Student radio station gets FCC reprieve

By Natalie Singer
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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The school learned of the reprieve yesterday, two weeks after the FCC granted permission for a commercial radio station in The Dalles, Ore., which shares the same 104.5 FM frequency, to take over the local signal. The Mercer Island station, KMIH, began fighting for its place on the dial two years ago, when the FCC accepted the Oregon station's application to move its license to Covington, WA.

"It's obviously a big plus for us. We said all along that the decision was unjust," said Nick De Vogel, the station's general manager and the school's media broadcast teacher. He's not sure what will happen next, saying the approval for the frequency transfer was just "parked," not permanently overturned.

The crux of the conflict is the high-school station's FCC designation as a Class D broadcaster, a classification that usually applies to low-power stations and grants only partial airwave rights. With a higher classification, the Oregon station, which plays adult-contemporary music in the Columbia River Gorge area, has a right to take over a smaller station's signal.

But Mercer Island's 30-watt KMIH has disputed the designation, saying that it broadcasts to 41,100 listeners and meets the Class A criteria, which includes having a broadcast circumference zone of 6 kilometers from its main transmitter facility. De Vogel said there is no other channel the school station could go to.

Several weeks ago, Sen. Maria Cantwell came to the students' aid, announcing proposed legislation that would preserve the rights of 11 similar "super-powered" educational radio stations.

Charla Neuman, a Cantwell spokeswoman, said the Mercer Island station is still at risk of being pushed off the air by the Oregon station. "From what we understand, the FCC decision was changed because their first ruling was written poorly," she said. "We suspect they could just make some minor changes and issue the approval (for the takeover) again."

Mercer Island's KMIH hit the airwaves in 1969 at the 90.1 frequency. After a brief hiatus in the 1980s, it re-emerged in 1993 at 104.5 and now plays hip hop and broadcasts high-school sports and other programming. Students from Mercer Island High and other Eastside schools attend radio classes and work at the station.

Despite the threat, the airwave battle has provided a unique learning experience for the students, said De Vogel. "I just tell them it isn't over 'til it's over, and to keep their seat belts on," he said. "They're hoping the FCC will revisit this and look at what's best for our community. If we go away, there's no way to duplicate this."

Natalie Singer: 206-464-2704 or nsinger@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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