More depressing news from our so-called “justice” system: the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the “no-pirates” clause in the FCC’s LPFM rules. The clause was challenged by Greg Ruggiero, a member of the former Steal This Radio collective in New York. A three-judge panel of the the same court initially declared the blanket exclusion unconstitutional about a year ago. The FCC petitioned for a re-hearing of the case in front of the full bench, which was granted – leading to the reversal of the previous decision yesterday.
After rejecting both primary arguments articulated by Ruggiero and the FCC against and for the anti-pirate clause, the court struck out on its own path to denying the challenge to the ban. Ruggiero, in part, argued that many other individuals and entities licensed by the FCC have been found guilty of worse crimes than radio piracy. Therefore, Congress’ late-2000 passage of the “Radio Broadcasting Protection Act,” which overrode the FCC’s original rule and banned pirates completely and permanently from the new service (the FCC originally granted unlicensed broadcasters a limited window of amnesty under which to apply for an LPFM license) was unconstitutional. Continue reading “"Nonsense on stilts": D.C. Appeals Court Upholds Anti-Pirate LPFM Ban”
Category: Pirate Radio
Deez Nutz Busts the Station that Snitched
There is a clever sleuth in cahoots with Deez Nutz 93.7, the unlicensed microradio station shut down by the FCC about a week and a half ago. This MP3 of a phone call to “KUBE 93” evening DJ Eric Powers (:53, 368K) seems to connect the commercial station to the enforcement action.
Here is a partial transcript of the call – note there is no mention of interference being a problem with Deez Nutz, even though the station broadcast only two channels away from KUBE: Continue reading “Deez Nutz Busts the Station that Snitched”
Update #2 – More details on Deez Nutz' Bust; Stations-in-a-Suitcase @ Flea Markets?; AM IBOC – Listen For Yourself
A couple of additional data points to add to the first reported FCC pirate radio enforcement action of the year: Kent, WA’s Deez Nutz 93.7 received not one, but two visits from the FCC on Friday, January 9.
The person who lives where the station was housed was not home at the time of the first visit, but the FCC agents on the case contacted the landlord of the property and “instructed” them to dismantle the antenna and cut the coaxial cable feed line. Continue reading “Update #2 – More details on Deez Nutz' Bust; Stations-in-a-Suitcase @ Flea Markets?; AM IBOC – Listen For Yourself”
First Reported Bust of 2003
Because somebody has to go first: Deez Nutz 93.7 in Kent, WA (smack dab between Seattle and Tacoma) got a knock last Friday (Jan. 9). Details are sketchy but it sounds like the station tested the patience of the Seattle FCC field office about as far as it could.
This is the earliest start we’ve seen on the FCC’s unlicensed enforcement efforts, but that means nothing. The Enforcement Action Database will be duly updated. The good news from all this is, there’s at least two (maybe three) active microradio stations that remain on the air in the area.
FCC Enforcement in 2002
The Enforcement Action Database is all caught up now. In 2002 there were a total of 45 documented FCC enforcement actions against unlicensed broadcasters. All were operating on the FM band – yes, folks, microradio is alive and well in the post-LPFM world.
While the general statistics appear to show a slight increase in activity over previous years, it is due to the FCC’s increased tenacity with regard to pirate cases – not a heightened interest in finding new pirates to bust. It’s still pretty damn hard to get on the FCC’s radar, but once you’re there you could be in for a bumpy ride. Follow-up activity past the warning letter is almost guaranteed nowadays, whereas a few years ago it was pretty common for a station to get a warning notice then hear nothing else for months, if not longer. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement in 2002”
Freak Radio Airs Bust Preparedness PSAs
This is thinking ahead: Freak Radio Santa Cruz, in reaction to the recent raid on Berkeley Liberation Radio, is now airing a “Raid Alert PSA” preparing listeners to react if/when the FCC moves on the station – which has been on the air pretty much non-stop for seven and a half years now.
“In the event that we are raided, if we have the time, we will put out an address on the air, asking you – the listener – to come down to that address to observe, document, and protest in the event it does happen,” intones Skidmark Bob. The PSA is faintly reminiscent of the old Emergency Broadcast System tests, but much cooler.
Berkeley Liberation Radio Back on the Air
Good news from Stephen Dunifer: “BLR is back on the air. Transmissions resumed on late Sunday afternoon.” Less than a week of downtime is pretty damn impressive!
While the FCC has conducted at least three enforcement actions within the last three weeks, the good news is at least three new microradio stations have signed on around the country during the same time. With BLR back on the air, the net gain is one for the good guys….
Update #2 – More Details on BLR Raid
Looks like yesterday’s raid of Berkeley Liberation Radio was pretty severe; the government hard at work, making the world safer for us all. Cap’n Fred sent a note about the incident:
“The FCC had an arrest warrant for the equipment. They knocked on the door and slid the warrant under. The dj in the studio at the time looked at it and decided he’d better let them in. They then proceeded to tear down our antenna and confiscate all the electronic equipment in the room. They left our scratchy old records, tapes and cd’s.” Continue reading “Update #2 – More Details on BLR Raid”
Berkeley Liberation Radio Busted
Word just crossed the email that Berkeley Liberation Radio was raided by Federal Marshals and the FCC this morning. Apparently almost everything connected to the station was taken, save for microphones and headphones. The FCC isn’t commenting….Cap’n Fred, are you out there?
BLR is the outgrowth of the old Free Radio Berkeley, founded by Stephen Dunifer. While Dunifer was enjoined from broadcasting ever again after losing a long battle in court with the feds, the rest of the station was free to move on. They did…until today. Continue reading “Berkeley Liberation Radio Busted”
Don Imus Ranch Gets Visit From FCC
Saw word circulating today that Don Imus’ ranch in New Mexico got a friendly visit from the FCC recently about some pirate broadcasting going on there.
Apparently Imus had installed a low-power FM transmitter so his ranch-hands could listen to his radio show, which originates in New York and is not carried locally in New Mexico. It’s not clear just how much wattage “Free Radio Imus” was running, but Don claims it couldn’t be heard off ranch property (his spread encompasses several square miles). Continue reading “Don Imus Ranch Gets Visit From FCC”