Archived Recording of: Business Planning for New Stations
Audio and slides from the web seminar presented by NFCB and Radio for People on Business Planning are now available on the NFCB website for download and review.  To access this recording, copy and paste this URL into your browser:  http://www.nfcb.org/governance_operations_seminar.jsp#webinar

As new webinar recordings become available, we will continue posting them on the NFCB website there.

Governance: Identifying your initial leadership and the mechanisms your organization will use to ensure that everyone among you follows an established set of policies.
 
Operations: The day-to-day functions around your radio station, from running the business office to addressing issues of personnel, space, on-air talent and content, and a myriad other things.
 
If you’re a new station, this is the most important time to figure out these vital components of your foundation.  Join NFCB on July 14th for a highly interactive, hour-long event which promises to guide you in the right direction.
 
Learn about what has worked for community radio stations over the years in areas like: building effective Boards, options for staff structures, working with volunteers, and many other things. This is also your chance to bring questions about matters of operations to the table and we’ll share what has worked at community stations across the country.
 
AGENDA:

• A culture of change and communication
• Being clear on the mission
• Roles, job descriptions, and written procedures
• Written policies
• Protecting Your Assets
• Outside resources

If you have questions, or to reserve your virtual space, contact:
Martina Tran at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (510) 451-8200 ext. 307

This is the second in a series of webinars that NFCB and Radio for People are proud to announce for NCE applicant groups.  Other topics that will be scheduled in coming months include:

• Fundraising Options
• Applying For and Surviving PTFP Grants
• Legal Issues
• Planning and Building the Physical Plant (Transmitter and Studio Equipment)
• Program Development

By Mike Janssen, Future of Music Coalition Blog

Mary Francis

By Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report

When, for the first time in decades, the FCC opened up a licensing window for new full-power FM community radio stations, mostly in rural areas around the country, the Pacifica Foundation, Prometheus Radio and several other outfits made a specific attempt to raise the number of African American owned and run community radio stations in the South. Out of their efforts, more than a hundred grassroots organizations, quite a few of them black, applied for new station licenses, especially in the South. This is not your daddy's black radio, or your momma's, or Radio One's discredited, conscienceless and commercial radio. This is the dawn of a new paradigm in black radio — the other black radio.

Read the article on BlackAgendaReport.com...

Hundreds Apply to Build Local Radio
Due to National Coalition Efforts

November 6, 2007 - From October 12 to October 22, 2007, over 350 local community groups across the country applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for licenses to build new community radio stations. They applied when, after much anticipation, the FCC lifted a freeze in effect since 2000 on filings for Noncommercial Educational (NCE) radio licenses.

The NCE frequencies, residing on the left side of the FM dial between 88.1 MHz and 91.9 MHz, are granted by the federal government to nonprofit organizations free of charge. "This is the last free spectrum," said FCC attorney John Crigler, who helped community radio applicants. "and this filing window will have social consequences. It is a last opportunity to have a fight about values and how public spectrum ought to be used."

November 8, 2007 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced today a 60-day window for applicants in the October full-power window to file settlement agreements and to submit technical amendments. The window, starting today and ending January 7, 2008, will expedite the issuing of construction permits for stations that reach settlement agreements with mutually-exclusive applicants, and for new applications that are not competitive with any filed during the filing window.

Download the full FCC notice in PDF or Microsoft Word formats.

Radio for People is a national coalition for promoting and supporting grassroots independent media. We are independent groups, lawyers, radio engineers, radio stations, free media advocates, professional associations, social justice activists, and many other concerned folks. We have joined together in anticipation of the upcoming FCC noncommercial license application window, to encourage the creation of more independent community radio stations. We know that the pending application window is an important one-time opportunity.  We believe that a significant number of the radio licenses that will be available should be used for community radio. Community radio stations are priceless local community resources.

Our Mission: We Will Help You Every Step of the Way

We get the word out about this pending application window to organizations and individuals who believe in local grassroots community media.

We will help you apply for a radio license and help you build a community radio station if your goal is to promote public discourse, give voice to issues, and enrich community life.