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In Internet Age, Pirate Radio Arises As Surprising Challenge (ap.org)

Posted by BeauHD on from the unlicensed-station dept.

K7DAN writes: Just as the demise of terrestrial radio has been greatly exaggerated, so has the assumed parallel death of pirate radio. Due to the failure of licensed stations to meet the needs of many niche communities, pirate radio continues to increase in popularity. Helping facilitate this growth is the weakening power of the FCC to stop it, reports the Associated Press. Rogue stations can cover up to several square miles thanks largely in part to cheaper technology. The appeal? "The DJs sound like you and they talk about things that you're interested in," said Jay Blessed, an online DJ who has listened to various unlicensed stations since she moved from Trinidad to Brooklyn more than a decade ago. "You call them up and say, 'I want to hear this song,' and they play it for you," Blessed said. "It's interactive. It's engaging. It's communal." It's upsetting many congressional members who are urging the FCC to do more about the "unprecedented growth of pirate radio operations." They're accusing said pirates of undermining licensed minority stations while ignoring consumer protection laws that guard against indecency and false advertising.

3 of 157 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds like a good time to get in on the game by blankinthefill · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've always wanted to start a pirate radio station just for shits and giggles, and doubly so after watching 'The Boat That Rocked" (watch this one, the UK release, not the US version "Pirate Radio", imo.) The fact that it is apparently infuriating to certain members of congress would just be icing on the the cake...

    1. Re: Sounds like a good time to get in on the game by Rob+Lister · · Score: 3, Interesting

      ...we would have developed tech to have radio broadcast in non interfering ways

      If you know of some technology that achieves that and still allows the utility we currently enjoy, do share.

      ... folks would have slid into non overlapping slots in the meantime

      What does finite resource mean to you? There is already a far, far greater demand for slots than there are available slots. Without regulation every slot becomes unusable.

    2. Re: Sounds like a good time to get in on the game by ogdenk · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What does finite resource mean to you? There is already a far, far greater demand for slots than there are available slots. Without regulation every slot becomes unusable.

      Maybe where YOU live but where I live there's only 3 stations and they all suck. There's LOTS of unused spectrum here but micropower pirate radio wouldn't give you more than 3 listeners since your coverage area would be mostly trees.

      Generally pirates do their best to NOT interfere with licensed stations and EAS systems. Stomping on licensed broadcasts is how you get unwanted attention. It's in their best interest to not be a dick. In places like NYC this can be tough though as the spectrum is crowded there. Using a 100W transmitter to cover a small town in the middle of nowhere however, it's pretty easy to play nice with others. The only way you'll get busted that way is if you violate decency laws or manage to steal listeners (or even worse, advertisers) from legit stations.

      This isn't about protecting the spectrum, this is about protecting advertising dollars for ClearChannel. Local community radio is DEAD. Pirate radio is about the only way to avoid listening to canned satellite-fed syndicated bullshit. Large broadcasters fought against LPFM so hard that they effectively killed it.