Reports from someone with Knoxville’s First Amendment Radio brings updated info on its situation: the “nastygram” was found around noon Thursday. Then for about an hour station volunteers played hide-and-seek with agents Eric Rice and Rickey Davis from the Atlanta District Field Office (photos available at the station’s web site). KFAR shut down and the agents went away.
First Amendment Radio stayed silent until 4pm Saturday when broadcasts resumed with a skeleton operation its volunteers are willing to risk if the FCC moves in the direction of a raid.
KFAR’s had at least one contact with the FCC prior to this one. The station recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency (objective unknown) and as of now is asking listeners to call, e-mail or write the agents in Atlanta asking them to cool it. Continue reading “KFAR/Oklahoma City FCC Update”
Month: March 2004
FCC Visits First Amendment Radio
KFAR in Knoxville, Tennessee reports FCC agents left a “nastygram” at their broadcast trailer digs Thursday afternoon; the station left the air shortly afterward to consider its next move. At present KFAR’s web radio stream is still up and running.
There have also been unconfirmed reports of a microbroadcaster in Oklahoma City having contact with the FCC earlier in the week; this station reportedly broadcast nearly 24/7 and accepted listener phone calls. This one can’t go into the Database unless more concrete info surfaces.
WNFC Proposal Collects Endorsements
The plan to demonstrate the power of LPFM with a temporary microradio station chock full o’ news and community programming in Ferndale, Michigan continues to roll along. A finalized version of the WNFC Manifesto is being printed this weekend and WNFC is accepting endorsements from anyone interested in expressing solidarity with this upcoming experiment.
You can e-mail WNFC directly with your name and any other information needed for an endorsement, if you’re so inclined. A preliminary list of supporters will be published with the Manifesto, but WNFC will accept support (symbolic or otherwise) “until this project is complete, several months down the line.” Continue reading “WNFC Proposal Collects Endorsements”
Scene Reports: California, Colorado, Oregon
California: Freak Radio Santa Cruz will lose its current station location at the end of April. The hunt is on for new space. The landlord is apparently clearing out the entire building for some sort of redevelopment project, which is a shame because he’s otherwise been cool about the station (to the point of facing down the FCC twice). Freak Radio’s no stranger to moving – at one stage the station was “homeless” and operated out of a bicycle cart – but it is never a fun experience and this space had been the station’s single longest home.
Berkeley Liberation Radio continues to hum along and recently overhauled its schedule. The station’s adopted a dues format for fundraising and made out okay at their benefit show last month. BLR’s Cap’n Fred lays down the bassline on one of our recent additions to the pirate music MP3 collection (Countdown and the Blastoffs’ “We Want the Airwaves“). Continue reading “Scene Reports: California, Colorado, Oregon”
FCC Stymied in Brattleboro Court
A hearing was held today on the FCC’s motion for an injunction to silence radio free brattleboro.
The FCC argued that broadcasting without a license is against the law. radio free brattleboro’s attorneys pointed to the incredible amount of local support and the fact that (as of now) the FCC offers no licenses to FM radio stations of 10 watts or less.
Judge J. Garvan Murtha was apparently influenced by the strong community support for and logic behind the station’s concerns. He denied the FCC’s motion for an injunction and – similar to the FCC v. (Stephen) Dunifer case of the mid-90s – asked both sides for further briefs. Those are due in 45 days. Continue reading “FCC Stymied in Brattleboro Court”
Regulatory Tidbits of Note
A long-delayed bookmarks-cleaning brought my attention to these interesting bits of (relatively) recent note:
1) A joint task force of the FCC and National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) devoted to “spectrum reform” will close its public comment period March 18 on a somewhat nebulous charge to:
(a) foster economic growth;
(b) ensure our national and homeland security;
(c) maintain U.S. global leadership in communications technology development and services; and
(d) satisfy other vital U.S. needs in areas such as public safety, scientific research, Federal transportation infrastructure, and law enforcement. Continue reading “Regulatory Tidbits of Note”
radio free brattleboro Wins Symbolic Community Endorsement; Gilligan Goes LPFM
Voters in Brattleboro, VT went to the polls on March 2 and by a margin of nearly two to one voted to support their microradio station in its struggle for “official legitimacy.”
For what it’s worth, the local paper ended up endorsing the station, too. The court activity is still at the tentative stage, each side having filed papers asking a federal judge to shut the other up. Continue reading “radio free brattleboro Wins Symbolic Community Endorsement; Gilligan Goes LPFM”
Dutch Authorities Nearly Complete Free Radio Crackdown; Other Miscellany
Been a bit hectic between the last update and this one; this scattershot-ness will likely continue for the next month or so. The site itself still needs some work before it’s fully comfortable in its new home, so if you experience a hiccup in connectivity it’s just me f*cking around trying to set things right.
There have been several new reports of more pressure from the Dutch authorities on pirate stations in the Netherlands. For nearly a year Agentschap Telecom (the Dutch version of the FCC) has run “Project Etherflits,” a nationwide sweep designed to clear the band of extraneous signals so the government can finalize its sale of the broadcast spectrum to the highest bidder. The Zerobase Radio Frequency Policy, as currently written, does not contain provisions for community radio stations – only public and commercial outlets are to share the air. Continue reading “Dutch Authorities Nearly Complete Free Radio Crackdown; Other Miscellany”