Back in the 1990's, the FCC made important changes to the rules and regulations regarding ownership of multiple radio stations. This allowed large corporations to gobble up local stations, turning them from being the voices of the local community into impersonal mass-produced commercial outlets.
Public outcry, as well as the proliferation of a large number of "Pirate" stations, prompted the FCC to introduce a new "local" radio service; Low-Power FM, or LPFM. These stations are non-commercial, must be licensed to non-profit entities, and must generate their programming locally.