Bishop, FCC member hail Senate committee vote on low-power FM radio

Published: 2004-07-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The Senate Commerce Committee's vote July 22 to expand low-power FM radio service was lauded by Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps and by Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of Tucson, Ariz., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Communications. "Low-power radio offers diverse programming that reflects the needs and interests of local communities," Bishop Kicanas said in a July 22 statement. "It can connect the homebound to their churches, parents and students to their local schools, youths to outreach programs, citizens to town meetings. "It can ensure that the public interest is better served by allowing local organizations to broadcast local information in their communities," he added. "I'm a big booster of low-power FM. I think it can be a tremendous advancement to localism and diversity," Copps, a Catholic, said in a July 23 interview with Catholic News Service. "It's even more important right now in the consolidated media environment in which we live, and so many of the local stations have been taken over by big conglomerates that cut back on local resources," Copps added.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .