[grc] National LPFM Org

[Betty McArdle]

I have thought about this idea a lot. I would prefer to work with NFCB (and
help to provide funds) to enable them to provide the services LPFMs need at
an affordable level of dues. I have been involved in starting a new
organization and there is a lot to it, a lot! The money and time it would
take to start a new group would be better served diversifying NFCB. NFCB is
already at a point where it can be at the table influencing what takes place
in Washington, D.C. Let's put our energy, time and money into bringing on
another staff person at NFCB who would specialize in LPFM.

I don't know what Alliance for Community Media could provide for LPFMs. 

Current members of NFCB enjoy such benefits as negotiated music licensing
costs, group buys, important legal updates, resources to raise money and
best practices to assist station leaders and volunteers to be more effective
and work smarter, downloads of critical documents, legal and underwriting
handbooks, educational webinars, NFCB helps educate member stations about
compliance issues, trends and initiatives you can apply to your own
community radio station, a variety of discounts and services to community
radio stations. SoundExchange, Pop Up Archive transcription tools,
streaming, Spinitron and gear are among the many resources member stations
get at reduced rates as members, email listserve - a fantastic place to get
advice from stations like yours, to ask colleagues how to deal with various
questions, and learn about opportunities for your organization to do what it
does even better and more effectively, NFCB partners with media
organizations to give member stations a seat at the table when it is time to
understand the community radio space, its history and its needs,the annual
conference comes to its member stations often at discounted rates. I got
much of this information from the NFCB website. Much of it I already knew as
an NFCB member.

I would hate to see a further division grow between full-power community
radio stations and LPFM community radio stations. They are all community
radio stations.  

Please think this through before making a decision about trying to start a
new organization.

Betty McArdle
Community Media Assistance Project (CMAP) betty at c-map.org

This email has also been sent to the NCE listserv. 

-----Original Message-----
From: grc [mailto:grc-bounces at maillist.peak.org] On Behalf Of Paul Bame via
grc
Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2016 8:13 AM
To: Sabrina Roach
Cc: owner-grc at peak.org
Subject: Re: [grc] National LPFM Org


Whether NFCB is a decent fit is a complicated question and I'm open to
learning that my hesitations are out of place.

My concerns are not entirely rational and come as a result of two things

1. I believe that to thrive with a huge if not 100% volunteer base, that
LPFMs are going to need nontraditional structures even more than "normal"
grassroots radio station -- that GRC's values[1] in organizational structure
and programming values are far more important to LPFMs than ever.

2. NFCB in the past was anathema to those values, which was a driving force
for forming GRC. The paper by Marty and Cathy on the genesis of GRC is hard
to find, but I host a copy on an old web site. It is _full_ of amazing and
important reading in my opinion: 
http://savegrassrootsradio.org/wiki/GrassrootsRadioMovement

Not clear in that paper is what was going on, and went on, among radio
stations and networks.
I lost years of happy life, the radio station I co-founded, good friends,
and personal safety in my home community, due to a struggle which mirrored
all of those which were ignited by the NFCB/CPB Healthy Station Project
specifically and the values it promoted more generally; and I'm only one of
many.

To be fair, NFCB is very different than they used to be, with great people
in the right places, and have done and are doing some awesome things, and
understand the previous rift very well.

Still I recommend digesting the paper above, and if you find yourself drawn
to "grassroots radio" values, to really make sure that NFCB embraces (and
teaches) those values; or beware that you will have to constantly and
consciously counterbalance with your own values while using NFCB's valuable
resources or you may slide into the abyss which consumed other radio
stations.

[1] To those coming only recently to GRC, the values expressed in the paper
above may not be apparent if all you've seen is the conferences.



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