Although National Public Radio"s Ann Arbor broadcast of "Talk of the Nation" came and went without a hitch last week, there were those on this campus who did not welcome NPR with open arms. Protesters on the steps of the Rackham Building outside the broadcast greeted audience members with anger. This is because NPR has recently taken steps to limit diversity in the radio spectrum by effectively preventing independent low-power FM stations from gaining access to the radio dial.

Last year NPR teamed up with one of the strongest lobbies in the history of politics, the National Association of Broadcasters, to effectively ban independent LPFM stations largely run by church, civic and educational groups from public airwaves. Using specious arguments mirroring that of a private broadcast company, NPR persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to limit the number of new licenses granted, saying that more stations on the spectrum would interfere with its signals.

According to LPFM enthusiasts, such arguments ignore the fact that radio technology now allows for more precise signal location. Though the FCC was originally going to separate new radio space by two increments, NPR and other lobbyers convinced the FCC to separate stations by three increments, thereby decreasing the amount of available airspace.

Some argue that those interested in micro-radio broadcasts should just look to the Internet. This, for one, ignores the fact that public airwaves are indeed public property and should be at least partially controlled by civic and educational groups. It also ignores the real costs and problems of Internet audio. Although streaming audio technology is making inroads to more markets, the best way to get information distributed is through cheap and informative mediums like radio or the television.

But some progress was made last December in getting LPFM stations licensed, the general trend has been toward less competition and more restrictive allocation of airwave space. In all, a large percentage of applications for LPFM stations over 85 percent by many estimates have been denied by the FCC.

Although squashing competition and preventing citizens from reclaiming the airwaves is typical of the mainstream corporate media cartel in this country, NPR"s unholy alliance with the National Association of Broadcasters shows how far from the "public" NPR has strayed. Like any entity that feels its local information monopoly threatened, NPR has fought back. Yet, attempts to keep ordinary citizens from broadcasting over the airwaves runs counter to the professed mission of organizations like NPR. Local NPR affiliates should fight against, not perpetuate, restrictive attacks on our public airwaves.