Low Powers Seek $450M in DTV Aid

The Community Broadcasters Association is asking Congress for $450 million to make the conversion to digital as soon as possible, saying that many in the industry face bankruptcy and potential ruin due to government policies. "Now that the court has slapped us down without explanation," CBA vice president of technology Greg Herman said, "completely taking a pass on their responsibility to interpret or enforce the laws correctly, our effort is to find a solution to this tremendously difficult problem." Herman said the money would not come out of taxpayers’ pockets, but could instead come from the $9.6 billion in additional funds the FCC raised in its recent spectrum auction above what was earmarked for other programs -- such as the converter-box-coupon subsidies -- and the federal treasury. And if Congress doesn't? "They have been squeezing low-power stations for decades,” Herman added. “It is time to make a decision about whether they want to keep or kill us. It they want to kill us, to crush us out of existence or legislate us out of existence or ignore us out of existence, then take responsibility for it. That is the ugly truth. We are tired of government just assuming everything is going to be OK. We are going to scream and yell.”
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