The End of Radio as Described by the Savior of Radio

I was listening to KPFK Los Angeles's program "Democracy Now" on my way to Culver City when I heard terrifying 911 calls from residents affected by a train derailent in Minot, North Dakota five years ago. Call after call the victims of the disaster were told by the local emergency dispatcher to stay inside and turn on their radios to get more information. Horrified residents cried for help as they realized their children were outside and many panted as they started to lose the ability to breathe. The radio station that they were told to listen to did not broadcast a single piece of information during the disaster about the train derailment and the subsequent two hundred forty thousand gallons of anhydrous ammonia that leaked into the atmosphere.

Many think that radio consolidation only affects the musical content that we consume. However, radio was actually created as a means for communication during war and disasters. Radio is a method of maintaining national security. As a result of radio consolidation and the dominance of Clear Channel and Infinity in radio ownership, hundreds of radio stations are programmed from a centralized location, rendering live disc jockeys unnecessary and thus eliminating the presence of community-based information on local radio stations. That is why there was no information for the victims in Minot. Their local radio station was owned by Clear Channel and nobody was at the station during the time of the disaster.

Radio consolidation has much greater ramifications than a lack of quality content. Eric Kleinenberg, Associate Professor of Sociology at New York University, who was featured on 'Democracy Now," wrote "Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America's Media" which addresses this topic as well as the lack of minority representation on the radio and the success of non-corporate radio stations like Prometheus Radio Project. While this program highlighted the catastrophic consequences of the current state of radio, the program did not only focus on the negative. Professor Kleinenberg announced on the program that the FCC will be opening a full power non-commercial/educational FM radio station licensing window in April or May of 2007. This information is also included on Prometheus' website at www.prometheusradio.org.

Radio which started as an indispensible communication medium has become something corporate America needs to reinvent but choses to ignore. The future of radio relies on music enthusiasts, activists and forward thinkers to take advantage of this opportunity offered by the FCC (shockingly enough). Independent radio, like KPFK, will save radio. It is amazing that they remain so humble.

"Democracy Now": http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/25/153207