With low power FM mostly confined to the hinterlands, activists interested in expanding access to the airwaves are looking at other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum to squat. Kyle Drake has been reading some interesting stuff about the use of wireless networks operating at low powers with large coverage areas in the frequencies above one gigahertz (1 GHz).
In order to spur discussions on the idea of creating a new “citizen’s broadcast band (CBB),” Kyle’s set up a simple web forum. So far, a few are kicking the tires on the concept in a positive light, approaching the proposal from multiple perspectives. Not all think heading into such high-frequency territory is the solution – but it’s the thought that counts. Contribute yours! Continue reading “Could Wi-Fi go Hi-Fi?, Prometheus to Assemble "Dictionary of Noise"”
Author: diymedia_tu6dox
Bad Spin Alert: Feds Raid Michigan Militia Microradio Station
Mark Koernke, a member of the Michigan militia, has been in prison for two years after leading police on a high-speed chase. While he’s been out of circulation, someone has been running an unlicensed microradio station from his home in the village of Dexter. The station can apparently only be heard for a couple of miles and mostly runs information sympathetic to the militia.
It’s an undisputed fact that people involved with militias love weaponry. So, when federal marshals went to raid the station on Wednesday, they should not have been shocked to find a shitload of it on the Koernke property.
Seeing the stuff apparently sent the FCC men and their badge-carrying chaperones into some sort of fit, as they called in the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms and any other police they could find in the surrounding several square miles. Continue reading “Bad Spin Alert: Feds Raid Michigan Militia Microradio Station”
FCC To Public on Media Review: Screw Your Interest
Last month, a coalition of consumer advocacy, labor and professional performance groups banded together to petition the Federal Communications Commission to extend the time for the public to comment on a massive rulemaking that threatens to let today’s large media conglomerates get even bigger.
The coalition sought an additional three to six months to collect public input on the proposed hyper-consolidation effort and also requested access to the data the FCC used to produce a dozen reports which are (surprise!) mostly in favor of allowing more media consolidation. Continue reading “FCC To Public on Media Review: Screw Your Interest”
Freak Radio Reporter Arrested for Taping Public Meeting
Robert Norse, a reporter with Freak Radio Santa Cruz, had no idea his mini-tape recorder would cause so much trouble.
On Monday, Norse attended the inaugural meeting of a special committee empaneled by the the Santa Cruz, CA city council. The “Downtown Issues Task Force” is charged with implementing a controversial city plan to “clean up” downtown Santa Cruz. In addition to effectively outlawing panhandling, the plan would also place severe restrictions on street theater, leafleting, and the ability to set up informational tables. Continue reading “Freak Radio Reporter Arrested for Taping Public Meeting”
Microradio Notes
The FCC has fined a Naples, FL man $10,000 for running an unlicensed station out of a church. Radio Mision Posible got multiple visits and warning letters before getting a pending-fine notice and, ultimately, the forfeiture itself. The Enforcement Action Database has logged 28 actions to-date for the year, bringing the overall running score to 239.
We’ve also updated our Mosquito Fleet Operational Analysis with additional information emailed from fellow participants. It looks like a total of 11 frequencies were occupied during the event, one more than previously estimated. Some frequencies were shared by more than one station. Continue reading “Microradio Notes”
Multiple Skirmishes @ the FCC
Lots of activism in the form of paper-filing is taking place right now at the Federal Communications Commission.
A broad coalition of consumer rights, labor, and media democracy groups – representing both people working within and outside the media industry – have filed a petition to extend the FCC’s public comment deadline on its proposal to radically overhaul media ownership rules. The current comment deadline is December 2 – the FCC only planned to give the public a 90-day window in which to comment on this massive proposal – the coalition wants the comment period extended until April. Continue reading “Multiple Skirmishes @ the FCC”
Press Freedom in the United States: "We're Number 17!"
Reporters Without Borders, an organization chartered with upholding Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the freedom to communicate), has published its first-ever Worldwide Press Freedom Index, ranking the degree to which free media and speech rights exist in 139 countries.
The United States, home of the First Amendment and all that jazz, ranks #17 on the list – two spots below Costa Rica but three above Ecuador. Continue reading “Press Freedom in the United States: "We're Number 17!"”
Behind the Numbers @ the FCC Enforcement Bureau
At its October 10 meeting, the Commission’s decision to approve a standard for digital radio drew the headlines. But there were three items on the meeting’s agenda, one of which was the Enforcement Bureau’s release of its yearly Progress Report.
We’ve condensed the microradio-related enforcement news from the presentation and assembled a special report on what was revealed. My favorite highlight involves the Bureau’s number-fudging on enforcement actions finally catching up with it: the report claims fewer “pirate radio” enforcement actions than previous agency statements suggest. The discrepancy is not gigantic, but large enough to be noteworthy. Continue reading “Behind the Numbers @ the FCC Enforcement Bureau”
Mediageek Busts AP Nut
Paul Riismandel flails the Associated Press for manufacturing news about the state of the radio industry instead of devoting the time and energy to actually write about the real problems at hand.
It would be easy to claim that there’s some nefarious doings afoot to squelch criticism of the corporate media from other corporate media outlets, but this really is a case of a low-IQ reporter stringing together recent related events to construct a theme around which to write a story. Missing the real story completely, however, definitely consigns whoever wrote this turd to the short bus.
FCC Admits Ignorance on Digital Radio, Adopts Standard Anyway
It took only 14 minutes today for the Federal Communications Commission to dramatically decide the future of radio broadcasting.
The FCC adopted a Report and Order authorizing the rollout of digital radio. The vote allows radio stations to immediately install In-Band On-Channel (IBOC)-based transmission equipment and, upon notifying the FCC, begin broadcasting using the new transmission standard.
Stations will initially run a hybrid analog/digital signal, so as to not make everybody’s analog receivers immediately obsolete. At some undetermined time in the future the FCC will require radio broadcasting to go completely digital – the hope is when that time comes the public will have forked out the hundreds of dollars each for the new “HD Radios” they’ll need. Continue reading “FCC Admits Ignorance on Digital Radio, Adopts Standard Anyway”