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”
Tag: berkeley liberation radio
Unexpected Trip to San Francisco
Work on re-starting regular content updates remains suspended, as I still don’t have online access from home yet. Additionally, I’ll be away from home for most of the weekend, on the campus of Stanford University for a one-day conference Saturday on broadband, digital media technologies, and the future control of it all.
If you happen to attend, I’ll be speaking on two panels: the morning one will involve labor and the media, while the afternoon panel involves “wireless, wi-fi and microradio,” and will also feature members of Berkeley Liberation Radio and San Francisco Liberation Radio. Continue reading “Unexpected Trip to San Francisco”
Berkeley Liberation Radio Back on the Air
Good news from Stephen Dunifer: “BLR is back on the air. Transmissions resumed on late Sunday afternoon.” Less than a week of downtime is pretty damn impressive!
While the FCC has conducted at least three enforcement actions within the last three weeks, the good news is at least three new microradio stations have signed on around the country during the same time. With BLR back on the air, the net gain is one for the good guys….
Update #2 – More Details on BLR Raid
Looks like yesterday’s raid of Berkeley Liberation Radio was pretty severe; the government hard at work, making the world safer for us all. Cap’n Fred sent a note about the incident:
“The FCC had an arrest warrant for the equipment. They knocked on the door and slid the warrant under. The dj in the studio at the time looked at it and decided he’d better let them in. They then proceeded to tear down our antenna and confiscate all the electronic equipment in the room. They left our scratchy old records, tapes and cd’s.” Continue reading “Update #2 – More Details on BLR Raid”
Berkeley Liberation Radio Busted
Word just crossed the email that Berkeley Liberation Radio was raided by Federal Marshals and the FCC this morning. Apparently almost everything connected to the station was taken, save for microphones and headphones. The FCC isn’t commenting….Cap’n Fred, are you out there?
BLR is the outgrowth of the old Free Radio Berkeley, founded by Stephen Dunifer. While Dunifer was enjoined from broadcasting ever again after losing a long battle in court with the feds, the rest of the station was free to move on. They did…until today. Continue reading “Berkeley Liberation Radio Busted”