It’s been an active spring for field agents in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, but the agency’s pirate-hunting fervor still seems tempered. The present pace of this year’s activity mirrors 2011 – good news of a sort, because last year saw a massive drop-off in enforcement action.
That said, about four dozen pirate stations in 13 states (and Puerto Rico) have had some sort of contact with the federales this year. Although the FCC’s enforcement protocol remains firmly in the administrative realm, there have been some interesting developments this year. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement: Check, Please!”
Category: Pirate Radio
Crowdsourcing Community Radio
Sometimes futurists don’t look far enough into the past before proposing their next big idea.
Case in point: Eliot Van Buskirk seems pretty excited about the pending expansion of the LPFM radio service, and he suggests that stations look into crowdsourcing their programming: “using music apps to control low-powered radio stations within small urban (or suburban, or even rural) areas” seems like a great way to program a station on the cheap, and it would most likely sound like nothing else on the dial.
Initial reaction to the idea is mixed. But it’s not necessarily new: pirate radio’s already been there and done that, more than a decade ago. Continue reading “Crowdsourcing Community Radio”
FCC Budget: Enforcement Bureau to Get Some New Gear
The Federal Communications Commission has tendered its budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2013. It’s asking for $346.8 million – a $7 million increase from FY 2012. The trades have highlighted the agency’s request for $2.5 million to replace and upgrade “direction finding and wireless monitoring equipment,” of which $1.1 million will be spent on eight custom field enforcement vehicles.
The Clear Channel-owned publication Inside Radio dubbed this an investment in “pirate-fighting funds.” Such sentiments have no basis in fact. Continue reading “FCC Budget: Enforcement Bureau to Get Some New Gear”
Rest in Peace, Radio First Termer
Clyde David DeLay died last week of acute respiratory distress, just months after having significant heart surgery. He was 63.
DeLay was better known to the world as “Dave Rabbit,” the slick-tongued DJ behind Radio First Termer, a pirate radio station he ran from a Saigon whorehouse during the Vietnam War. Continue reading “Rest in Peace, Radio First Termer”
Anti-Pirate Enforcement Plummets in 2011
The austerity gripping the United States caught up with the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau last year, as field activity against unlicensed broadcasters dropped dramatically – to a level not seen in six years.
From a record high of 447 enforcement actions clocked in 2009 and 2010, field agents executed just 184 in 2011, against fewer than 100 stations total. Massive drops were seen in the number of station-visits and warning letters issued. Continue reading “Anti-Pirate Enforcement Plummets in 2011”
Monkey's Last Stand
There seems to be some controversy over the FCC’s move to fine Pirate Cat Radio founder Daniel “Monkey Man” Roberts. The forfeiture notice, issued last month, details the FCC’s investigation of the station since 2009 and cites the significant amount of leg-work done in the case.
Roberts has engaged the services of an attorney, who is arguing that since the FCC has no evidence of him actually operating the transmitter, there’s no credible grounds for a forfeiture. The agency disagrees, noting Roberts’ extensive work as Pirate Cat station manager, fundraiser, DJ, and all-around public face, as well as his prior (and dubious) claim that unlicensed broadcasting is exempt from licensure under certain extenuating circumstances. Continue reading “Monkey's Last Stand”
Pirate Radio: A Natural Part of the Airwaves Since 1912
There’s a running debate taking place between the collaborative blog Radio Survivor and the industry trade newspaper Radio World about the “merits” of pirate radio. You’d think, after 20+ years of organized unlicensed broadcasting (and the resultant creation of an LPFM service), that this argument would have been settled long ago.
It all began in July with a tongue-in-cheek piece penned by Matthew Lasar. In mockery of a National Association of Broadcasters “analysis” which attempted to (inflatedly) quantify the importance of the radio industry to the national economy, Lasar conducted a “guesstimate study” which suggested that pirate radio generates some $576 million annually in jobs and services.
Radio World editor Paul McLane took Lasar’s piece a bit too seriously and filed commentary asserting the premise that any positive implication of pirate radio – economic or otherwise – was simply illegitimate. Continue reading “Pirate Radio: A Natural Part of the Airwaves Since 1912”
FCC Enforcement: Old and New
A much-overdue update to the Enforcement Action Database is done. So far in 2011, the FCC has conducted less than 100 enforcement actions – way down from this time last year, when 359 were already on the books.
The major changes to this year’s enforcement trends include an apparent stiffening of fiscal penalties and a diversification of enforcement across all broadcast bands. On the first point, the FCC seems to be increasing fines from the base-penalty of $10,000. Not that this actually works as a deterrent: in cases where an unlicensed broadcaster demonstrates an inability to pay, fines must be radically reduced. Continue reading “FCC Enforcement: Old and New”
Goddard Writes Chronicle of KISS FM
Grant Goddard, the U.K.’s go-to analyst on all things digital radio, has just finished a substantial history of KISS FM – a London commercial radio station that began as a pirate more than 25 years ago.
KISS broke new ground on London’s airwaves by giving airplay to what was once called “black music,” now more popularly identified as soul, R&B, hip-hop and various elements of electronica. Continue reading “Goddard Writes Chronicle of KISS FM”
New York Sanctions Pirate-Hunting
On June 20, the New York state legislature passed a bill criminalizing unlicensed broadcasting. The measure apparently passed the state Assembly by acclimation and cleared the Senate on a unanimous vote. Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign the bill with little fanfare. This is the fourth time an anti-pirate bill has been considered by New York’s lawmakers.
The new law makes it a class A misdemeanor to broadcast without an FCC license in the AM and FM bands, with penalties ranging from heavy fines to (very unlikely) up to a year in jail. Subsequent run-ins with the FCC or state may be prosecuted as a class D felony, which is punishable by a fine ranging between $500-$7,500 and imprisonment of up to five years. Continue reading “New York Sanctions Pirate-Hunting”