Free Speech For Sale Set Free; Multimedia Collage to Descend on D.C.

This just in from the curators of the sequel to The Droplift Project: all interested droplifters should send email to dirtgoddess@pressthebutton.com including a mailing address to receive copies of the Free Speech For Sale CD. 33 tracks of exquisitely recontextualized commercial speech, sure to mind-blow quite entertainingly.
The CDs up for droplifting have one small blemish – the track orders are slightly scrambled, affecting about 90 seconds mid-album. FSFS curator Every Man estimates this blemish affects approximately 2% of the compilation’s overall content. Continue reading “Free Speech For Sale Set Free; Multimedia Collage to Descend on D.C.”

San Francisco Liberation Radio Strikes Back

Having been served a $17,000 threat just prior to Independence Day, San Francisco Liberation Radio was given 10 days to respond to the FCC’s visit. The station’s official correspondence from its lawyer, National Lawyers Guild Center for Democratic Communications director Peter Franck, sounds more than happy to meet ’em in court:
“It is the position of the parties addressed that operation of the radio station cannot be interfered with by the government at this time. In order to respond within the 10 days requested in your Notice, the grounds for this position are stated here in overview form. This statement will be supplemented by a more detailed explanation of each of the points in a timely fashion.” Continue reading “San Francisco Liberation Radio Strikes Back”

Long-Overdue LPFM Interference Report Complete: No Third-Adjacent Channel Protections Necessary

When Congress gutted the low power FM service enacted by the FCC in 2000, it reduced the number of available LPFM frequencies around the country by more than two-thirds by implementing “third-adjacent channel spacing protections.” This forced LPFM stations to find a clear frequency with at least three channels separating it from existing local stations, which in urban areas is all but impossible. This single fact alone cut the number of potential LPFM stations from thousands to a few hundred at best, with most of those located in rural or suburban areas.
The passage of the “Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act,” however, did contain one caveat: the FCC was mandated to conduct an interference study to make sure the third-adjacent channel protections were necessary. The study was to be completed by February 21, 2001. It was actually finished in March, 2003, by the MITRE Corporation, who subcontracted the field testing of temporary LPFM stations in seven communities around the country. Continue reading “Long-Overdue LPFM Interference Report Complete: No Third-Adjacent Channel Protections Necessary”

Free Press Launches TeleLobbying Campaign to Congress

The critters are back on the Hill after an Independence Day vacation and some of the items on the legislative slate are bills that would repeal part or all of the FCC’s media ownership rule changes.
The National Rifle Association mobilized hundreds of thousands of people to flood the FCC with post cards, so Free Press is automating the call-your-congresscritter process, providing everything but the call to make your opinion known on these bills, in three minutes or less.
From Bob McChesney’s call to action: Continue reading “Free Press Launches TeleLobbying Campaign to Congress”

San Francisco Liberation Radio Gets FCC Visit, $17,000 Threat

From SF Indymedia:
“In what may portend a US Marshal-backed raid and seizure, San Francisco Liberation Radio received a courtesy call by FCC agents, who requested permission to inspect the premises and see a broadcast permit, on 7/2. Unlike its East Bay microradio cousins, San Francisco Liberation Radio (93.7 FM) has filed several FCC license applications, which may provide the legal clout to mount a vigorous First Amendment defense. More importantly, SFLR will be relying on the support of its community, including local politicos, as it wages a campaign to safeguard our right to community microradio. SFLR was given a letter warning against unauthorized broadcasting and threatened with jail time and $17,000 in fines…”
The station reportedly has 10 days to respond; it has attempted to apply for a license more than once (for both a regular FM station license and an LPFM one, although there are none available in San Francisco). SFLR has been (mostly) broadcasting for 10 years now, and this is not the first visit the FCC has paid to the station, but it sounds like the enforcement ball is finally rolling on its case. The Enforcement Action Database will be updated later tonight. Continue reading “San Francisco Liberation Radio Gets FCC Visit, $17,000 Threat”

Radio Free Brattleboro: A True Community Resource

Brattleboro, Vermont had its annual Fourth of July parade today, and although it is off the air, Radio Free Brattleboro had a float in the festivities. The station’s always been strongly focused on the community it served – it got its start as a project of the local teen center – and in many ways it transcended that goal. Some examples:
The Brattleboro Public Library, in need of space, was forced to get rid of its entire record collection. This included the LP library of the Chelsea House Folklore Center – an incredible collection of folk music, bluegrass and 1930s/40s-era blues/R&B. The library wanted to keep the entire collection together and wanted it to remain publicly available. There’s no better way to do that than to air it, so the music was donated to Radio Free Brattleboro. When the town of Newfane, VT’s public library had to give up its LP collection it also found a new home at RFB. This doesn’t count the individual record collections donated by several listeners over the years. Continue reading “Radio Free Brattleboro: A True Community Resource”

Like Pump Up the Volume in Reverse

Weirdness in the name of “homeland security” – In April, a Florida company called Safety Cast applied for an experimental FCC license to test its Interceptor™ technology, which is designed to quickly inform communities about terrorist alerts, lost children messages, and other emergency situations.
Although radio stations are required to have equipment installed that can decode (and, in most cases, automatically relay) such bulletins via the Emergency Alert System, Safety Cast ups the ante. Using remote transmitters installed on emergency response vehicles, the Interceptor™ will broadcast these bulletins on all AM and FM frequencies – simultaneously – with a maximum coverage area of about a quarter-mile for each vehicle. Continue reading “Like Pump Up the Volume in Reverse”

More Corporate Piracy: FCC Takes 9, Leaves 6

As June slips away I want to highlight a few other interesting FCC happenings that got crowded off the radar by the hoopla and its reverberations this month. The rest of the loose ends will follow later in the week.
First up is FCC administrative law judge Richard L. Sippel’s June 19 decision to revoke two licenses for FM stations owned by Peninsula Communications in Alaska. This case has been wending its way through the agency for several years and involves the company’s creation of a seven-station translator network, which it had been operating in violation of the FCC’s translator rules since 1994. A $140,000 fine (collection pending) and one federal court injunction later, Peninsula finally silenced the stations last August. The seven translators were fed by two full-power stations; in addition to those Peninsula also owns one AM station, one FM station, and an additional four FM translators. Continue reading “More Corporate Piracy: FCC Takes 9, Leaves 6”

FCC Strikes Again in Vermont, Florida

More reports of microradio enforcement activity stretch the FCC’s efforts this month from coast to coast. Radio Free Brattleboro, a Vermont microradio station that got its start in a teen center some five years ago, got a nasty visit from two FCC agents Tuesday. Video was recorded of the incident (which we hope to get) and although the agents had no search warrant a list containing contact information for many of RFB’s volunteers is missing from the station. Radio Free Brattleboro’s web site went down at approximately the same time as the visit.
From RFB’s official announcement: “It’s a real shame because in addition to providing entertainment and information to the community, we have trained hundreds of local citizens of all ages in the art of radio broadcasting.” DJ trainer Steven Twiss emailed with more pointed reaction: “The community here is building up a nice case of outrage.” Continue reading “FCC Strikes Again in Vermont, Florida”