With Halloween just around the corner, preparations are being made among many in the free radio community to make 1999’s celebration of this dark (and often demented) holiday one to remember.
Holiday broadcasts tend to be the purview of shortwave pirates, who put on some memorable broadcasts around Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, and April Fool’s Day. But for some reason, for Halloween many tend to pull out all the stops.
At least one broadcaster has already announced his intentions to take to the airwaves on Halloween. Others will surely follow – shortwave pirates tend to pack more creativity into every minute of their shows than any other kind of unlicensed broadcaster, and the fact that Halloween falls on a Sunday may result in some broadcasters spacing out their shows to make the whole weekend a lot of fun. At least one has begun celebrating a week early. Continue reading “Tricks and Treats”
Month: October 1999
Revolutions Begin Locally
re·volt (ri-‘vOlt) n. An act of protest, refusal, revulsion or disgust. See synonyms under REVOLUTION.
rev·o·lu·tion (rev&-‘lü-sh&n) n. An extensive or drastic change in a condition, method, idea, etc.
It seems you can find strong support for low power radio on the local level, but the farther one gets up the government chain (and the greater the physical distance between the governors and governed is), the enthusiasm fades away.
It is the federal government who sets the rules for broadcasting and enforces them. When the FCC knocks on a pirate’s door, they’re not doing so at the behest of city councilmen or county board-members – they’re doing it because it’s the law of the land. Continue reading “Revolutions Begin Locally”