from an Oct. 26th White House Press Release:
"We also understand that a range of anti-environmental, anti-competitive, and other damaging riders have been under consideration and may have been added to this bill. I urge Congress to refrain from adding riders that would reward special interests at the expense of the public interest. I also urge Congress to drop the rider that would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from licensing new low-power FM radio stations to provide for a diversity of voices in communities around the country."
With the same energy it takes to light your table lamp, the new 10 to 100 watt low-power FM service will create radio for the people. Low-power FM will allow schools, churches and other local organizations to use the public airwaves to make their voices heard. In short, low-power FM enhances democracy on the dial: It fosters new opportunities for true community radio to flourish in an age marked by the increasing consolidation and homogenization of the industry and the marketplace of ideas.
So it comes as a sad but predictable development that the special interests opposing low-power FM--namely, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)--have dispatched their high power lobbyists to prowl behind closed doors and use the Congressional appropriations process to quickly and quietly bury the program. This attempt to kill low-power FM is not about ideology--it's about money. Low-power FM has been embraced by the National Association of Evangelicals, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the National Education Association, and the National Council of Churches. Indeed, we have received more than 1,200 applications for low-power FM licenses in the 20 states from which we have accepted them. The only group siding against the establishment of low-power FM is big radio, who in a textbook case of protectionism are trying to use the government to smother any potential competition. As a smoke screen for their financial interests, incumbent broadcasters have consistently cited the remote possibility of signal interference as the reason to stop low-power FM. But this argument is disingenuous.
Florida Senate candidate Andy Martin has filed consumer fraud charges in all 50 states alleging that Clear Channel is defrauding listeners "by using contests that are portrayed as 'local,' but are in fact nationwide." Martin claims Clear Channel is "defrauding listeners into thinking they are competing for a prize on only one station, when in fact they are competing with people listening on hundreds of stations." Saying most U.S. senators are "too dumb to exercise meaningful oversight over communications matters," Martin has also asked FCC Chairman Bill Kennard to open a formal FCC investigation into the matter.
Springfield pirate radio station operator Mbanna Kantako has returned to the airwaves with his Human Rights Radio station, defying a federal court order that prohibits him from broadcasting without a license.
Kantako's station, at 106.5 FM, returned to the air Friday afternoon. Its broadcasts on Monday included audio recordings of the Sept. 29 confiscation of his radio equipment by U.S. marshals.
Kantako, who has operated his unlicensed station from his residences since 1987, was silenced after air traffic controllers from Capital Airport complained to the Federal Communications Commission that the station had interfered with communication between pilots and controllers.
So far, Kantako's renewed broadcasts have not disrupted pilot-tower communications, said Bret Thomas, a Federal Aviation Administration system specialist who testified in Kantako's Oct. 4 hearing.
The Senate agreed Wednesday to let lawmakers go home for the last few days of the election campaign, abandoning hopes of finishing the budget before Americans go to the polls. That decision must still be accepted by the House and President Clinton, but House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., acknowledged that "we're not making a lot of progress" and "it looks like maybe a cooling-off period is not a bad idea." If the House goes along with the Senate action, Congress would reconvene Nov. 14 for the sixth lame-duck session in the past 30 years. The last such session was in 1998, when the House met to vote on articles of impeachment against Clinton.
Viacom, fresh off its acquisition of CBS, could be planning another major coup — a purchase of Robert Johnson's Black Entertainment Television in a stock deal that could be worth as much as $3 billion.
The move would combine BET Holdings, including a roster of music video-based cable networks, with Viacom's MTV and VH1 — a nice fit, industry players note. Johnson would be able to focus on some of his other ventures, like nightclubs, publishing and airline DC Air. And BET's 35 percent owner Liberty Media could get a nice chunk of Viacom stock — something that's missing from its portfolio.
Media giant Viacom Inc. said Infinity Broadcasting Corp. agreed to a revised stock offer worth about $12.5 billion that would give Viacom ownership of the Infinity shares it doesn't already own. Infinity operates 166 radio stations and... has been an aggressive buyer of radio stations and outdoor advertising assets.
An alliance between commercial broadcasters and public radio has gotten congressional support to undercut an administration plan to create hundreds of new low-power radio stations. Language in a spending measure before the House would significantly scale back the Federal Communications Commission initiative to create a micro-radio service for churches, community groups and schools. President Clinton has threatened to veto the bill.
Low-power to the People: Political activists, music buffs and church groups are eagerly pursuing low-power radio licenses that will allow them to reach neighborhoods rather than regions. But commercial stations--and NPR--want Congress to slow down this bandwagon.
This is the story of how big broadcasting is trying to kill the low-power radio star. To most ears, low-power radio -- 10- or 100-watt stations with a broadcast range of a few square miles at most -- sounds like a cheap, easy and democratic way of giving communities a small but potent voice on the dial. But now, 21 months after the Federal Communications Commission first proposed creating a new brand of low-power FM radio stations, the initiative is fighting for its life.
It's being smothered at the request of broadcasters during a last-minute closed-door horse-trading session on Capitol Hill. And holding the pillow on the patient's head is a surprising pair: the powerful National Association of Broadcasters -- and noncommercial National Pubic Radio. (visit the story link to read more of this in-depth article on recent LPFM news from salon.com)
When Suze Johnson and Bean Cravens started their show on Free Radio Austin Tuesday morning, they wondered if it would be their last. It was.
At about 10:30 a.m., two Federal Communications Commission agents and a U.S.marshal knocked on the door of the backyard shed where they were broadcasting without a license. The agents shut off the pirate station's power and began confiscating equipment, they said...
Jim Ellinger, former author of the Austin Chronicle's "Austin Airwaves" radio column, said almost everyone was waiting for the raid. "This was probably the most highly anticipated bust in radio history," he said.
One week earlier FCC agents raided Radio One, another small pirate radio station in Austin. A San Marcos-based pirate radio station, KIND, also stopped operating recently due to a court order.
Statement of FCC Chairman William Kennard on Low Power FM:
I am surprised and profoundly disappointed by the statements of National Public Radio and International Association of Audio Information Services regarding the FCC's recently released Reconsideration Order for Low Power FM Service. Sadly, NPR is not satisfied that the FCC Reconsideration Order goes the extra mile to address their concerns, even though:
We created an expedited complaint procedure for rapidly responding to unexpected interference;
We added full protection for radio reading services from new LPFM stations while we test the concerns about receivers that NPR brought to us;
We committed to protecting translator service in a manner compatible with the LPFM service.
What we declined to do was to give NPR stations new authority to allow NPR translators that are dislocated in the future to knock LPFM stations off the air. The public interest should not fall prey to an all-or-nothing approach. I had hoped that NPR would see that their overriding mission to bring noncommercial radio service to the public is furthered by the establishment of new LPFM radio service that would serve small communities and niche markets.
It is a sad day when National Public Radio advocates a policy that would deny the public new radio service.
For Immediate Release October 4, 2000 Media contact: 612.338.0281 & beatradio@beatworld.com
Beat Radio files petition with U.S. Supreme Court Micro-Broadcaster Seeks Vindication of Free Speech Rights In The First Micro-Radio Case To Reach the U.S. Supreme Court
Washington, D.C. - In the first case of its kind to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, the Institute for Justice and micro-broadcaster Alan Freed filed a petition for certiorari today with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to help vindicate Freed's free speech rights against the United States government. The petition raises a vital question: can the government seize a person's property without an opportunity for the accused to raise constitutional rights?
"Mr. Freed and hundreds of others like him have become outlaws at the hands of the federal government's misguided and unconstitutional suppression of micro-broadcasters," said Scott Bullock, seniorattorney at the Institute for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law center that filed the certiorari petition on Freed's behalf. "This case will decide whether micro-broadcasters can defend themselves by raising constitutional arguments when sued by the government." Freed is part of a growing, nationwide movement of individuals and groups establishing small, "micro-radio" stations. Micro-radio stations run the gamut from Freed's dance music station to talk radio in North Dakota, from Spanish language shows in Cleveland and Miami to a Christian Rock station in Connecticut. They broadcast diverse, mostly community-based programming using relatively inexpensive and therefore widely accessible broadcasting equipment. A vast majority of these stations do not interfere with existing stations, but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) still goes after them in court. The FCC points out that it is illegal to broadcast without a license from the agency, but since 1978 the FCC has refused to license micro-broadcasters - stations which operate with small, low power transmitters of less than 100 watts. The FCC recently issued rules allowing micro-broadcasters to apply for licensure, but flatly disallows any micro-broadcaster who previously engaged in unlicensed broadcasting, including Freed, from doing so. But even this limited licensure for new micro-broadcasters is under attack on Capitol Hill. Legislation that would repeal the FCC's rules was passed by the House of Representatives on April 13, 2000 and is currently pending in the Senate. Moreover, the federal government continues to bring enforcement actions against micro-broadcasters, increasing the need for the Supreme Court to resolve the vital constitutional issues involved in these cases. "Unless the Supreme Court takes on this issue, the federal government will be able to suppress speech, and micro-broadcasters won't even be able to test the constitutional limits of the government's power," said William Mellor, the Institute's president and general counsel. "This result turns the Constitution on its head, protecting the power of government but eviscerating the rights of individuals. It cannot stand." Freed's case began in 1996 after he found a vacant space on the FM broadcast spectrum and started broadcasting an extremely popular, but unlicensed, Minneapolis dance music station called The Beat 97.7. It broadcast at approximately 20 watts and spanned about six miles in radius. The Beat's low-power signal created no interference with any other station. But in August 1996, the FCC sent a letter to Freed demanding that he stop broadcasting because he did not have a license. Freed responded to the FCC, pointing out the fact that he was unable to obtain a license for his station. He also argued that the FCC's prohibition of micro-radio violated his free speech rights and requested a waiver of the FCC's licensing ban to allow him to broadcast legally. To this day, the FCC has yet to respond to his letter or his request for a waiver of the ban on licensing micro-radio stations. Instead, the United States government in November 1996 confiscated his broadcasting equipment and brought a civil forfeiture action against it. In response to the FCC's suit, Freed explained that he was unable to obtain a license for his radio station because the FCC did not issue licenses for micro-radio stations. The FCC prohibition of micro-radio violates the right to free speech, Freed argued. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals initially ruled in favor of Freed, holding that if the government brings an action against a person or his property, that person is entitled to raise all applicable defenses, including constitutional ones. But the government asked the appeals court to reconsider its holding and the court eventually changed its position, ruling that Freed could not raise constitutional defenses to the forfeiture action. Instead, the court ruled, if he wanted to challenge the FCC's regulations, he would have to apply for a waiver of the regulations prohibiting micro-radio with the FCC itself. The only recourse then for a micro-radio broadcaster whose First Amendment rights have been violated is a lengthy, cumbersome, and extremely costly administrative process. And in this case, Freed did in fact apply for a waiver over four years ago, and he still has not received any response from the FCC.
The Institute argues in its petition to the U.S. Supreme Court that micro-broadcasters must have the right to defend themselves against FCC lawsuits, especially when the FCC's actions violate the right to free speech. If the government chooses to bring these cases, then it cannot deny micro-broadcasters their right to mount a defense in federal court.
The law in this area is highly unsettled. While the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled against Freed, the Sixth Circuit came to the exact opposite conclusion in another micro-radio case. This "circuit split" increases the likelihood of the Supreme Court accepting the case for review. The Court will likely make a decision on whether to accept the case in December 2000 or early next year.
"After four years of pre-trial delays by the FCC and DOJ, I look forward to the high court's review of the government's bullying ability to take personal property while attempting to disallow an appropriate defense," Freed commented. "This case has lasted far too long without making any progress and I look forward to addressing the actual merits of the case at trial. The Beat, however, would rather be broadcasting instead of wrangling in court. I think our listeners would concur."
For detailed information on all things Beat Radio, including history and previous press coverage, please visit http://www.beatworld.com. We encourage you to call with questions, clarifications or for more information, at the contact number above or via email (above).
Beat Radio is represented by Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice (202-955-1300 & http://www.ij.org) and Marshall Tanick of Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen (612-339-4295).
A federal judge Wednesday issued an injunction prohibiting Springfield pirate radio operator Mbanna Kantako from making further unlicensed broadcasts and allowing authorities to keep radio equipment confiscated last week from Kantako's home.
Wednesday's preliminary injunction is based on evidence that Kantako's Human Rights Radio signal has interfered with communications between pilots and air traffic controllers at Capital Airport. It sets the stage for an eventual trial at which the government will attempt to make the ruling permanent. No date has been set for the trial.
Kantako, representing himself in Wednesday's proceedings, was defiant during the hearing. He said requiring him to have a broadcasting license is a violation of his human rights, and he vowed to "communicate with my people by any means necessary."
When the Federal Communications Commission tells you to zip your lip, it wants you to listen. Otherwise an agent may show up in your back yard with a pair of pliers.
That's what happened Wednesday morning to a pirate radio station in Austin.
An FCC agent scaled a 40-foot radio tower in the back yard of a Northeast Austin house and cut the cable to Radio One, an unlicensed radio station broadcasting since May at FM 94.3, said one of the station's founding members.
The sudden silence couldn't have happened to a more Austin kind of station. With hip-hop and techno music and shows by the Green Party, Native Americans, Rastafarians and natural health experts, people were just busy trying to present their point of view.
Authorities weren't amused. The radio station, housed in a shed behind a residence at 7526 Meadowview Lane, was violating the law by operating without an FCC license, according to a lawsuit filed by the United States government.
Federal communications agents declined to comment about the raid on Wednesday in which they seized the station's equipment, including two turntables, a cassette player, two CD players, a mixing board, a jam box and a phone...
The FCC has closed down unlicensed community-based radio stations across the United States in the past few years, including stations in Berkeley, Calif., and Tampa, Fla.
Agents found out about Radio One in Austin, tucked away behind a gray, nondescript house in a modest neighborhood, by reading about it on the Internet.
Federal authorities have confiscated the broadcasting equipment of longtime Springfield pirate radio operator Mbanna Kantako, and a hearing today in U.S. District Court could keep him off the air for good.
Kantako's Human Rights Radio station, which he has operated without a license at 106.5 FM since 1987, had caused interference with transmissions between airplane pilots and air traffic controllers at Capital Airport numerous times last month, creating potentially dangerous situations, court papers filed on behalf of the Federal Communications Commission state.
U.S. District Judge Jeanne Scott last Friday issued a temporary restraining order barring Kantako from broadcasting on his station. A warrant allowed federal authorities to confiscate Kantako's broadcasting equipment from his home in the 1100 block of North Fifth Street, where he operated the station.
Authorities at 10 a.m. today will ask Scott to make the forfeiture of equipment permanent and also will seek a permanent injunction barring Kantako from broadcasting without a license.
A federal plan to license hundreds of low wattage radio stations continues to draw fire from National Public Radio, which said Monday that regulators have not adequately addressed potential interference to reading services for the blind.
NPR's position dismayed William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, who said the organization seems to want a monopoly in public radio broadcasting...
"We need a guarantee of protection," said NPR President Kevin Klose. "It's just common sense to prevent the problem before it begins."...
Seeking to assuage NPR, the agency last week adopted additional protections for those FM stations that operate radio reading services, requiring more space between them and the microradio channels. The FCC also limited where low-power stations could be assigned to protect existing translator stations.
Klose said these steps were insufficient.
FCC Chairman William Kennard said NPR's demands would make it virtually impossible to create any low-power stations – denying an effort to bring a greater diversity of voices to the airwaves.
"I can only conclude that NPR does not want to find a way for these new stations to exist," he said in an interview.
"Who is it that said that NPR should have the exclusive monopoly on public radio in this country?" Kennard asked. '"All Things Considered' cannot be all things to all people."
He was referring to one of NPR's prime news and public affairs programs.
This in from Mike Bracy at the Low Power Radio Coalition:
The Low Power Radio Coalition has a new website dedicated to helping citizens send emails and letters directly to their representatives in Congress. The site is located at http://congress.nw.dc.us/lpr/. At that site, users can enter their zip code and send a note with only a few clicks of a mouse. There is also a sample letter, although I can't urge strongly enough that people need to simply use their own language to explain why they want LPFM and how mad they will be if Congress caves in to pressure from the broadcast lobby -- particularly via a back-door appropriations rider.
Phone calls are also very, very valuable this week, and you can get your representatives' phone numbers by entering your zip code.
So, please, send the url to everyone you know and post it all over the web- let's see if we can get 100,000 emails to congress this week.
best,
Michael Bracy
Low Power Radio Coalition
This in by e-mail from Mike Townsend in Springfield, Illinois:
Date sent: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 19:42:34 -0500
At 5:15PM today(9/29),a multi-jurisdictional task force made up of 9 cars of Federal marshalls,sheriff's deputies,city police and FCC officers raided the home of Mbanna Kantako and shut down Human Rights Radio. Mbanna,who is blind, was at home with his wife,Dia,their 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren. The Task Force loaded all broadcast equipment and his computer into an equipment van. Mbanna was able to audiotape, and his daughter videotaped, most of the raid until they were all herded into a bedroom. The tapes reveal that Mbanna & Dia gave the raiders "the blues". Mbanna is proud of the fact that he forced the government to use naked force in opposing human rights. The BIG LIE is a little more exposed to the common people now. Mbanna started broadcasting on Nov.25,1987 and had been on-the-air 4448 nights & days. He is now contemplating his next assault on the injustices structured into our social fabric by what he calls "the class with no class". Stay tuned. Since Mbanna no longer has a computer,you can call him at 217-789-0038 or e-mail him thru me at mtown1@uis.edu
--Mike Townsend
The Old, White NAB - By Lyssa Graham
Somehow, you can know a thing and still not believe it until you see it. Thanks to the NAB Radio Show 2000 in San Francisco, I now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that radio is run by old white guys.
They were everywhere. For a moment I thought that I had fallen into a nest of Southern Baptists. Even the people of color were represented by white guys. The keynote speaker for the big industry breakfast was Colin Powell, an openly white man who, to borrow from George Carlin, happens to be black. No disrespect intended by that, but the truth is Colin Powell is about a close to his black roots as Loni Anderson's hair is to hers.
Sure, there were a few black, brown and yellow folks running around the show, but most of the faces were white. Old and white. It's frightening, really. Go to story link to read more of this commentary.