07-04 – Text of the Local Community Radio Act of 2007
Radio for People– Coalition to expand community radio
Reclaim the Media– Seattle-based media activist group
Liberadio(!)'s interview with Kate Blofson of Prometheus Radio– October 8, 2007
Prometheus Cheerleaders– Performance outside the FCC hearing on localism, October 31, 2007
Non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia
Non-profit organizations based in Pennsylvania
Non-profit technology
Organizations based in Philadelphia
Community radio organizations
Radio organizations in the United States