More skirmishes between the FCC and free radio – this time the good guys are on the offense. FCC agents were discovered snooping around a suspected broadcast location of KBFR last week. Nobody was home at the time, but the agents spoke with others on the premises and swore them to secrecy: “We were never here, okay?”
This particular game of hide-and-seek in Boulder has been going on for more than a year now and it sounds like the FCC’s angling for a raid over fines and/or criminal prosecution.
There’s also new developments in the showdown between Free Radio San Diego and the FCC. Field agents have stopped by twice so far but the station was quick to sound the alarm. It sent every member of California’s congressional delegation letters and CDs detailing FRSD’s first encounter with field agents, where DJ “Bob Ugly” specifically asked about his legal rights and was rebuffed.
Those mailings paid off: Senator Diane Feinstein has dispatched a staffer from San Francisco to “assist” with an inquiry into the agents’ conduct. A response is expected by the end of August.
To top it all off, a Time magazine article hints that the political pressure on FCC Chairman Mikey Powell may be wearing him down:
“According to industry sources, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell has told confidants he’d like to leave by fall, and three of his four top staff members are putting out job feelers. (Powell has denied he’s leaving soon.)”
It’s tempting to giggle with glee, but do you honestly think his replacement – whoever that may be – will be any better? One must remember that the FCC’s agenda is largely set by the industries it regulates. Dumping Mikey still leaves Mel, Lowry, Rupert, and their ilk all in place, and none of them seem terribly concerned with the public rumbles over media reform.
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