[migrawatch-public] Migrawatch Radio

I was hoping to be able to make it to todays meeting, but couldn't make my way there and get back in time for work.  Here's some more info to consider during the discussion about the possibilities of Migrawatch Radio.

No word back yet on that frequency map.  I will pass it along the moment I recieve it.  

In the meantime, we might want to contact Todd Uerick at Common Frequency (todd@commonfrequency.org).  According to Ursela, he is able to run a reliable diagnostic test at a minimal cost, perhaps even for free, whereas hiring a consulting engineer typicallly costs between $2K-4K.  The only thing is it wouldn't be an officially certified report, so there is no guarentee that it will be accepted by the FCC come time to submit the application.  But it can't hurt to utilize his services, at least to get the ball rolling; if we decide to continue with the application process, and we generate the funds, we can always pay for an official engineering report later.  We might also want to go ahead and contact Michael Kouzens (phone: 510-658-7654; e-mail: cuz@well.com), an FCC lawyer based in Oakland who is working with Pacifica Radio/Radio For People to assist groups like Migrawatch in our efforts to secure a space on the airwaves.  He is charging $895 to complete an formal application that meets all the specs required by the FCC, whereas this service usually costs thousands.  

If we decide to move forward with this project, we should expect to raise about $50K total to cover the expenses of securing and equipping a studio, and operating it for the first three months.  We do not need to have it all by the time we submit the application, but we will have to state that we have access to the "liquid assets" required to build a station and run it for 3 months.  Ursela said it would not be perjury, since the FCC doesn't impose legal stipulations to the bureaucratic process.  We'll need to tap into all available resources: fundraising,, grants, even loans, and financial, material, and advisory aid from allied organizations.  It will be a challenge, pero si se puede.  And to pull it off, well that would be one hell of a victory in the struggle.  

Peace,
    
-John E. Molina
(760)805-0768









Hey y'all
I couldn't make the meeting last night either, regretfully, but wanted to
contribute to the discussion re: MigraWatch Radio.

I wholeheartedly support any attempt to spread the word and broadcast
migrawatch messages on the air in as large an area as possible.

I recognize that the FCC is opening (temporarily and soon) a window that
may never be opened again (by strictly 'legal' means) and that the time
for action is now.

I welcome the fundraising efforts of folks that can get together a bunch
of cash and direct it to migrawatch projects.

that said, I doubt very much that migrawatch will be granted an FCC
license without seriously compromising on its mission (and obviously its
name), without spending a great deal of time, effort, and ca$h, and
without deliberately misleading the FCC in its purpose for applying for an
FM license.

I also fundamentally disagree with the mission, purpose, and practice of
the federal government and its regulatory agency the FCC and submit that
we have the equipment and technical support to go on the air at any time
without permission.

If the time is right for a new radio station in Watsonville, I suggest
that we gather people to do it--direct action.

Last time the FCC decided to issue licenses (the so-called LPFM licenses -
low power FM) to community orgs, one was granted to watsonville. Was it
given to a radical org? farmworker solidarity? organic ag activism? radio
bilingue? free radio santa cruz, an established community radio station
with ten years on the air?

The feds granted santa cruz county's only LPFM license to a hawaiian music
station.

not that there's anything wrong with a 100% hawaiian music station, but
estimates from prometheus and pacifica etc are upfront that this process
will cost $10,000 with no guarantee of success--and my personal feeling is
that unless we are willing to say that we are going to play some innocuous
relaxing music 24-7, the FCC is unlikely to grant us a license, even 10
grand later.

If people want a radio station, I'll support whatever form it takes. I'd
love to contribute my energy to making migrawatch radio a reality, or
radio watzlan, or free radio watsonville, or radio oaxacalifaztlan,....

we don't need their permission or their license.
if our interest is in taking back local control, in challenging the
authority of a federal regulatory agency that is unwelcome in our
community, if our interest is in fighting for people's access to
resources, for the pride and place of the immigrant community without
regard to documentation... then I sumbit that we do the fundraising, that
we look for a studio location, that we invite other community
organizations to contribute their voices, their commitment to a new
station, that we find an open frequency...

...and that we go on their air as soon as we can.

thoughts?
-(dj) danielsan