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Community Radio, Public Interest: The Low Power FM Service and 21st Century Media Policy
Document Type: Open Access
Degree Program
Communication
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2009
Month Degree Awarded
September
Primary Subject Category
Communication
Secondary Subject Category
American studies; Business community; Communication
Keywords
non-commercial, community, radio, low power, public interest, LPFM service
Advisor(s) or Committee Chair
Castaneda, Mari
Abstract
The introduction of the Low Power FM (LPFM) service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provided a unique glimpse into media policy-making. Because usual allies disagreed over the service, the usually invisible political nature of the debate was made transparent. The project of this thesis is to contextualize the histories of radio policy, non-commercial radio, and the public interest standard to shed light on why it was so challenging to implement even a small, local radio service. Secondly, the thesis will explore the theoretical understandings of the various players in the LPFM debate, as well as the practical functioning of these tiny stations. This project also challenges the low power advocates and media reform movement to actively fight for more substantive media policy regarding civic protections.
Discipline(s)
Communication | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Influence and Political Communication
Recommended Citation
Robb, Margo L., "Community Radio, Public Interest: The Low Power FM Service and 21st Century Media Policy" (2009). Masters Theses. Paper 315.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/315
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