The major components to our coverage of the microradio activity that took place during the NAB radio convention in Seattle earlier this month are now in place. Please keep in mind that the operational analysis is only one man’s opinion, and I’d love to hear from others who want to share their experiences. If you recorded anything, please let me know and spread the love!
Looking back on all the action, I must say that it felt good to be part of something special, although I’m in awe of so many peoples’ dedication and resourcefulness. Hopefully the dialogue that started in Seattle continues and evolves. Continue reading “Mosquito Fleet Feature Complete”
Category: Microradio
Mosquito Fleet Stings NAB
“Mosquito Fleet” of Microbroadcasters Occupy Seattle FM Dial During NAB Radio Convention, September 10-15, 2002
Operational Analysis – Behind the mics: a reportback on the fleet’s activities
Background
During the week of September 9, 2002, members of the radio industry traveled to Seattle, Washington for the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual radio convention. Continue reading “Mosquito Fleet Stings NAB”
Pics and Zines from Mosquito Fleet Deployment Online
Enjoy the partial story of mass microbroadcasting during the NAB convention in Seattle. A photo album and two zines published especially for the event are now online – the audio and feature detailing the broadcasts themselves should be ready sometime today or tomorrow.
Mosquito Fleet Feature in Production – Have a Taste of What's to Come
Still slogging through lots and lots of multimedia goodies collected from Seattle that should, when properly assembled, paint an entertaining and informative picture of the Mosquito Fleet of Microbroadcasters who swarmed the recent NAB convention. Once I get access to a scanner and some video encoding equipment, the real party will start.
In the meantime, take a listen to the KJR-FM culture jam simulcast on at least six microradio stations on the opening day of the convention. Produced exclusively by a member of Negativland for the festivities, with extra-special digs at Clear Channel!
Much more should be online as the weekend rolls on. Stay tuned…
Seattle is Radioactive!
It has been a busy couple of days since we arrived into town…the Seattle Independent Media Center has been an awesome hub of activity, serving as a workshop, reception space and newsroom. At any given time you can find people sawing lumber, soldering equipment and making stories.
The Reclaim the Media! events got rolling in earnest last night, and they have been well-attended. The schedule of panels, workshops, rallies and concerts is an ambitious one, and kind of works against everyone meeting en masse in a single location. Rallies at Freeway Park have been relatively sparsely attended, but that will probably change as the weekend progresses.
I have been working hard trying to follow the Mosquito Fleet of microbroadcasters who are here in quite a significant contingent, but it’s dicey because operating locations are scattered throughout the metropolitan area and those running the operations are understandably low-key about disclosing information. Needless to say, though, that there’s people from all over the country here, and they’re all fired up about firing up. I’ll have lots more about this when all is over and the immediate risks have passed. Continue reading “Seattle is Radioactive!”
Seattle or Bust
It’s packing time for the trip out to Seattle for the Reclaim the Media! conference next week, being held in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters’ own radio industry convention.
In addition to the panels, workshops, rallies and conferences, there will be plenty of time to follow the “mosquito fleet” of microbroadcasters who are mobilizng to send commercial broadcasting a strong message about media and democracy. Continue reading “Seattle or Bust”
Michael Powell Wants Regulatory Slaughter, New Microradio Documentary in the Works, Interesting Uses for LPFM
The FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force has just wrapped up a series of four “workshops” on how best the agency can divvy up our electromagnetic spectrum.
In remarks at the closing workshop (held Aug. 9), FCC Chairman Michael Powell outlined four goals he wants to see the FCC work toward when it comes to managing spectrum. Goal #2 is the one that almost made me lose my lunch: Continue reading “Michael Powell Wants Regulatory Slaughter, New Microradio Documentary in the Works, Interesting Uses for LPFM”
A/V Archive Unleashed, Launch Imminent, Random Notes
I hereby present to you the Audio Library, which contains more than four gigabytes of material. In addition to 40+ hours of shortwave pirate clips (many new to the ‘net), featured MP3s and all things Mbanna, there’s some worthy video for you to check out as well.
Examples include “Free Radio: A Video Documentary” and “Evil Empire,” an oldie but still goodie, especially with the pending NAB radio convention in Seattle (just a month and a half away) and Clear Channel’s recent higher-than-usual public visibility.
Remember: this stuff just represents what was previously encoded, plus a backlog of stuff I hadn’t gotten to putting online yet. And we haven’t even gotten to media collage! Based on this, it’s feeling about time to officially “launch” DIYmedia, which means getting back into the real swing of things, with regular updates and the like. Look for that to happen within a week or so, once we get a few more essentials online. Continue reading “A/V Archive Unleashed, Launch Imminent, Random Notes”
Mbanna Material Resurrected, Good Riddance Randy Michaels?, IBOC Surprise
A busy week. The Human Rights Information Network is back in action – all of Mbanna’s previous material is back online, and there’s 13 new episodes of the Human Rights Patrol, a new album of music from Ebony Kantako, and the start of a new archive of raw audio from the Human Rights Radio tape library. Mbanna now has more than a gigabyte of audio online, with plenty more sure to come.
There’s also new entries to the Enforcement Action Database – primarily a slew of NALs to operators in Florida, and one to the owner of a licensed station in Kansas who operated a pirate station on the same frequency out of a local nightclub. How smart is that?
We’ll be putting up the rest of our audio library and more features over the course of the next week. Soon, we’ll be back in business for real. Continue reading “Mbanna Material Resurrected, Good Riddance Randy Michaels?, IBOC Surprise”
Stimulus/Response
FCC Issues “Progress Report”
As new licenses for low power FM (LPFM) stations continue to trickle out of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency’s Enforcement Bureau continues to wrestle with the “problem” of “pirate” broadcasters.
Unlicensed activity appears to be running high on both the FM and Shortwave bands. Shortwave activity is booming at a level not seen in years. In the past month alone, nearly two dozen shortwave pirates have conducted broadcasts, some broadcasting multiple times per week. The FCC has not conducted an enforcement action against a shortwave pirate since 1998.
The same can not be said for the FM band, where the FCC has been very busy. In January, 2002, four microradio stations were contacted by FCC agents for broadcasting without a license. One was fined $10,000. On a year-by-year basis, enforcement activity of this level for the month of January hasn’t been seen since 1999.
The numbers might look unnerving at face value, but the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau is facing numerous internal challenges that may hinder its future activity. Continue reading “Stimulus/Response”