Call Your Rep Today for Better Radio

There’s a bill moving through Congress right now that could open up the airwaves to thousands of new community journalists and reporting projects. The Local Community Radio Act will unleash a new wave of low power FM radio stations run by local organizations and nonprofits.

But the bill needs your help. Today, July 20, is a national day of action, and we are asking people across the country to call their legislators to stand up for journalism and local radio. You can easily find out where your rep stands on the issue and get his or her phone number using this widget.

In a recent post at PBS’ Media Shift blog, Mark Glaser outlined what we need to do to build community information hubs and noted the importance of community radio. “Local commercial stations have failed at providing even the most basic local news and information, leaving that to underfunded community stations,” Glaser writes.

He points out that the Knight News Challenge this year awarded two grants to radio projects, one in India and one here in the United States. Peter Shane from the Knight Commission says that radio continues to play a vital role in many communities. The public’s demand for quality news and information on the radio was also evident in the FCC’s 2007 media ownership hearings in Chicago, Seattle and Portland, Maine.

The policies that will save the news will come in many different forms. In the fight for the future of journalism, we need to be advocates across all platforms. Take a minute to call your rep today.

Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Free Press does not support or oppose any candidate for public office. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media and universal access to communications.