Some kinks in the plans to move servers, I’m hoping to get things squared away by the end of this month. I’ve updated the media collage galleries with lots of new material…but you can’t get at it until I find a place to put it online. I think it will be worth the wait (although it’s killing me).
Not wanting to keep everything in stasis, regular updates have begun again to the rest of the site. This includes the Schnazz, which features a heavy dose of catch-up news. I especially like the FCC release about its $25,000 fine to A-O Broadcasting for zapping forest rangers with its improperly-mounted antenna on a firewatch tower in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. Continue reading “Schnazz is Back; Collage Remains on Hiatus”
Radio Free Brattleboro Seeks Community License Referendum
Another petition drive has been launched by the station – this time in support of an effort to place the question of its legitimacy in front of the community itself.
The proposed referendum question reads:
Shall the voters of Brattleboro give to radio free brattleboro (rfb) authority to broadcast until such a time that a Low-Power FM license is issued to radio free brattleboro or to another non-profit, locally-based, community group which is prepared to offer to the Town of Brattleboro diverse, all-access, non-commercial, community radio? Continue reading “Radio Free Brattleboro Seeks Community License Referendum”
The Paragraphs Lift Bush For Lyrics
Last night I made a rare excursion out to see some live music on recommendation from a friend. Headlining the night were The Paragraphs, a combo band/art project out of Milwaukee that sets music to “found text.” They’ve released albums with lyrics solely culled from Field & Stream magazine and The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Major Francis Yeats-Brown’s 1930 chronicle of his life and times in India and the Middle East.
Their latest – and most popular – project is “The Case for War,” which involves music with lyrics completely culled from George W. Bush speeches on the Wars on Terror and Iraq. Key to this effort is the band’s stage presence behind a large map of Iraq, presidential podium, and costumes including the standard suits and incredibly life-like masks (Bush sings, Cheney does lead guitar, Rumsfeld’s on drums, and Colin Powell handles keyboard duties; incidentally, Bush is also played by a woman, which you can’t tell from the audience’s perspective). Continue reading “The Paragraphs Lift Bush For Lyrics”
Radio Non Grata Makes Nice Try
Banned from speaking at the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society last week in Geneva, Reporters Without Borders attempted to stay involved in the debate via pirate radio: it launched “Radio Non Grata” at 95.8 FM last Tuesday and planned to spend the time airing interviews with WSIS critics. People had even gone to Geneva and handed out portable radios with flyers to advertise the broadcasts.
Radio Non Grata lasted less than a day before French police showed up and busted the operation (the station was located just over the French/Swiss border in Ferney-Voltaire). The station’s operators were given the choice of going off the air voluntarily or having all of their equipment seized; they chose the former.
Corporate Pirate Two-Way @ JFK Fined $5,000
This actually went down a month ago, but it’s still worth mentioning.
Gateway Security Systems, Inc. provides security to Terminal #4 at New York’s JFK International Airport. Its contract with the airport began on August, 2001, and it inherited a two-way radio system from the Port Authority. In May, 2002, someone contacted the FCC to report unlicensed two-way radio broadcasts at JFK; two frequencies were in use, and they were being used by Gateway Security Systems employees.
After investigating the FCC hit Gateway with a $10,000 fine for unlicensed broadcasting this past August. Gateway pleaded ignorance of the law: less than a month after it took over security operations at Terminal #4, terrorists hit, and it simply never got around to applying for a license for its radios. Continue reading “Corporate Pirate Two-Way @ JFK Fined $5,000”
December Amendment One: A Push for LPAM
As part of the FCC’s current study of localism, an effort’s afoot to lobby the agency to leaglize a form of low power AM radio service. Not only would LPAM be a good supplement to LPFM in general, but it might allow for placement of new community radio stations where congestion on the dial precluds new LPFMs.
Included in this month’s A1 is a supplement that summarizes the process for filing comments with the FCC’s Localism Task Force, and contains a list of recommended issues to emphasize.
Media Collage Offline; Major Site Updates Suspended for December
Woe is us – the popularity of the collage galleries did them in.
Worry not, though: we are currently scouting a server move and, if all goes well, DIYmedia will make the transition to its very own server with a nice fat pipe before the end of the year. There’s a huge backlog of collage to be added to the galleries (more than 30 new files for the Truthful Translations section alone!), so the re-debut will actually be an expansion.
All other audio/video content remains online, unaffected.
As a part of this process, other regular site updates will be suspended for the month (like the Schnazz, updates to the Enforcement Action Database, etc.). The news, however, will continue to flow in this space as usual.
My apologies for this inconvenience…
Congress Pulls Fast One on Media Reform
All the hoopla and hard work this year in Washington, D.C. on the issue of media reform can now officially be declared futile. In the horsetrading sessions typical at the end of a congressional session, provisions unrelated to federal government spending get attached to spending bills – this allows controversial pieces of legislation to clear Congress with little fanfare and controversy.
Congressional allies of media reform incrementally ceded ground to the GOP majority controlling the horsetrading, settling for a single provision attached to a multi-billion dollar spending bill that would restore the FCC’s original television station ownership cap (prohibiting one network from reaching more than 35% of the national TV audience, down from the 45% limit approved by the FCC in June).
But back in the smoke-filled room this week, a “compromise” was reached – instead of restoring the original 35% cap, the “compromise” will prohibit networks from owning stations that reach more than 39% of the country. Continue reading “Congress Pulls Fast One on Media Reform”
Radio Free Brattleboro Wins Town Support
After rfb collected more than 3,000 signatures in its local and global petition drives, the Brattleboro Selectboard finally approved a resolution in support the station last week. It is a somewhat hollow victory, though, as it took two tries to get the resolution approved – and the version voted through was heavily watered down.
Most notably missing from the “official” town resolution is the fact that one out of four Brattleboro residents are on record in support of the station’s “authority to broadcast,” as demonstrated by its petition drive. A second petition, maintained online for non-Brattleboro residents to show their support, continues to collect signatures.
Miami Cops Run Amok on Protesters: Media Misses Most
So you may have heard there were some “protests” over “free trade negotiations” in Miami this week. Thursday and Friday, to be specific. Feedback from around the country seems to suggest little to no news coverage of what happened.
What happened in Miami involved the worst display of police violence unleashed on a demonstration in recent U.S. history. In fact, there really wasn’t much “demonstrating” taking place: those who were able to get into fortified downtown Miami were simply maneuvered around by phalanxes of riot police until their gatherings were broken up – usually with the use of excessive force, which included various plastic/rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray (both in spray and capsule form, shot from shotguns), taser guns, and the always-useful wooden club.
Snatch squads were in full effect – activists were abducted off the street by police dressed as protesters, whose only sign of true identity were the tasers they pulled out on alarmed bystanders. Continue reading “Miami Cops Run Amok on Protesters: Media Misses Most”