Costa Rica’s Tico Times recently published a profile of unlicensed Guatemala radio station Radio Ixchel, as part of an examination of the radio scene in that country. Guatemala has as many as 800 pirate stations, where most radio licenses are auctioned for as much as $100,000. While there are license categories for public stations, there […]
Archive | Community Radio
Conference to explore community media and the Arab Spring
AMARC is the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and for nearly 30 years has worked for media democracy by supporting the growth of community radio. This year AMARC’s Middle East and North Africa conference will focus on “community media and the Arab Spring.” The conference will be held March 9 and 10 in Tunis […]
What’s news in unlicensed broadcasting: Retired Navy air traffic controller in Florida faces state charges, but overall FCC enforcement is down
The biggest news in pirate radio so far this year is the story about Ft. Myers, Florida resident Albert Knighten, a retired Navy air traffic controller who was arrested in December on charges of unlicensed broadcasting. Knighten’s Dunbar Radio, named for his neighborhood, focused his broadcasts on the city’s underserved population of older residents who […]
One step closer to more low-power community radio; FCC says LPFM no threat to commercial stations
Last week the FCC released its report on the economic impact of low-power FM stations on commercial radio. The report was mandated by passage of the Local Community Radio Act of 2010 (LCRA), and its primary conclusion should surprise nobody with any knowledge of LPFM: “LPFM stations are unlikely to have more than a negligible […]
Radio Still Growing in U.S. According to Latest FCC Stats
The FCC released a list today, updating its statistics on the total number of licensed broadcast stations in the United States. Based on this list, there are more radio stations today (14,952) then there were a few months ago. The number of AM stations, FM commercial stations, and FM educational stations all increased since the […]
Racist or empire foe (or both?); KPFA vets the Ron Paul question
Berkeley, California based listener supported station KPFA did an interesting and informative program on the candidacy of libertarian Republican Ron Paul on Tuesday. KFPA talk show host, Mitch Jeserich, hosted the discussion on his Letters and Politics show as Republicans (including Paul) compete for favor in the Iowa Caucuses. [UPDATE 10:41 PM CST: Paul comes […]
UK report: community radio stations that target specific audiences do better?
The United Kingdom’s broadcast regulation agency Ofcom has published its annual report (.pdf) on the state of community radio, and the figures indicate that income for UK community outlets has markedly declined. No big surprise, given the global recession. But the data also contains interesting clues suggesting that certain kinds of community radio strategies or […]
Lawyer for Pirate Cat Radio Founder Files Petition for Reconsideration of FCC Fine
A month ago the FCC issued a $10,000 Forfeiture Order to Pirate Cat Radio founder Daniel “Monkey Man” Roberts, for “willfully and repeatedly violating section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934…by operating an unlicensed radio broadcast station” in San Francisco. Today, Roberts’ attorney Michael Couzens filed a Petition for Reconsideration with the FCC, claiming […]
National “Reclaim Your Radio” Event Stresses Importance of Community Radio in Canada
On Monday, November 14, 22 non-commercial radio stations in Canada took part in a day of action and celebration dubbed “Reclaim Your Radio.” Organized by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), the day-long radio event was designed to bring awareness to the importance of campus and community radio. A special 8-hour broadcast (an […]
Underwriting and Low Power FM: why does the NAB care?
Underwriting represents a very modest percentage of the budget of most Low Power FM radio stations in the United States. So reports the Prometheus Radio Project in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission. The latest data comes from a 2011 study conducted by Prometheus in collaboration with Keith Brand, Associate Professor of Radio, Television […]