Spectrum Efficiency and the Public Interest

Lost in the current discussion of broadcast localism has been consideration of a commonly used but little-understood radio management practice known in the industry as "move in." This practice involves small-market FM broadcasters seeking Federal Communications Commission authorization to change their communities of license, requiring modification of the table of FM channel assignments, to reach metro-area listeners in nearby larger markets. The commission's historical treatment of move-in requests provides an exemplar of how public-interest protections have been dismantled to privilege broadcasters' commercial imperatives.