Community Radio: Media opportunity of a lifetime to build the Palestine solidarity movement

In January of 2010, President Obama signed the Local Community Radio Act, which requires the government, specifically the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to grant new community radio station licenses to non-profit and other community organizations all across the country. As a result, 2012 will see the largest expansion of low power FM community radio in U.S. history, including availability for the first time in major cities.

The Local Community Radio Act is a radical departure from the status quo of media ownership in the United States. The bill prioritizes non-commercial radio programming, allowing for communities to broadcast local news, highlight independent music and arts, and provide diverse programming not heard on commercial radio. This comes as the media landscape is dominated by just a handful of corporations. Check out some existing community radio station profiles.

Community radio is a bridge to internet streaming, social networking, and media-making that connects new and old technologies to amplify voices of social justice. It’s a powerful leadership development and organizing tool that has helped groups like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers win major victories for human rights.

When was the last time you heard ‘Palestine’ on the radio?

Since last October, Evan Hoffman and I have been broadcasting Radio Against Apartheid on West Philadelphia’s community radio station, WPEB 88.1 FM. The broadcast reaches thousands of households in the West Philadelphia and Yeadon neighborhoods, and we’re providing them with news and stories not heard elsewhere in the media. We have built our local coalition by collaborating with local organizations committed to social justice such as Scribe Video, and the other broadcasters and volunteers at WPEB 88.1 FM. We have had the pleasure of collaborating with artists, journalists, and activists seeking justice to create new media for the air. Just as an example, last week we featured author Ben Ehrenreich, who elaborated on the privileges the state of Israel grants his family for our audience:

“It is completely astounding to me that my father, who is Jewish but completely secular – probably hasn’t been to synagogue in thirty years and who has never been to the state of Israel – but if he were to get onto a flight to Tel Aviv, he could declare upon arrival that he wanted to make Aliyah, and would quite quickly be ushered through the bureaucratic procedure and granted full Israeli citizenship. Just by virtue of his cultural heritage. And would thereby be given far more rights than the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have ancestries dating back for generations there – voting rights, rights in terms of being able to travel freely, to work, etc. Full citizenship rights that even Palestinians with Israeli citizenship don’t enjoy.”

Ehrenreich is one of the many courageous voices who have joined us on Radio Against Apartheid. In just those few months, we have brought on the air best-selling author Susan Abulhawa, Karina Goulordava of the Great Book Robbery Project, Taher Herzallah of the Irvine 11, Bareeq Barqawi of Playgrounds for Palestine, hip hop artist Omar Offendum, blogger Richard Silverstein, and many others. Radio production allows the possibility to combine media and create a piece of work to engage the public. We were both amateurs when we began, but we are learning quickly.

A Small Window of Opportunity

As early as August, the FCC will be accepting applications for community radio station licenses. The window to submit applications may be as short as one week. Building a radio station from scratch is no small endeavor, but the rewards are absolutely worth it. This is an opportunity to build your coalition and collaborate with like-minded social justice organizations in a collective effort to seize the airwaves. In areas where several groups apply for a single station the process may be very competitive. Therefore it is crucial to prepare the application and build a coalition well in advance. This is a historic chance to build long-term national communications infrastructure that’s owned and operated by our movement.

Prometheus Radio Project and their allies, who were pivotal in advocating for the passage of the Local Community Radio Act, are committed to supporting social justice and community organizations throughout the application process. For those individuals and organizations who may be interested in taking advantage of this one-time opportunity, the Prometheus websitehas a trove of materials on the procedures and requirements.

Prometheus Radio will also be joining us at the University of Pennsylvania for the Penn BDS conference. They will be facilitating a workshop on Sunday, February 5 from 12 to 1:15, where they will come ready to answer any questions and provide guidance for any interested parties.

As blogs such as Mondoweiss, +972 Magazine, and the Electronic Intifada have spurred awareness and debate on Israel and Palestine, we envision radio expansion as the next step in building a broad coalition in the United States spanning many major cities. The possibilities for radio collaboration and coordination could be decisive in ending American support for criminal Israeli policies.

If you want to learn more about starting a station, please visit the Prometheus website, attend the workshop at the Penn BDS conference, or e-mail Jeff Rousset at JRousset@Prometheusradio.org.