It was to be a busy annual convention for the National Association of Broadcasters: with consolidation at a fever pitch and various new technologies being unveiled, corporate broadcasters all over the nation converged on Las Vegas last week to talk shop and pitch wares.
As is the typical form, FCC Chairman William Kennard addressed the assembled executives and managers at a breakfast meeting.
These annual addresses typically are a “state of broadcasting” kind of speech, where the FCC Chairman at the time lays out his goals for the coming year. One of those goals will be the creation of a low power radio service. In fact, Kennard made special mention of it in his speech.
The entire event was broadcast over the Internet – all but Kennard’s low power broadcasting comments. Continue reading “The True Face of the Dark Side”
Month: April 1999
Beware the Propaganda
Always give credit where credit is due. What you’re about to read began as the sample “editorial” the NAB included in its recently released “Low-Power FM Lobbying Kit.” Keep a close eye on your local newspaper’s Opinions section – it seems like the radio industry trying to spin public opinion much like they program the airwaves.
Fight fire with fire. We have tweaked the NAB’s copy below. Feel free to print it out and submit it en masse. Maybe get your copy in first; that way when Mr. Radio Executive in your town gets theirs printed, it’ll look like he copied you! Continue reading “Beware the Propaganda”
FRB is Back
Stephen Dunifer, founder of Free Radio Berkeley (FRB), has often been touted as a catalyst to the development of the U.S. microradio movement, and rightly so. He has been through a long and vigorous battle in the courts with the federal government over his 50-watt operation.
As his activism continued, the press finally got wind – hence the nationwide acclaim. Dunifer’s no stranger to working the press. Taken off the air after a setback in his case, Dunifer and FRB has been silent for nearly nine months now. Even so, it really came as no surprise when the following news release showed up today: Continue reading “FRB is Back”
The Yugoslav Crackdown on Free Radio
All good things must come to an end, and it appears that’s the case with Yugoslavia’s B92. The Belgrade broadcasters had been an unlicensed, full-service community radio station in every sense of the word.
When the NATO air campaign began, B92’s importance changed significantly. Only hours before the first bombs fell, Yugoslav authorities confiscated B92’s transmitter and arrested and detained its founder for about eight hours.
The station wasn’t intimidated, though: it became a coveted source of information to the rest of the world from inside a country under political siege. Internet and satellite uplinks from B92 staffers continued – until Friday. Continue reading “The Yugoslav Crackdown on Free Radio”