One of the sources in my reading list is Radio Reader: Essays in the Cultural History of Radio edited by Hilmes & Loviglio (Routledge, 2002) and I recommend it as a useful and insightful survey of significant radio history from its early commercial take-over to its digital future.
One essay "Radio By and For the Public: the Death and Resurrection of Low-Power Radio" by Paul Riismandel is especially relevant to my focus on the history of WRIR.
From my reading so far it is my understanding that LPFM licenses are no longer available and are not likley to be in the near future - is this correct? Riismandel tells us that "religious groups received about half of all the LPFM construction permits" even though religious programming abounds on US airways. Is there a list of how the other permits were distributed?
Though opponents to LPFM claimed concern that it might interfere with high-power channels, this absurdity can be easily contradicted with an attempt to listen to Richmond radio stations. The corporate channels come screaming through loud and "clear" making WRIR sometimes difficult to detect amidst the corporate cacaphony.
And here's an LPFM technical question: I live in Stratford Hills, near Pony Pasture and I can receive WRIR quite easily in my car but in my home, even my new "Super Radio" is difficult to tune to its LPFM signal - why is this? Is there any way I can improve my reception in my home?
