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Low
Power Radio Supporter's Action Kit Meet
with Senators and Representatives Call and Fax Letters to the U.S. Senate and House Despite the overwhelming public support shown for low power radio at the Federal Communications Commission, deep-pocketed broadcasters are sparing no effort in putting pressure on members of Congress to kill low power radio. To read more about efforts in the House and Senate, click here. YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU THAT YOU SUPPORT LOW POWER RADIO! Congress is considering adding anti-LPFM language to the budget bills. The most important thing you can do in support of low power radio is to send emails, make telephone calls, and write letters to Senators and urge them to oppose all legislation on low power radio. Please contact the members of Congress who represent you and urge them to support low power radio by opposing these bills. Be sure to mention if you are a constituent of the representative's district, or live in the representative's state. You can download our sample letter to Congress in MS Word or view it in html. Personalize your letter by explaining what type of programming you would put on the air if you had a low power station, or what is currently missing from your radio dial. The more specific you are about how you will benefit from low power radio, the more persuasive your argument will be. If you are not sure who your representatives are, there are a few websites that can help you find out: the Low Power Radio Coalition's Legislative Action Center, Contacting the Congress, House of Representatives or Senate websites. If you prefer, you can instead call the House Operator at (202) 225 3121 or the Senate Operator at (202) 224 3121 to find out who represents you. The National Association of Broadcasters, which represents existing licensees who will face competition from the new low power service, is maintaining a list of House and Senate co-sponsors of the anti-low power radio bills here. Ask these representatives to withdraw their support of this bill and to represent you and your community instead of big broadcasters. Lists are also available from the Congressional website. To see how your Representative voted on HR 3439, click here. To find out if your Senators are cosponsors of other anti-LPFM legislation click on the respective bill number: S 3020 | S 2068 The National Association of Broadcasters has been making misguided and misleading claims about interference that low power radio will cause. A two page refutation of these claims as well as more background information about low power radio is available on our web page. In addition, recent FCC action has reduced even further the need for any action on low power radio. Our short discussion of what the FCC did is here. Meet with Representatives and Senators Also consider meeting with your representatives or their staff to encourage them not to support this bill. Members of Congress return to their districts frequently, and typically use these visits to meet with their constituents and learn what is important to them. Call their offices request a meeting with the representative or a member of their staff. Bring along the letter you wrote in support of low power radio, and talk about what you would like to do with a low power station of what programming you can't get on the radio now. It's not difficult to lobby your representatives. Just remember your ABC's when contacting members of Congress and their staff members: be Accurate, Brief and Courteous. Members of Congress and their staff are usually delighted to meet with their constituents, as long as this simple rule is followed. No matter what the result of the meeting, remember to send a note thanking your Congressperson for meeting with you. Another important step you can take in support of low power radio is to contact the press. Consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspapers. Describe specifically what you would do with a low power station or what you think is missing from the radio dial in the absence of low power radio. We want to know about the press coverage that this issue is receiving and what Congress is hearing. Please let us know about your successful efforts to promote low power radio. You can reach us by e-mail at lpfm@mediaaccess.org. Download this Supporter's Kit with Others The entire kit is available for download in pdf format here (114KB). It includes: A one page fact sheet on low power radio How to Take Action in Support of Low Power Radio Sample letter to Congress 2 page refutation of the NAB's technical arguments Summary of Why the FCC's September 2000 Action Ends Need for Legislation Summary of Eligibility and Application Process for LPFM Share this kit with members of your organization or friends so that we can all take action to support low power radio. PDF (Portable Document Format) files can be opened using the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available for download for free here. Go to the Low Power Radio page  |
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