Broadcasting is a privilege. To have people listen to your voice and what you present from miles or oceans away is an amazing thing that deserves respect. Whether it’s over terrestrial broadcast, pirate radio, internet streams or podcast, having another human being choose to listen to you is an honor. As a former program director […]
Here at Radio Survivor we are committed to weekly coverage of low power FM radio, so we’re very pleased to feature an interview with Christina Dunbar-Hester for our Academic Series. Dr. Dunbar-Hester is an Assistant Professor in Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University and she recently published a fascinating book on media activism and […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about reports that the United Kingdom’s broadcast regulator has shut down 400 pirate radio stations over the last two years, many of them situated in London. Well over a third of those Ofcom busts took place in two boroughs: Haringey in North London and Lambeth in South London. Why these […]
The United Kingdom is so famous for its pirate radio stations that Hollywood made a movie about one. But as always the government is quite dour about these unlicensed signals, and has shut 400 of them down recently, according to a newspaper report. The London Evening Standard says that a quarter of the crackdowns over […]
I have a soft spot in my heart for Art Bell. As a former overnight DJ and grad student who kept relatively nocturnal hours for a good portion of the 90s, I admired Bell’s unique ability to engage guests and callers in topics that ranged from scientifically plausible (the theory that there have been multiple […]
Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler is at the National Association of Broadcasters NAB show in Las Vegas and just gave a talk at which he told the suits that although the FCC wants to streamline its field office system, that doesn’t mean the agency won’t crack down on unlicensed broadcasters when necessary. Indeed, “flying teams” […]
Despite years of enforcement action and the establishment of low-power FM, unlicensed pirate radio has not gone away, though it hardly qualifies as a runaway problem or nationwide epidemic. True, there are some hotspots with a high density of communities underserved by local broadcasters–such as Brooklyn, NY and South Florida–where unlicensed broadcasting is arguably more […]
It was a slow week in LPFM approvals, with just five construction permits issued. There’s one time-sharing arrangement in the bunch, with two Catholic-associated organizations broadcasting on 106.5 FM in Raleigh, NC. The Corporation for Educational Advancement will be on from 2 PM to 2 AM seven days a week, while the Columbus Club of […]
While internet radio is sometimes thought of as the wild and untamed cousin of terrestrial broadcast, it’s not entirely unshackled. While web broadcasters don’t require an FCC license, and are unrestricted with regard to using four letter words, stations still have to have to pay up for the right to play recorded music. Even if […]
FCC actions against unlicensed broadcasters hit their lowest point since 2005 last year. That’s according to John Anderson at DIYMedia.net. He’s been tracking enforcement actions against pirate radio since 1997. FCC Actions include station visits by Enforcement Bureau field agents, as well as more mundane things, like Notices of Unauthorized Operation, which are essentially letters […]
