New S.D. TV Station Aims for End-of-Year Start-Up

San Diego’s first low-power TV station, the first new station to hit local airwaves since KTTY-TV (Channel 69) went on the air five years ago, could begin transmitting a variety of community-oriented programs by the end of the year.

The Federal Communications Commission last year selected the 30-year-old Basic Economic Education Foundation, headed by former City Councilman Floyd Morrow, to operate Channel 17.

Morrow, an unsuccessful candidate in the recent 5th District council primary election, expects Channel 17 to be on the air “no later than Jan. 1,” although that appears to be optimistic.

After a series of bureaucratic hurdles have been overcome, Channel 17 will transmit a 1,000-watt signal, a fraction of the strength of full-power stations, from the top of La Jolla’s Mt. Soledad. KFMB-TV (Channel 8), for example, broadcasts 316 kilowatts, or a signal 316 times greater than Channel 17 will transmit.

The low-power signal will reach homes in a 20- to 25-mile radius of Mt. Soledad, according to station manager Glenn Shoemaker. None of the local cable television systems plans to carry the channel. Shoemaker said he hopes viewer pressure eventually will prompt the cable systems to add the channel.

The station plans to program a variety of shows, including ones targeting ethnic groups. It will sell commercial time, much like other stations, as well as have programming sponsored by groups.

“It’s mainly going to be local origination and special-interest programming,” Shoemaker said.

Right now, Shoemaker is concentrating on getting the station on the air.

The FCC established guidelines for low-power television stations in 1982, and the first license for such a station was granted the next year. The primary reason for establishing low-power stations was to pave the way for community-oriented television stations in rural areas. The idea was also to open the airwaves to more groups, to expand the variety of programming available to home viewers.

Since 1982, more than 700 licenses have been issued for low-power stations throughout the country.

But San Diego’s low-power television stations are far behind the times.

The Basic Economic Education Foundation, a nonprofit educational group, won the right to broadcast over Channel 17 last year in a lottery. The only other applicant for Channel 17 was UC San Diego, which won a similar lottery for the right to broadcast on Channel 35.

But Shoemaker and the seven other San Diego-area organizations selected to operate low-power stations are awaiting construction permits, the final approval from the FCC. The permits have been delayed by complicated negotiations between the United States and Mexico.

The U. S. government only recently reached an agreement with Mexico to coordinate television signals near the border to avoid interference. The government of Mexico must now confirm that the proposed low-power signals won’t disrupt any existing Mexican signals before the stations will get their U. S. construction permits.

“We haven’t begun to send out notifications yet,” said Keith Larson, head of the FCC’s low-power television division, adding that it could take months, if not years, for the Mexican government to respond.

But Channel 17, which doesn’t have its call letters yet, is moving along with its plans. If approval from Mexico is delayed, the station’s attorney, Michael Couzens of San Francisco, said the station might still go on the air by using a “temporary authority” permit.

Although such a permit has never been issued for this type of situation, Couzens, a former staffer with the FCC’s low-power division, believes the guidelines for the temporary authority might be applicable, especially if the Mexican approval is delayed and the station offers to lower its broadcast power.

“These might be sympathetic grounds for issuing temporary authority to transmit,” Couzens said.

With the temporary authority, the station could go on the air and prove there is no interference with any Mexican signals.

Larson of the FCC said any requests for temporary authority would be handled on a case-by-case basis. A representative for UC San Diego said the school would await issuance of a construction permit before moving ahead with its plans.

While the lawyers discuss ways of getting the station on the air, Shoemaker is proceeding with the station’s plans. He expects to begin interviewing applicants for eight staff positions this week. A studio has been been built in Linda Vista, and Shoemaker is already developing programming.

“I envision this being a people’s channel,” Shoemaker said. “Little special interest groups and organizations that have memberships can gain a wider audience for their ideas, to stimulate people and get them out of their doldrums.

“I don’t look at this as an entertainment station as much as a communications link.”

Shoemaker’s crews have taped recent community events, such as “Art Walk” and the International Children’s Festival.

“We can expand the potential audience for a lot of interesting things that happen in the area,” Shoemaker said.

The Basic Economic Education Foundation was formed to communicate “basic information about the economy” to the masses. For the past two years it has operated a free community newspaper, “News and Views,” in addition to a variety of community programs.

Channel 17’s marketing statement says, “We intend to capitalize on this advantage by cross-promoting the TV station in the newspaper, and vice versa. We will be able to offer advertisers packages consisting of print and television.”

Morrow hopes the channel will address groups alienated from traditional stations.

“We want to expand our thinking a little bit,” Morrow said. “There will be programs for different groups, Iranian, Filipinos,” in addition to shows on gardening, cooking, health and fitness, and other community topics.

A “large portion” of the broadcast day will be made up of home shopping and direct marketing programs. The station also plans to show uninterrupted classic movies.