Napoleon Williams has taken his share of punishment for running his own radio station, and then some. He’s faced trumped-up charges, the loss of his children, and strong-armed police – all for stepping up and speaking truth to power.
Now, after fighting for nearly 10 years, Napoleon Williams is off the air and on the run.
The saga begins on August 21, 1990 in not-so-racially-harmonious city of Decatur, Illinois: That is when Williams signs Black Liberation Radio on the air for the first time. The motive: Expose and force change in the attitudes and policies that were a source of constant tension within the community. Continue reading “Broken Blackout Breaks Back”
Cannibalism at its Best
It was less than three years ago that Nick Leggett, Judith Leggett and Don Schellhardt officially filed the first Petition for Rulemaking (RM-9208) that led to the Federal Communications Commission’s ultimate creation of the new low power FM (LPFM) radio service.
What a difference three years can make. During that time, Schellhardt co-founded the Amherst Alliance, one of the most vocal and notable pro-LPFM groups in the nation.
Amherst was very active during the FCC’s LPFM proceedings, and Schellhardt even testified in front of a Congressional subcommittee defending the agency’s plan against the industry push to legislatively abort the service. Continue reading “Cannibalism at its Best”
Strategy Session
During the last weekend in May, while many Americans were relaxing at the expense of those who gave their lives for their freedom, soldiers in a lower-profile domestic war gathered to plot their next moves in their fight.
The “Micropower Council of War” was called by Free Radio Berkeley founder Stephen Dunifer; if it were not for his ongoing battle with the government (through the courts), there would have been no blossoming of unlicensed radio stations – and no widespread microradio movement.
When the FCC announced its plans to re-legalize a low power FM (LPFM) radio service, Dunifer was one of the first to discount the move as political hype. Continue reading “Strategy Session”
The McCain Mystery
On May 30, the FCC will begin taking applications for the first new low power FM radio licenses to be issued since the agency initially banned them more than 30 years ago. Would-be broadcasters in 11 states and the Mariana Islands will get first crack at the 100-watt LPFM licenses; the first station could go on the air as early as August.
Yet a battle rages in Congress to kill the service before it even gets off the ground. So far, 34 Senators have signed onto anti-LPFM legislation that the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved (with some changes) in mid-April.
But the broadcast lobby’s momentum appears to be slowing. It only takes 51 votes to pass a bill in the Senate (compared to 218 needed in the House) and the number of Senators committed to the bill stalled at around 30 for nearly a month. Continue reading “The McCain Mystery”
Radio B2-92: The Fourth Crackdown
The biggest threat to any totalitarian government is not the armed potential of its disillusioned citizens; it is the ideas of those citizens infecting others.
One of the first things Nazi German conquerors did when taking over territory was to silence any media not controlled by the state; doctrine told military commanders to take control of radio stations.
That strategy remains true today, and nowhere else is it more prevalent than in the embattled Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where tensions between the Serbian-controlled central government, still led by President Slobodan Milosevic, and dissidents from a broad spectrum of ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds continue to simmer. Continue reading “Radio B2-92: The Fourth Crackdown”
Summer and Shortwave
Being a radio pirate isn’t easy. Going on the air without a license means having to evade the FCC and there’s often the need to broadcast “on the run” – moving from location to location, trying to stay clear of the law.
Shortwave pirates face additional challenges that unlicensed FM stations do not – the range of an FM station’s signal is much, much shorter. FM signals travel in a “line-of-sight” manner – the only receivers that can pick up an FM signal are those that can “see” the transmitting antenna. It takes thousands of watts to cover a few dozen miles on the FM band.
Due to the tendency of shortwave signals to propagate through the atmosphere, it is possible for a 10-watt signal on the shortwave band to travel hundreds – even thousands – of miles. Continue reading “Summer and Shortwave”
The Senate Skirmish
After a short breather thanks to a Congressional recess, both friends and foes of the FCC’s new low power radio plan have regrouped and are beginning to reorganize their efforts in the fight for LPFM’s survival.
The Senate is now back in session, and while action on a bill to kill low power radio in the House of Representatives was quick, all signs point to a much slower go in the second Congressional forum.
The Senate anti-LPFM bill remains in its Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, whose chairman is none other than Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), failed Presidential contender and radio industry friend. Continue reading “The Senate Skirmish”
The Carrot and the Stick
In any three-way war, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.
The Federal Communications Commission’s initiative to legalize low power FM radio was a something many unlicensed broadcasters had supported (and worked to demonstrate) and some formally petitioned the FCC to undertake the initiative.
During 1999, while the FCC fleshed out its plans for LPFM, agents in the field claimed to have closed down 154 “pirate” stations.
While the agency won’t publicly admit it, in the wording of its LPFM rules was buried a small caveat to currently active unlicensed broadcasters that they could qualify for a license if they desired, so long as they shut down immediately. Continue reading “The Carrot and the Stick”
Halfway Dead
It was an often-lively debate, but at the end you weren’t sure whether to laugh or seethe.
After nearly two and a half hours of argument, spin and even some outright lies, the full House of Representatives voted 274 to 110 to approve the “Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act” – spelling the first near-death knell for the FCC’s new low power FM radio service.
While the vote in favor of the bill was carried mostly by Republican votes, the sad truth of the matter is that if it weren’t for the Democrats who said “yea,” this bill would have died. Plus, another 50 Representatives didn’t even bother to vote on it! Continue reading “Halfway Dead”
Dueling Editorials, Round Two
It’s been about a year since the National Association of Broadcasters released its “Anti-LPFM lobbying kit” for its members to use as ammunition in a lobbying assault to overturn the FCC’s proposed low power radio service.
What a difference a year makes. The FCC has since approved a conservative LPFM plan, but the NAB is going full-out with a push on Capitol Hill to try and kill it. So far, the votes in support are racking up, and there’s a better-than-even chance the broadcast industry will succeed in its mission.
As part of last year’s “lobbying kit,” the NAB provided a “sample editorial” for its member stations to use in their local newspapers. It was a cheap attempt at furthering its propaganda; as an antidote, I prepared a pro-LPFM sample editorial directly based on the NAB’s original text. Continue reading “Dueling Editorials, Round Two”