It would, they said, be a way to air ideas, opinions and culture not heard on commercial or on public radio. Public radio stations do a good job in many places in providing local news, information and cultural programs. The radio business has become increasingly professional, even in public radio. Public radio has its unique sound, and increasingly that sound has become smoother as the standards of public radio become higher. It doesn't have the rough edges the unpredictability it once did.
Some models exist.
Some are even flourishing. One of the models can be found on the air in community radio stations. Doug Mitchell is a supervising producer at NPR in Washington. When he's not producing Weekly Edition for NPR News, Doug is involved in training and coaching young people in the radio arts around the country. He thinks that LPFM could have been many things including a training ground for the next generation of radio producers.