In celebration of this dubiously monumental occasion (just in case we stall or get raided before hitting 200), enjoy the introduction to Margaret Thatcher’s [manipulated] “Tribute to Reagan,” added to the gallery as part of the latest update:
As Prime Minister I will never forget my c*nt being eaten by Ronnie at the Geneva Summit. He told a priest after his recovery. And in the midst of hysteria, he transformed into an engine of love.
Yes. Yes. Deeper. Yes…Easy big fella. And ultimately, he came, firing a shot up my terrible cold, dark corridor, and pressed down on my breasts. Continue reading “The Counter Never Lies: Truthful Translations Top 180”
Month: June 2004
FCC Reasserts Jurisdiction Over Airwaves
The agency’s Office of Engineering and Technology released a 
three-page public notice Thursday “regarding radio interference matters and rules governing customer antennas and other unlicensed equipment.” The notice talks about an increase of complaints about the use of unlicensed devices in “multi tenant environments” but makes no reference to any specific instances that may have spurred its publication.
“[W]e reaffirm that, under the Communications Act, the FCC has exclusive authority to resolve matters involving radio frequency interference [RFI] when unlicensed devices are being used, regardless of venue….Both the FCC and the federal courts have overturned attempts by third parties to regulate RFI matters in light of the FCC’s exclusive authority in this area.” Continue reading “FCC Reasserts Jurisdiction Over Airwaves”
Third Circuit Orders FCC to Re-Justify Media Ownership Changes
Kind of a big day for “the public interest” – in a 2-1 decision yesterday the Philadelphia-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the implementation of several media ownership rule changes made by the Federal Communications Commission last year. However, it did not do so because the court thought they were necessarily bad rules.
Judgment (12 K) Opinion (632 K)
“Citizen Petitioners” (a plethora of public interest groups) and “Deregulatory Petitioners” (the FCC, media companies, and their trade organizations) can both find something to like. The primary criticism of the decision falls in the citizens’ favor: Mikey Powell and his FCC are taken to task for a skewed interpretation of their mission under the Telecommunications Act. Continue reading “Third Circuit Orders FCC to Re-Justify Media Ownership Changes”
Florida: Pirate Radio Attracts Bounty Hunters
Meet Signal Finder – a Florida company founded by engineers with experience at Clear Channel and Motorola. For an hourly fee it tracks pirate stations and provides detailed reports on their signal quality, strength, and interference potential (relative to the client). It’s an FCC enforcement action wrapped with a bow.
Key bit: “The commission has been quiet about Signal Finder’s efforts to this point, [Signal Finder vice president Steven] Grey said. ‘One FCC enforcement officer told me that having us pinpoint a pirate could expedite the process. However, they still need to do their complete investigation. That leaves our clients the option of taking action against unlicensed broadcasters in civil court,’ he said.” Continue reading “Florida: Pirate Radio Attracts Bounty Hunters”
Deep in the Lake
This article was initially written for/published in the Wisconsinite, a now-defunct alt-biweekly newspaper in Madison, WI.
The newest addition to Madison’s commercial radio dial is WHIT-FM, otherwise known as 93.1 “The Lake.” Similar in format to 101.5 WIBA-FM, the addition of “The Lake” brings the number of stations owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting in Madison to seven, topping Clear Channel’s local stable by one and making it the largest station owner in the market. Mid-West Family Broadcasting is based in Madison, but it also owns clusters of stations in LaCrosse, Benton Harbor, MI, Springfield, IL, and Springfield, MO. Its other Madison properties include 94.1 WJJO, “Magic” 98, Q-106, WTDY-AM (1670), WTUX-AM (1550), and “La Movida” WTDA-AM (1480), which Mid-West Family owns but leases to Hispanic programmers.
The route by which “The Lake” was built is a long and somewhat convoluted story, but it shows how local and regional radio station companies have had to band together to remain competitive in an industry which has seen explosive consolidation over the last eight years. Continue reading “Deep in the Lake”
LPFM Rematch on Capitol Hill
Four years ago, when the National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio successfully convinced Congress to significantly scale back the FCC’s new LPFM service, grassroots media activists weren’t packing much heat on the Hill.
It’s been a productive four years: 400+ LPFM stations are now on the air with more in the pipeline and dedicated lobbyists in Washington willing to push for an LPFM revival. Continue reading “LPFM Rematch on Capitol Hill”
Comment Deadline Nears in Broadband over Powerline (BPL) Rulemaking
The FCC’s ongoing project to approve the use of powerlines as data infrastructure grinds on, and the initial public comment period on this rulemaking ends next Tuesday. It would’ve closed months ago if not for a short extension of time (granted at the request of the Amherst Alliance and National Antenna Consortium) to digest the latest technical studies on the plan, released just three weeks ago.
BPL technology sounds wonderful but is a massive interference generator, literally wiping out several amateur and shortwave frequency-swaths. Yet the FCC seems relatively determined to bring it on regardless. Continue reading “Comment Deadline Nears in Broadband over Powerline (BPL) Rulemaking”
Two Critical Online Resources Get Even More Useful
The first is the venerable A-Infos Radio Project (which I believe is now separate from the woefully outdated Radio4All.org) – a complete overhaul of the project source code. The new layout takes a bit of getting used to and there might be a couple of bugs left to catch, but remember, this is free sh*t. The A-Infos Radio Project is arguably the best open source audio clearinghouse available online, with several uploads added to the system every day. They can always use some help: bandwidth is a killer, and there has to be hundreds of gigabytes of audio archived already. Continue reading “Two Critical Online Resources Get Even More Useful”
Mercer Island High to Keep Radio Station
Slightly old news, but mention-worthy nonetheless: the FCC last week reversed its decision allowing a commercial station to move its transmitter to a location that would force an Oregon high school to close down its Class D (30 watt) FM outlet. The short announcement did not specify a reason, but it’s not a difficult one to discern (read: negative publicity for an already-maligned agency). KMIH-FM is not out of the clear just yet, though – the FCC always has the authority to change its mind once again if it so chooses. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t get stupid (again).
More Ink for WNFC: "The FCC's monitoring it, and we are, too"
The Daily Oakland Press gives the WNFC project a nice once-over. The quote above is from Ferndale police chief Michael Kitchen, who also says, “The FCC will tell us what to do, and we’ll do it.”
The Detroit area FCC office is pretty quick on the draw but has handled unlicensed broadcasting cases in the past with a level of diplomatic aplomb not seen in very many places. Although the organizers of WNFC have extended an offer of dialogue to the local field office, there has been no reported contact as of yet.