A federal plan to license hundreds of low wattage radio stations continues to draw fire from National Public Radio, which said Monday that regulators have not adequately addressed potential interference to reading services for the blind.
NPR's position dismayed William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who said the organization seems to want a monopoly in public radio broadcasting...
"We need a guarantee of protection," said NPR President Kevin Klose. "It's just common sense to prevent the problem before it begins."...
Seeking to assuage NPR, the agency last week adopted additional protections for those FM stations that operate radio reading services, requiring more space between them and the microradio channels. The FCC also limited where low-power stations could be assigned to protect existing translator stations.
Klose said these steps were insufficient.
FCC Chairman William Kennard said NPR's demands would make it virtually impossible to create any low-power stations – denying an effort to bring a greater diversity of voices to the airwaves.
"I can only conclude that NPR does not want to find a way for these new stations to exist," he said in an interview.
"Who is it that said that NPR should have the exclusive monopoly on public radio in this country?" Kennard asked. '"All Things Considered' cannot be all things to all people."
He was referring to one of NPR's prime news and public affairs programs.