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

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.

Comments

Re: Desperate need

[Anonymous Coward]

To be fair, a lot of people need a cock sucker with tits... Not just the Internet

Re: Sounds like a good time to get in on the game

[postbigbang]

No, this is NOT about ClearChannel's revenue, it's about the fact that the 100w station's signal wanders for a far wider, uncontrolled range, then interfering with the fringes of others that have paid for lots of engineering plans, capital infrastructure, and the operational expenses in hopes of a profit from their station.

There are few locales in the US that aren't highly constrained for new licensees of even LPFM stations. This is about your ego and assholery, not about a supposed fanboi pirate project.

If you want to podcast or stream, have at it. Enjoy. Lots of those. Tell your friends. Let the three stations that suck in your area fail. Buy one. Do the real work, the real job, pay the real money as an investment, and get the real reward of a following and perhaps profit.