Civil Beat Could Take To The Airwaves. Tell Us — And The FCC — What You Think
We’re constantly looking for ways to get people engaged with the community.
Does Honolulu, or a small part of it, have the bandwidth for Civil Beat Radio?
That’s a question our newsroom has been considering for the past couple of months and in December we took advantage of a rare opportunity to apply for a license.
In 2000, the Federal Communications Commission created a category of broadcast license for Low Power FM radio that noncommercial, educational and public safety organizations could apply for.
Since then over 1,500 organizations nationwide including schools, churches, volunteer fire brigades and tribal reservations have run stations under those licenses, .
Unlike full-service radio stations, the signal of the LPFM transmitters typically have a range of 3.5 miles catering to specific sub-communities and there are currently fewer than 20 in all of Hawaii.
One of the longest-running stations is KOPO-LP 88.9FM which has been broadcasting from the Paia Youth and Cultural Center on Maui since 2006.
Last November the FCC opened a window for new applications, the first time since 2013. When submissions closed Dec. 15 there were 1,336 applications filed, , double the number of applicants 10 years ago.
ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ was one of them.
The full list of those who applied will be released by the FCC Jan. 31 but there are at least two other Hawaii applicants: Le Jardin Academy Inc. in Kailua and the Chacah Broadcasting Network in Ocean View on Big Island. There may well be others.
More Information
On December 12, 2023, ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ, Inc, an applicant for a new Low Power FM broadcast station on 89.7 in Honolulu, HI, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for an original construction permit for a new radio station.
Your Community, Your Voice
Why would an online nonprofit news organization want to apply for a radio license?
Civil Beat is constantly looking for new ways to engage the community and get people interested in important public affairs, especially at a time when local news has never been more important. Adding even a small radio element would expand Civil Beat’s mission as a source for diverse voices and opinions.
Civil Beat has a history of working with audio through on-air partnerships and through original podcasts like Offshore, Stemming The Tide and Hawaii Grown.
The window to apply for new LPFM radio licenses opens so rarely, Civil Beat felt this was an opportunity to seriously consider launching a low-power station for the first time in its history.
Low Power FM radio stations happily coexist alongside other sources of news and information, thanks to a complex set of rules put in place by the FCC intended to reduce broadcast interference. In Sacramento for example, there are 10 LPFM stations run by community nonprofits in addition to the programming provided by the NPR-member station there.
Applying for the license is the first step in a longer process that involves satisfying the FCC’s technical requirements and being granted permission to construct a station. In this case, Civil Beat’s newsroom on Waialae Avenue would be the potential source of low-powered broadcasts that could also be available online, subject to final FCC approval.
Meanwhile, we have a question for our readers. What sort of programming would be valuable to the community? Please tell us in the comments below. You may also submit comments to the FCC using their and the reference number 0000232528 for the Civil Beat filing.
