Churches Gobble Up Micro-Radio Licenses

Newly authorized low-watt radio stations were supposed to be places where “low-income folks and communities of color – ‘new voices,’ in government parlance – could grab a tiny slice of a radio dial now dominated by conglomerates. These micro stations would be a programming rainbow, where Hawaiian music would lead into debates over the fate of the local landfill — a type of community-focused format rarely heard on big-city stations. But something unexpected happened on the way to the dial diversity the left thought it was getting: Low-power frequencies have been gobbled up by Christian organizations. Church groups make up roughly half the 344 applicants licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.”