Low-Power Station Calls it Quits, Declares Victory

On July 4, the Seattle-based low-power unlicensed FM radio station Black Ball Radio held its final broadcast. This ending is unique because the station shut down on its own accord, rather than reacting to an FCC order or being forcibly taken off the air by an FCC raid. In a public letter released by the Friends and Supporters of Black Ball radio, the station’s operators said, “we built a modern microradio station, parked it atop a listener programmed internet radio station, and turned it up! Now, after a year of broadcasting from boats, hopping rooftops, battling local corporate radio thugs, eluding the FCC, and pushing this technology to its limits - We hereby retire UNDEFEATED Black Ball Radio to the pages of Seattle History. We are proud to have served Seattle some of the best radio ever. “ With their radio station off the air, the letter alludes to future community media projects that will be built upon the lessons learned by Black Ball Radio.

Lawmakers Support Continued Broadcast Ownership Restrictions; Hearing Scheduled

Congress is putting pressure on the FCC to avoid relaxing broadcast station ownership caps, which currently prevent a company from owning enough television stations to reach more than 35% of the national households. The FCC plans to review all broadcast ownership rules soon, which is why in late June a bipartisan group of 14 House and Senate members sent a letter to the agency making clear their opposition to raising the ownership cap. Meanwhile, the national television networks are fighting hard against the cap and are betting on lawsuits filed with the Court of Appeals arguing that the cap is unconstitutional.

This letter coincides with plans of the Senate Commerce Committee to hold a hearing on broadcast ownership issues during the third week of July. Senator Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, chairs this committee and was also a signatory to the letter to the FCC. The Senator also supports retaining cross-ownership provisions which prevent the ownership of both a television station and newspaper in the same market. FCC Chair Michael Powell has publicly supported lifting this restriction as part of his overall deregulation plan.

Victory for Non-Comm Radio: No Auctions

On July 3 the Media Access Project announced their victory with the DC Circuit Court of Appeals overturning an FCC decision to make non-commercial broadcasters compete at auction for spectrum space. As part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 Congress ammended the Communications Act (section 309(j)(1)) to specifically allow the FCC to use competitive auctions to resolve instances where two "mutually exclusive" applications are under consideration for a single license. Previously these situations were resolved by lengthy competitive hearings.

In making its decision the Court relied upon what it sees as the explicit and unambiguous intention of Congress to except non-commercial broadcasters from this process (section 309(j)(2)). The FCC, however, interpreted this dictate to mean that only licenses for spectrum space already allocated as non-commercial--such as 88 to 92 Mhz on the FM dial--were exempt from auction, and that non-commercial broadcasters would have to bid at auction for space outside this reserved area. The Court was unmotivated by the Commission's interpretation, finding that the Act's language intended to exempt non-commercial broadcasters from auction regardless of the particular space in question. This rule is therefore vacated, and the FCC ordered to review the rule, per a petition filed on behalf of National Public Radio, et al.

Apparently, what this means in practice is that when a non-commercial broadcaster applies for license in the commercial band (92 - 108 Mhz FM) which is subject to competition from other non-commercial or commercial broadcaster, then that dispute will continue to be resolved by hearing, rather than auction. What it also appears to mean is that pure economic might is less useful when trying to win a license away from a non-commercial, Although it nonetheless requires some economic resource to win a hearing, for which you need lawyers, engineering and other consulting.

Tampa's Party Pirate Loses His Amateur Radio License Doug Brewer, who operated the Tampa, FL based "Party Pirate" unlicensed low-power FM station, until being shut down a year and a half ago, has been hit by the FCC again, according to an "ORDER OF REVOCATION AND OF FORFEITURE" from the Commission. Brewer lost his amateur radio license and was fined $11,000 "for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended." In their order the Feds "conclude, based upon evidence of Mr. Brewer’s 'pirate radio' and other unlawful activities, that he lacks the basic character qualifications to be and remain a Commission licensee."

Battle Brewing Over FCC Indecency Fines

Recent high-profile fines levied against radio broadcasters for indecency are bringing increased scrutiny to the enforcement of broadcast content. According to Broadcasting and Cable, attorneys for the Pueblo, CO station fined $7000 by the Federal Communications Commission for airing an edited Eminem song plan to file an appeal against the fine. In a similar case, an attorney for community station KBOO in Portland, OR says the station is finishing its appeal of a $7000 fine for airing the feminist rap song “Your Revolution,” which critiques the sexist braggadocio of mainstream hip-hop, but the FCC charges is indecently sexually explicit.

At the same time, Democratic FCC Commissioners Gloria Tristiani and recent appointee Michael Copps have released statements publicly criticizing the Commission for failing to act on other recent indecency complaints, including a complaint against Chicago FM station WKXQ and its Mancow morning show, also heard locally on a Champaign-Urbana station.

Indecency fines are levied for broadcasts occurring between 6 AM and 10 PM that contain explicit sexual or excretory material. Last March the FCC released a policy document clarifying the guidelines for issuing such fines, which also dispelled the belief that the ban on indecency mainly means a ban on the so-called “Seven dirty words.” Commissioner Tristiani wrote a dissenting opinion to this document, saying that it amounted to a handbook on how to narrowly skirt indecency fines with raunchy material.

The edited version of the Eminem song “The Real Slim Shady” which garnered the fine had all curse words bleeped out and also was a top 10 hit across the country that won a Grammy this year. This fine has left stations across the country wondering about the application of indecency standards, given that the song aired nearly continually in almost every radio market in the country.

The FCC’s fine of KBOO for playing “Your Revolution” has brought charges that the Commission was reacting to the radical feminist viewpoint expressed in the rap, with many critics calling the fine “censorship.” Today’s feature segment is a discussion on this indecency fine that aired on KBOO. It features Deena Barnwell and Jennifer Laverdure, the radio hosts who played the song the FCC found indecent, and Sarah Jones, the artist who penned and performed it.

This discussion program can be heard at the A-Info radio archive at http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=3309

You can keep up with news of importance to grassroots media, updated several times a week, at mediageek.org.