USA's FCC raids KFAR 90.9FM half-hour after 'Axis of Good' premiere...

[DavidFL]

(My first post. Hope it's not a duplicate.)

Dawn Gable reports: Knoxville First Amendment Radio KFAR 90.9FM. has
been raided and equipment confiscated only 3o minutes after the premier of a scheduled weekly 'The Axis of Good' broadcast that discusses the Venezuelan democratization process and its relevance at the Latin American and International levels.

Bolivarian Circles International member Jesus Rivas had introduced his program saying that "many progressive and liberal minded people ask about the (Venezuelan) process ... reliable information on topics or interest regarding the process is difficult to obtain in the United States of America ... especially in English ... so the radio show in English aimed to discuss all types of alternates with Venezuelan music."


Jesus Rivas' show, which admittedly has a modest audience, is exactly
the kind of grassroots communication that the current US Bush 2 administration does not want between the citizens of the US and
Venezuela. But, in a curious pretext, US FCC authorities acted
precipitously on a spurious claim that KFAR 90.9FM was interfering with other frequencies and alleged that the radio station was broadcasting a higher wattage than permitted.

Radio KFAR has denied the accusation and instead draws attention to the fact that the raiding order was signed by an FBI operative known to broadcast personnel and it is possible that the FBI was monitoring
KFAR's broadcast when they decided to take prevent transmission.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=22910

[drfemoe]

1. Since when

do frequency and wattage (alleged) violations result in raid and confiscation? FCC Rule, anyone?

sheesh . what world is This?

[Tempest]

2. It's the coming Fascist world, that's what

When Fascism Comes to America

http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/04/09/far04031.html

[Tempest]

3. Welcome David

Thank you so much for posting this.

[LunaSea]

4. Visit KFAR, let em know

how you feel.

http://www.kfar.org/


BTW- It was not the FCC!
It was the FBI and the TVA Police.
Heres Kfars press release-
http://www.kfar.org/pr-fcc-01.html

Apparently a 100 watt station in the neighborhood is a dangerous thing!

[izzie]

5. This is very odd.

I am not sure I can figure it out, Why would they do it?

[drfemoe]

7. Terra?

'splains it All.

The World According to *whoosh

[4morewars]

6. CLOSE THE SOA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some how I have the feeling the infamous School of the Americas is involved, Help close it down ? More info here:

http://www.soaw.org/new/

http://www.soaw.org/new/type.php?type=8

[Radius]

SOA is Military

They do not operate inside the US as law enforcement.

If were talking about training people to kill communists they would be more relevant.

The FCC whacks pirate stations all the time. Usually they record the information they collect on electronic equipment and then use it in court as evidence to fine the offenders, heavily.

[DBoon]

8. Sigh. KFAR appears to be unlicensed (pirate)

The circumstances of this raid are suspicious and heavy handed, but unfortunately KFAR appears to be an unlicensed so-call "pirate" station:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:u3FQz4doS8oJ:www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3183784,00.html+kfar+knoxville&hl=en

(I had to use the Google cache, the knoxnews page itself requires registration).

Not that shutting down an unlicensed politically active radio station is a good thing, just not as scary as shutting down a licensed operation.

[Zhade]

17. Yeah - a pirate, unlike the corporate raiders who stole OUR airwaves.

The broadcast spectrum used to belong to We the People, until the corporations moved in and took them over.

We've been robbed. So I can't really fault a pirate station for taking back OUR airwaves.

[DBoon]

9. But KFAR was intended to be a legal low-power operation

"Some pirate stations, including KFAR, were initially planned as legitimate low-power stations. The FCC had in fact recommended granting new licenses to nonprofit community-based stations operating at 10 to 100 watts. That proposal, however, was opposed by the National Association of Broadcasters and National Public Radio. "

http://com4.runboard.com/bknoxvillefirstamendmentradio.fmainchat.t36 for a very interesting view of the whole affair

[AP]

11. IIRC the low-watt law Clinton finally passed got hijacked by Bush in 2001

when he wrote the regulations implementing the law in a way that guaranteed that churches would get all these new licenses, which foreclused the possibility of local news and music stations, which was what the national broadcasters feared the most.

They want centralized control of everything Ameircans think and consume. They know that local programming would very easily compete with bland crappiness they plan to disseminate.

[AP]

10. So that's why the NYT and CNN don't report the truth about Venezuela.

They're simply afraid that they'll be raided by the FBI.

[drfemoe]

12. heh . n/t

[punpirate]

13. Unfortunately...

... the Feds have likely got `em. With the support of commercial broadcasters and National Public Radio, the FCC created some fairly broad new rules on LPFM (low-power FM). One of the specific advisories for LPFM is not to buy LPFM equipment before applying for the license (construction permit).

Licensed LPFM is for 100 watts or less radiated power (which translates to an effective radius of about 3.2 miles for a 100-ft antenna). Unlicensed LPFM (Part 15 devices) allows an effective radius of 200 feet (which might translate to power in the milliwatt range and an antenna of a few inches).

KFAR was likely operating within the guidelines of licensed LPFM, but far outside the limitations of unlicensed LPFM. And, from their call letters and FCC records, they are unlicensed. And, the FCC permits seizure of equipment as part of a complaint.

And, unfortunately, if one takes the attitude that the airwaves are owned by the public (and that means that the public's agent, the FCC, therefore has the right to regulate the airwaves), then the FCC has the right to set standards.

In the FCC regulatory climate today, though, lobbying power counts, and the LPFM operators are clearly on the extreme low end of the clout scale in that regard. If one wants to operate on the fringes outside the regulatory structure as a pirate, then one also has to expect that, at any time and for any reason, the government can shut down the operation and seize equipment.

M'self, I think that had the station been a licensed LPFM and been shut down, they could have made a much stronger case for political interference. As it is, they can argue that point forever, but can't escape the bare fact that they were in violation of the law.

And, anticipating the inevitable arguments about it being unfair, consider this: 14th Amendment rights demand equal protection. If an exception to the regulatory structure should be made for small unlicensed operators, then large ones can, under law, demand the same treatment. Imagine a renegade megawatt-sized station operator drowning out all your favorite stations.

All that said, yes, this was probably political in nature, if the FCC had received no complaints from the general public. That's how virtually all over-power, over-modulation and/or interference issues come to the attention of the FCC--complaints from the public.

Nevertheless, bandwidth is limited, and getting progressively more crowded, and that means more regulation. These days, though, that regulation is skewed in favor of business interests, and that's where the unfairness comes in. The regulations need to be written in such a way that community groups can operate freely, within reasonable technical guidelines.

Cheers.

[AP]

14. I think I read that a seizure for this violation in California was the

only enforcement of these rules (or their predecssor rules) ever.

Now this makes two.

What do you want to be that churches violating these rules don't get their equipment seized.

[punpirate]

15. I think you're referring to...

... Berkeley Free Radio, I believe it was called, which was shut down during the Clinton administration (for the same sort of violation).

Churches, I would think (don't know for certain) would be much more likely to be licensed, rather than unlicensed.

I truly don't know of a source which tallies the number of unlicensed stations in the country operating within licensed LPFM guidelines (which is the crux of this particular case, I think), so I can't say if this case (or the one in Berkeley) is exceptional or not.

But, for comparison, there are nine other licensed LPFM stations in Tennessee, where this case originates.

Cheers.

[Zhade]

18. I work in broadcasting. The FCC coddles corporations.

The days of looking out for the public interest are long over.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

16. Bush is becoming more "Hitleresque" everyday!