[BC] Serving the community

[Mark Humphrey]

I've felt for many years that the FCC's narrow definition of "community of
license" is hopelessly outdated and should be replaced by a regional- or
market-based definition.  In a metro market, the significance of giving a
political subdivision its "first local service" is archaic and no longer
carries any real meaning, it has just become a means of playing legal games
in allotment proceedings.

Ever since formats were invented, listeners have been choosing stations for
their programming, not because the a facility's license is assigned to a
particular municipality.  In the case of WYXE, there is indeed a targeted
"community", but it's defined in demographic terms, rather than by lines
drawn on a map.  I'm sure the majority of Gallatin residents would still
prefer to listen to Nashville stations (for content they enjoy) even if WYXE
started speaking English again.  The FCC rules just haven't been revised
(since 1934) to reflect this reality.

One of my favorite quotes -- this is attributed to Laurence J. Peter, who
wrote "The Peter Principle":
 "Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has
lost its status." Did the FCC ever designate a "community of license" for XM
or Sirius?

Mark


On 2/14/06, Bailey, Scott <SBailey at nespower.com> wrote:
>
>    This kind of stuff is going on here too!  WYXE-AM, here in Gallatin,
> was purchased for $600,000 by a Nashville Hispanic Church and is now
> fully Spanish. Studios are 30 miles away from Gallatin in Nashville,
> while the transmitter site remains in Gallatin.
>    I agree, this station is not serving the Gallatin community, which
> it's Hispanic population is less than 5%, and has no Hispanic businesses
> in the community, and guess what, the commission will do nothing about
> this!
>