It’s always a bit depressing (and heart-wrenching) to hear about the dramaturgy of grassroots community media; I’ve been involved in enough Indymedia, community radio, and media reform work to recognize (and be bitten by) the scourge of infighting.
Such a convulsion took place this autumn at Freak Radio Santa Cruz. The details are convoluted (as they always are), but apparently involve disputes over programming, the race card, and resultant collective factionalization.
In response to the apparent shattering of consensus on some basic principles that have steered the station for nearly 15 years, a few of Freak Radio’s founders have hung up the mic. Skidmark Bob produced his last FRSC-based PoP dEFECT RADIO program on October 13, and apparently others are scattering as well. Bob’s posted the farewell show up on his blog – where episodes of POP dEFECT (and other projects) will continue. It is well worth a listen. Continue reading “Freak Radio Suffers Schism”
Category: Pirate Radio
Pirate Radio Finally Lands on U.S. Shores
After an inexplicable two-and-a-half month delay (and name change), the feature film also known as The Boat That Rocked is now out in U.S. theaters. If it makes it to my burg, I’ll check it out in the theater; otherwise, it’s in my Netflix queue.
After short runs in the UK and France (the only two places it’s apparently been released otherwise), it’s taken in just shy of $50 million.
Enforcement Action Update: Paper Still Beats Rock, Scissors
I caught up on the FCC’s enforcement actions against unlicensed broadcasters this weekend. The summer’s been kind of slow for field agents, though it doesn’t mean they’re not active: enforcement activity has been reported in 17 states this year, and stations both “new” and old are getting dimed.
As you can see from the graph at right, the majority of enforcement actions continue to be administrative: of all the enforcement activity conducted by the FCC against pirate broadcasters since 1997, fully 82% have led to nothing stronger than a visit or warning-via-certified letter. Continue reading “Enforcement Action Update: Paper Still Beats Rock, Scissors”
The Next Best Thing Since Pump Up The Volume?
There haven’t been that many big-screen films made about pirate radio. The only ones that come to mind, except for the slew of documentaries produced in the last decade or so, are On the Air Live with Captain Midnight (1979 – extra-cheese, please!), Sir! No Sir! (2005 – more of a documentary about internal military resistance to Vietnam, it highlights the role of Dave Rabbit and Radio First Termer quite prominently), and, probably the best-known of the bunch, Pump Up the Volume (1990 – a cult classic).
None of the above movies (save for the documentaries) are big on facts; to wit, the FCC does not chase people around broadcasting from Jeeps in big orange bread trucks with “F.C.C.” stenciled on the side of them. Continue reading “The Next Best Thing Since Pump Up The Volume?”
Enforcement Action Database Update
As part of a long-standing effort to get the legacy-projects of the site up to speed before delving into the dissertation, I’ve compiled the “final” statistics for the FCC’s enforcement actions in 2008 and brought the Enforcement Action Database up to-date for this year.
Unfortunately, the agency just missed hitting the 400 mark with enforcement actions last year – though due to the various methods by which the Enforcement Bureau inflates its enforcement statistics, it’s safe to say that most likely fewer than 200 stations were actually “dimed” by the agency in some way last year. Continue reading “Enforcement Action Database Update”
Walk For Power Short-Circuits
Somehow, it seemed just too good to be true. Touch FM‘s founder, Charles Clemons, has abandoned his cross-country trek to raise awareness of low-power FM and the plight of microradio stations engaged in electronic civil disobedience. A 
press release posted to the Walk For Power web site cites logistical reasons for having to abandon the journey; feats like these take planning and somewhat north of a pretty penny, as well as a network of helpful associates in-place before you begin.
Instead, says Clemons, “the road to L.A. is through Washington, D.C.,” and thus this past weekend he took again to the byways, to arrive in the nation’s capital on or around April 17. There, he will be greeted by the Prometheus Radio Project and Free Press, and will participate in a series of LPFM lobbying conferences and workshops later in the month. Continue reading “Walk For Power Short-Circuits”
Walk For Power On The Road
Charles Clemons, Jr., proprietor of Touch 106.1 FM in Boston, has begun his six-month stroll. Taking a page from Granny D, he’s walking from Boston to Los Angeles to raise awareness about the serious racial imbalance in media ownership that exists in the United States, and to advocate for an expansion of low-power FM (LPFM) stations nationwide. The twist in this story is that Touch FM is unlicensed, and has already been fined some $17,000 by the FCC.
However, this is no run-of-the-mill “pirate” station; Clemons himself is deeply religious, and the station’s main mission is to serve as a positive outlet of expression for Boston’s African-American community. So much so, in fact, that Boston mayor Thomas Menino saw Clemons off on his walk when it began last week, and has instructed city staff to keep tabs on his progress. The Walk for Power web site has daily updates of the walking schedule; Clemons and his compatriots are taking photos along the journey; and you can even track the walk’s progress via GPS. Cities and towns Clemons will be walking through/past are listed as well; if he’s coming close to your area, I’m sure he’d love to see you. Continue reading “Walk For Power On The Road”
Arbitron Accidentally Rates Pirates in Florida
The radio industry’s primary rating racket says it has to re-compute its ratings for last fall in the Orlando, Florida market. It’s not quite clear just how the error was found, but it’s not the first time this has happened: Tampa’s Party Pirate made the books in his market back in the late ’90s, and such blips have actually happened on and off for decades. Continue reading “Arbitron Accidentally Rates Pirates in Florida”
The "War on Pirates" in 2008: Paper Beats Rock, Scissors
I’ve just finished updating the Enforcement Action Database. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has reported its field actions through mid-December, and as you can see, given any activity over the balance of the month, it is on target to meet and/or (most likely) beat the record enforcement year of 2007.
What does this mean? It depends on how you look at the data. Sure, the FCC’s busting more pirates than ever, but does that really mean it’s making a dent in station proliferation? A couple of major conclusions from the year-in-review are striking: Continue reading “The "War on Pirates" in 2008: Paper Beats Rock, Scissors”
U.S. Military Resorts to Radio Piracy to Win Hearts and Minds
Well, isn’t this something. While the Wired reporter is all agog about an iPod being used in a battle zone, I like the spectral appropriation motif better:
Radio geeks would be familiar with the tools: a 100 Watt Harris AM/FM “radio in a box” transmitter coupled with a Marantz rack-mountable portable CD/cassette player. The PsyOps team loaded up a laptop with contemporary Iraqi and Arabic pop music and started broadcasting on a local frequency, 93.9 FM.
The transmitter is designed for use by emergency responders. It has a small range — [Maj. Byron] Sarchet estimated it had a reach of only a few kilometers — but in a densely populated area like Sadr City, it can reach a large audience. Continue reading “U.S. Military Resorts to Radio Piracy to Win Hearts and Minds”