Landless Tribes Would Get Radio Assist Under Draft Order
Tribes without ancestral lands would receive an assist from the FCC in getting AM and FM stations, under a draft order set for a vote at Thursday’s meeting, agency officials said. A landless tribe could get a waiver of commission rules by showing that it should receive a priority now reserved for tribes with lands, FCC officials said. That part of the radio order is not controversial inside the commission or out, agency and industry officials said.
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The order would set eligibility guidelines for priority in allotments covering tribal lands, so a landless tribe can make a showing to be eligible to get an outlet, FCC officials said. The order follows through on 2010 rulemaking notice asking how the regulator should help tribes without lands, they said. An order with the rulemaking notice gave tribes with lands a way to get a priority in getting radio stations.
The FCC received few comments about the part of the notice dealing with giving bidding credits to tribes, and the item to be voted on Thursday asks again about the credits, commission officials said. They said commissioners added questions to the further rulemaking notice after the draft circulated about giving applicants interested in radio stations already allotted under an FCC tribal priority a way to get the outlets without going through an auction. Avoiding an auction could address a concern that a tribe might get bidding credits but still be outbid, FCC officials said. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.
Provisions of the radio order criticized by more than 500 radio stations (CD March 1 p8), dealing with stations run by any type of owner, probably won’t be removed, agency officials said. Wednesday afternoon, the order still would make it much harder for radio stations to move into urban areas from rural ones, they said. Other changes in the radio order also aren’t likely before the FCC meeting either, agency officials said.