It's hard to believe the FCC could determine that a religious station at that power level would provide a significant improvement in community service than the existing licensee, an educational institution.
On the other hand, maybe the school's upper level administrators didn't put up much of a fight, which would include a showing in the license renewal process of how the community to date had been served. The reasons for folding up shop vary, but can include a lack of academic mission to disagreements over programming freedom, to financial incentives to sell out.
A medium power station in Yorktown, Va. folded up and sold out a few years ago when the York County School System decided it could use the money to buy school buses. Lost was some prime radio real estate, a 5KW signal, and a training ground for would-be newspeople at the high school station.
Although listenership was never ranked in ratings books, the educational setting was lost as the religious group that bought it converted over to satellite-delivered programming. The station remains invisible to the local community.
Here in Washington DC, the Jesuits at Georgetown University that ran the old WGTB-FM, a 20Kw "progressive music" station on 90.1, sold out after they became tired of student protests against constraints on references to reproductive rights. The successor, the University of the District of Columbia, did little with the station and sold it to C-SPAN, which now runs an audio version of its televsion programming.
Then there's the old WTOP-FM, a middle of the dial, commercial FM 50Kw station that was offered, for $1.00 to the University of Maryland in the 1970s. The School's administrators, seeing a lot of operational expense and not much benefit, refused the offer. It went to Howard University which has made a successful station out of the place.
Divine intervention axes school station
By Jaclyn Pelletier/ Beacon Villager
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 - Updated: 01:55 PM EST
Today's lesson: Don't cross Christian broadcasting.
Maynard High School's radio frequency, 91.7 FM, is being seized by a network of Christian broadcasting stations that the Federal Communications Commission has ruled is a better use of the public airwaves.
``People are furious,'' said faculty adviser Joe Magno.
Maynard High's WAVM, which has been broadcasting from the school for 35 years, found itself in this David vs. Goliath battle when it applied to increase its transmitter signal from 10 to 250 watts.
According to Magno, that ``opens the floodgates for any other station to challenge the station's license and take its frequency.''
Using a point scale that considers such factors as audience size, the FCC ruled the Christian broadcasting network the better applicant. WAVM is given 30 days to appeal, and has done so.
If the FCC refuses to overturn its decision, WAVM will fall silent.
``The little guy does not stand much of a chance. Legally, we don't have a leg to stand on,'' Magno said.
Although WAVM applied for the power increase five years ago, the group just heard about the outcome of the application process and were told the frequency was designated to another applicant.
Maynard school Superintendent Mark Masterson has written a letter of appeal to the FCC and sent copies of it to every federal representative decrying the decision.
