Posted on 04/19/2014 5:37:58 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Bay State politicians are defending an unlicensed radio station that was shut down this week by the Federal Communications Commission, but prosecutors say the crackdown was necessary to prevent a “public safety hazard.”
U.S. Marshals and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau shut down Touch 106.1 FM, an unlicensed Dorchester station, Thursday and seized radio equipment, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.
Gov. Deval Patrick yesterday said he was “incredibly disappointed” by the raid and plans to ask the U.S. Attorney’s office to back down.
“You’d like to think of them bringing more of a problem-solving approach,” he said. “Touch is a pretty important voice in the community.”
Other politicians were equally vexed with the decision to shut down the unlicensed station founded by former mayoral candidate Charles Clemons.
“That station is an institution,” said Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. “Myself and other elected officials of color are working collaboratively to apply pressure to lobby the FCC and find out what recourse exists.”
Ortiz defended the crackdown in a statement.
“It is a public safety hazard for illegal radio stations to broadcast, potentially interfering with critical radio communications,” Ortiz said.
Clemons, who founded the station in 2007, said he has not yet retained counsel, but has “received an outpouring of support” from local attorneys “and elected officials.”
He said he was able to get an Internet feed of the station running Thursday night.
“We’re the Rosa Parks of radio right now,” he said. “It’s not right what happened, and we’re going to fight.”
When asked why Touch 106.1 FM did not get a license, Clemons said, “We couldn’t. The FCC has shut it down so no one could apply for a license for 15 years. It’s not fair.”
Ortiz said stations like Clemons’ “could have applied for low power radio licenses and operated their stations in compliance with the law.”
"Technically it's not illegal to be illegal in Massachusetts"--poss. Mass Gov Martha Coakley
Boston used to have black-oriented WILD AM 1090 and WILD-FM 97.7. Radio One sold the FM to Entercom so they could relay Worcester's rock station WAAF 107.3 closer to Boston (now WKAF). The AM station is brokered to China Radio International now, running programming that broadcasts about 20 % of normal volume. (Power the same, volume of the broadcast very faint.)
The verdict is in. Howie has officially declared Deval to be a worse governor than Dukakis. It’s hard to disagree.
I recall Hillary back in the 1990’s wanted to end low power FM station licenses apparently (though not ostensibly) because most of the licenses were granted to church affiliated stations in the South.
I guess this means that Obama hates black people.
Another example of misplaced and wasted government resources. Anybody with a shred of radio knowledge would know that an FM broadcast at 106.1 would be highly unlikely to interfere with any "critical radio communications" relevant to public safety unless the hip hop on WWKX from Woonsocket Rhode Island is somehow essential to public safety in Boston. And even then it is unlikely the 106.1 signal would spill over to WWKX's 106.3 band.
Of all the things the US Attorney in Boston could be looking in to and prosecuting, like whether there were more participants in the terror attacks last year, or illegal immigrants with criminal records who should be deported, or even drug gangs smuggling cocaine into Dorchester, somehow they have decided that a tiny community radio station listened to in a poor African American neighborhood is a "public safety threat".
Apparently they have never been in that neighborhood. The residents and visitors are worried about drugs, gangs, and shootings, not a local radio station.
If the US Attorney's office in Boston has nothing better to do than chase after a community radio station, then it would seem that they have too many attorneys and too large a budget for their needed work. The federal budget needs cutting, their office looks like a good place to start.
Different title, but same subject.
Well there are LPFM (Low Power FM) stations and there are translators. The latter cannot originate programming, but can relay another station. There are a bunch of translators that relay religious programming, for example. Some FM translators can relay things like AM talk stations—like
W235AV in “Tatnuck MA” which relays WTAG 580 (200 watts or so, antenna 700 ft up)
An LPFM example:
WLLO-LP 102.9 Londonderry NH (Londonderry public schools) which has about 100 watts. I believe LPFMs cannot run commercials. A translator can.
In Burlington VT “The Radiator” is an LPFM: WOMM-LP 105.9, owned by the Peace and Justice Ctr (how Burlington is that...) while W207AX 89.3 in Burlington VT is a translator, relaying KEAR out in CA, and owned by Family Radio.
The latter is probably a good example of a “church station”.
I don’t know if Clemons would be able to get his station back on as an LPFM but if so he couldn’t run commercials!
Pretty sure his ILLEGAL operation ran commercials too
(they claimed to have the call letters WTCH-LP...but were not an LPFM!)
Because it always comes down to that with demonRATS, doesn't it? Would they be defending lawbreaking done by Caucasians....of course not. Just try to imagine any other group of politicians making such a statement.....
Trey Gowdy: ...... 'Today, myself and all other Caucasian members of the committee were dismayed to find out that Elijah Cumming's staff conversed with Lois Lerner regarding 501c4 applicants who identified as Tea Party groups.'
The networks would have to cancel all other programming in order to run that clip 24/7 and parade countless democrats across the screen to excoriate Gowdy for his racist callousness.
Sorry, though this was kind of an updated version of the story...I had posted that too.
I use to love ‘AAF when I was a kid in the 80s
it’s now WKAF? w-calf? loses quite a bit of the edge. then again, I heard them playing rap - RAP!! - when I checked them out on the Internet a couple of years ago. might as well start playing country...
“Datz Hitz” 99.7 in Boston was shut down and it was said to be interfering with pilot radio at Logan Airport. Maybe not much of a hindrance but poorly tuned transmitters of a pirate station may cause problems, as was said in other thread. Good point(s) though.
That was the thing—they were WBOT for awhile playing rap, then “WILD-FM”, same thing—only the black-owned company decided to sell to Entercom so they could relay rocker WAAF.
It can be very hard to get a LPFM license but with some political backing from favored lackeys like Patrick, it should be possible for the station to go legit.
I remember doing a lot of work in VA and NC in the 1990’s. Driving along the Jeff Davis Highway, just about every local Baptist church had an LPFM station frequency on its roadside billboard. Good for them, I say.
Same posting freep (raccoonradio) different author of the article, slightly different material.
If EVERYONE were allowed to broadcast from anywhere, on any frequency, at any power, the air waves would be a total mess. If a few selected groups (read ‘minorities’) are allowed to broadcast illegally there would be no way to stop others from broadcasting illegally. The “pols” that support an illegal black radio station are simply racist.
I get it
seems like so long ago. a whole different life ... and a country that was shaking off the dregs of carter and learning to stand again thanks to Reagan. when it was ok to strive for success... and not be vilified for daring to dream for anything other then a fedgov supported welfare existence
WAAF might have been a favorite for stoners... but it was also a station loved by people pushing to succeed.
I haven’t run into any driven dreamers in a *very* long time
I'm all in favor of pirate radio but unless I'm missing something here the government always tries to shut it down, so I don't see the racial angle.
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