In the last week or so two more pirate stations in New Jersey and Illinois have been silenced. These are unusual cases. According to the Associated Press the NJ station, “El Sol 95.3,” was raided on Wednesday. It was run “by a group calling itself the Moors. The group has claimed U.S. laws do not apply to it because its members are indigenous Americans who have lived on the continent since the beginning of time….A man who answered the door said the station was authorized under the ‘Great Seal’ and offered a homemade document signed by ‘Queen Ali.'” Continue reading “More Busts Reported”
Tag: enforcement
Scene Reports: California, Montana, Michigan
California: Free Radio Santa Cruz issued a news release about the recent visit by FCC field agents David Doon and David Hartshorn, accompanied by a couple of bad photos of the duo in action. This supplements the audio clip captured by Skidmark Bob. Freak Radio is now operating at 101.1 FM and according to the Davids only merited a visit for their long-running unlicensed status, not because of any complaints of interference or spurious emissions.
Montana: The same morning as Freak Radio’s visit, FCC agents with armed backup executed a raid against Burton James’ mobile home microstation in Butte. His operation had been on the air for three years there and James claims to have been an active microbroadcaster for more than a decade in multiple states. He shrugged off the raid, according to the Montana Standard: “‘It really doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘The transmitter was eight years old. It’s on its way out. I was intending to get another one.'” Continue reading “Scene Reports: California, Montana, Michigan”
Unlikely Mikey
Unabashedly stolen from Free Radio Santa Cruz, which is fleshing out a site redesign post-move. Its online home is now being maintained by Corporate Swine.
I really liked the animated banner about “PROVING FCC INCOMPETENCE” and was sorry to see it go, but bits like this more than make up for it.
(Clicking on the pic at right takes you to the station’s donate page, which contains the larger original.)
Mad props on the Photoshop! Continue reading “Unlikely Mikey”
Scene Report: California
Multiple tidbits of interest…
Santa Cruz: Freak Radio successfully moved to its new location recently, completing the entire transition in about five hours. It sounds like it was well-rehearsed, although Skidmark Bob reports their online stream needs “a little work.”
Victorville: On March 31 the FCC issued a $20,000 Notice of Apparent Liability to Stanley Mayo for operating unlicensed transmitters on both the AM and FM bands. Mayo’s “KSRX” first began broadcasting in the summer of 2002 on 660 KHz but was also later heard on 91.3 MHz. Mayo received at least four visits from field agents out of Los Angeles, as well as two warning notices, over an 18-month span before the FCC moved for the dough. Continue reading “Scene Report: California”
Pirate Radio in Florida: Nothing Left But the Gnashing of Teeth
A weak piece in the Palm Beach Post celebrates the fact that the only thing standing between local whoop-ass and unlicensed broadcasters is the pen of Governor Jeb Bush. Florida Association of Broadcasters president C. Patrick Roberts gloats over the nearly-complete rout:
“Now the sheriff’s office, working with state attorneys, can also move to protect the airwaves, protect the emergency messages that go out, and protect the airplanes flying across Florida.” Continue reading “Pirate Radio in Florida: Nothing Left But the Gnashing of Teeth”
SF Liberation Radio's Day in Court
The initial (AP) report of San Francisco Liberation Radio’s court hearing yesterday – on its motion to reclaim equipment seized in a raid last October – are somewhat vague. Liberation Radio’s using this motion as a plank on which to mount a challenge to the FCC’s enforcement protocols: it claims it was denied due process (i.e. it was not given a proper avenue for redress of its grievances before the cops moved in and took its stuff).
AP reporter Ron Harris describes the arguments of SFLR’s attorney as “meandering,” and the meat’s in the last line of the story: “[U.S. District Judge Susan] Illston took the station’s request to dismiss the seizure under submission, but gave no indication when she would rule.” Continue reading “SF Liberation Radio's Day in Court”
Two Weeks Post-Sweep: They're Back
DJ Johnny Nitro, “a pissed off micro broadcaster with no frequency left to broadcast on,” reports that the Haitian and Jamaican pirate stations raided in the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area earlier this month are back on the air.
Nitro’s not happy with these folks because they run massive power (easily several hundred watts, even up into the four-digit range) and massive commercials: “they play more commercials then some of the clear channel station[s] and are in it for the cash.”
Criminalization of Pirate Radio in Florida Nearly Complete
Somewhat whimsical articles in various Florida outlets celebrate the state Senate’s 30-8 passage Thursday of a bill making unlicensed broadcasting a felonious crime. Amendments to lower the penalty to something more reasonable failed. This is likely to be law by the end of the week or weekend; the bill is already engrossed in the state House.
Interestingly enough, this legislation initially began as an effort to set up a state prosecutorial agency for organized crime, to which the anti-pirate radio police role was tacked on. The final version of the bill only criminalizes pirate radio – everything else disappeared. Continue reading “Criminalization of Pirate Radio in Florida Nearly Complete”
Florida State Senate Begins Debate on Anti-Pirate Bill
Interesting developments on the drive to criminalize pirate radio in Florida. Amendments have been filed to the legislation pending in the state Senate that would reduce the severity of the “crime” of unlicensed broadcasting from a third-degree felony to a first-degree misdemeanor. One version failed on second reading yesterday. Another (pending) amendment would punish first-time pirates with misdemeanors and treat repeat offenders as felons.
Still no news from those whose job it is to report it, save a little blurb in the Tampa Tribune. It should be noted that this bill is not solely about pirate radio stations: it actually creates something called the “Office of Statewide Prosecution,” whose primary job will be to go after organized crime in general. The mandate to hunt pirate radio stations is tacked on – as all good special-interest favors usually are.
FCC Sweeps Florida; State Senate Set to Pass Anti-Pirate Bill
Last week was a busy one in the Sunshine State. An FM pirate was busted in a high-profile raid in Lake Worth; this one was apparently tracked down by the chopper pilot of a local TV station. Mainstream media coverage of this case is particularly sketchy; interference with an aviation frequency is involved, but the hype of what this actually means is blown way out of proportion.
Then there are the ancillary “facts”: the most comprehensive coverage (courtesy of the Palm Beach Post) says pirate radio transmitters cost “as little as $5,000” (off by a good factor of ten – on the high side) and cites the FCC as claiming to have shut down “more than 400” radio pirates in Florida since 1997. Continue reading “FCC Sweeps Florida; State Senate Set to Pass Anti-Pirate Bill”