| Weisman <popeye on Wed, 14 Sep 2005 10:29:20 +0200 (CEST) |
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| <nettime> Fwd: [MediaAct] statement from Houston Indymedia:Houston Radio Update |
Begin forwarded message: From: [email protected] (Hannah Sassaman) Date: September 9, 2005 3:00:26 PM PDT To: [email protected], [email protected] Cc: Subject: [MediaAct] statement from Houston Indymedia:Houston Radio Update they've handed out thousands of radios already and plan to do more over the weekend.a local station, KPFT, has already dedicated a number of hours a week to programming made by, for, and about the needs, affairs, and stories of displaced people and families.with 8600 people confirmed today by harris county officials still in the astrodome shelter complex, we're exploring a few other options for the LPFM with the FCC and in other locations too, so we'll let you know if there is suddenly a reason to celebrate. non-astrodome reasons to celebrate:other groups are getting permits to build stations in the hurricane affected regions, including bay st. louis and new orleans itself.and wireless networks are flourishing, allowing families to make VOIP phonecalls and research housing and job options online. more when we know more! best, hannah s. prometheusradioproject For Immediate Release:Contact: Jim Ellinger (512) 796-4332 Friday, September 9, 2005 Tish Stringer (713) 478-4559 Renee Feltz (713) 906-0407 RADIO ACTIVISTS TO HAND OUT FREE RADIOS TO LA EVACUEES Rebuffed by Harris County officials to provide radio services to the thousands of Louisiana residents staying in the Reliant Center and the Astrodome, low power and community radio activists will hand out thousands of free radios and batteries today at 2:00pm at or near the Reliant City complex. On September 4, the Mass Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission granted emergency authorization to install and operate three low-power FM (LPFM) station inside the buildings. The stations were to be used to provide vital information to the evacuees.FEMA and other government agencies have publicly stated that they were have difficulty in getting timely, accurate information to the evacuees, and were spending considerable time dispelling rumors. Despite the FCC authority and considerable support from elected officials ranging from Texas Governor Rick Perry to Houston City Council member Ada Edwards and Houston Mayor Bill White, officials with Harris County, which owns and operates the Astrodome, twice refused to grant access to the radio group. Harris County's spokeswoman claimed to reporters that the radio group was asking for "banks of telephones, 5000 square feet of space, unlimited access to and from the building..." This is not true. Only a small secure space and utilities were requested. When the group applied a second time, they offered to park a mobile unit outside the Astrodome and run a single wire into the building. That too was denied. "We did everything we could to give these poor folks something they vitally needed...information. Harris County officials appear to be in lock step with the FEMA PR Machine, more concerned with image than getting out information to survivors." The radios will be distributed today at 2pm at or near the Astrodome. Film crews are urged to wear comfortable footwear and be able to move quickly.There will be plenty of dramatic action. For more information call 713-526-4000, log on to www.kpft.org or tune in to 90.1 FM in Houston or 89.5 FM in Galveston. _______________________________________________ Activist mailing list [email protected] http://www.mediatank.org/mailman/listinfo/activist --------------------------- Mike Weisman please respond to [email protected] # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: [email protected] and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: [email protected]