Radio's Renegade
Low-Watt 'Pirate' Fights F.C.C. Rules
By JULIE LEW
New York Times Monday, Dec. 8th 1997, D12
BERKELEY, Calif. For most of his life, Stephen Dunifer did not hesitate
to speak out or become involved in causes, from saving redwoods to
protesting the Persian Gulf war. But the only cause that has put him in
the limelight is his current one: the battle to open the nation's
airwaves to small, low power stations like his Free Radio Berkeley.
His fight began on a night four years ago when he hiked into the
Berkeley hills with a radio transmitter tucked in his backpack and sent
his voice out over the local airwaves. The battle has since moved to
Federal court, where Mr. Dunifer is challenging Federal Communications
Commission regulations that set a minimum transmission power standard of
100 watts for any radio station with a broadcast license.
For two generations, Berkeley has been synonymous with rebellion against
the status quo, with contrarian not to mention utopian thinking. Mr Dunifer's
notion that anyone with a transmitter should be able to start
a radio station fits the egalitarian tenor of the town.
The bearded, genial Mr. Dunifer considers his Free Radio Berkeley
broadcasts an exercise in free speech and a galvanizing force for
listeners. The station's mix of news music and political commentary in
half a dozen languages, he says, gives a voice to segments of the area
ignored by larger stations.
But by operating it, he is ignoring Federal rules. As the F.C.C.
continues its efforts to enjoin him from broadcasting, the fight that
the 46 year old self taught electronic engineer and computer system
designer is waging has become a cause celebre for many of the perhaps
1,000 unlicensed broadcasters nationwide. Many of them, in fact, are his
customers; he also sells the equipment needed to start a low power
station.
In their 1993 rebuttal to the F.C.C.'s attempt to fine Mr. Dunifer
$20,000 for making unlicensed broadcasts, his lawyers wrote, "the
fundamental problem is that the F.C.C. has not. provided procedures by
which micro radio broadcasters can become licensed or authorized."
But if Mr. Dunifer's advocates see him as a free speech crusader and the
Johnny Appleseed of low power radio, the F.C.C., the legal guardian of
the common property of the airwaves, sees him as a radio "pirate" who's
breaking the law, disrupting licensed broadcasters and posing a threat
to public safety.
The heart of Mr. Dunifer's argument is that F.C.C. regulations
particularly a 1978 rule requiring an applicant for a radio license to
use a transmitter with a minimum power of 100 watts are based on
outmoded technological assumptions and set an insurmountable economic
barrier for many would be broadcasters.
In one filing, Mr. Dunifer's lawyers wrote, "The cost of owning and
operating a radio station has skyrocketed into the hundreds of thousands
and even million dollar range," effectively limiting participation in
the broadcast media to large corporations only.
Since Mr. Dunifer's court battle with the F.C.C. began in 1993, he has
achieved a partial victory. Federal Judge Claudia Wilkin refused in
November to grant an injunction sought by the F.C.C. that would have
shut Mr. Dunifer's station down pending arguments on his contention that
existing rules amount to an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.
But as far as the F.C.C. is concerned, Mr. Dunifer is flouting rules
that other broadcasters must live with. In a telephone interview last
week, William E. Kennard, the new chairman of the F.C.C., said that the
commission had studied proposals to license small radio stations, "and I
think they rejected that approach because of interference concerns."
"It's a terrible safety problem," Mr. Kennard said. "Some of these
unlicensed broadcasters have chosen bands adjacent to air traffic
control channels. We just can't allow a situation where you have illegal
broadcasters disrupting communications between pilots and control
towers. "
That argument means little to Mr. Dunifer. "The air to ground
frequencies are 118 to 135 megahertz," he said. "There would be no
reason for anyone operating in those bands, because no one will be able
to hear them." Commercial FM radio operates between 88 and 108
megahertz.
Mr. Dunifer is not the only pirate broadcaster in the F.C.C.'s sights.
The commission's push against low power broadcasters has taken two such
stations off the air in the last two months: Radio Free Allston, a
noncommercial low power station in the Boston area, which the agency
shut down on Oct. 28, and "Tampa's Party Pirate" in Florida, which was
closed last month.
In New York City, the Steal This Radio collective, at 88.7 FM, started
its station in 1995 on the Lower East Side with an. antenna built from
plumbing supplies. It continues to broadcast.
Such stations, Mr. Dunifer argues, serve a vital function in their
communities, giving more voices a chance to be heard. The F.C.C., he
declares, should accommodate them.
"This is an important case because it shows the really corrupt nature of
broadcast policy" said Robert W. McChesney, a scholar who has written
several books on mass media. "The reality is that the commercial
broadcast lobby is the single most powerful lobby in the country. Given
their immense power, it's virtually impossible for any public
participation, so the laws are simply undemocratic and corrupt."
In the spring of 1993, the F.C.C., perhaps acting on a complaint, began
monitoring Free Radio Berkeley broadcasts, then sent Mr. Dunifer a
notice that he would be fined $20,000.
Mr. Dunifer's lawyers contested the fine, leading the F.C.C. to seek an
injunction against his broadcasts. Mr. Dunifer was gleeful. "We've
gotten our fondest wish, which is to be in Federal court," he said
recently. "This was being done basically as a free=1Espeech statement and
a challenge to their regulatory and statutory structure."
The specific focus of his challenge now before the Federal District
Court for the Northern District of California, is a 1978 F.C.C.
regulation limiting the award of new broadcast licenses to stations
operating at a minimum of 100 watts. The rule was adopted in an effort
to eliminate clutter and overlapping signals but it also had the effect
of raising the price of entry for broadcasters.
"This is the moment for this kind of thing to come together because the
technology has made it possible," said Ron Sakolsky, a public policy
professor at the University of Illinols.
"If you get an F.C.C. license, you have to initially invest $50,000 to
$100,000," he said. "Now, it's possible to do it for a much smaller
cost, and people are saying, 'Why can't we go on the air?' "
For those in a hurry to get their soapbox on the air, Mr. Dunifer sells
a package for $595 that includes equipment for a half watt station. It
does not include audio gear, but "$1,500 can get you on the air," he
said. Half a watt of power sends a signal strong enough to cover about
half a mile.
Mr. Dunifer said he emphasized with all would be broadcasters the
importance of taking every precaution to prevent interference with other
signals. Not surprisingly, broadcasters who have paid their license fees
and are protective of the clarity of their signals are working with the
F.C.C. to shut down low power stations.
The National Association of Broadcasters says the number of unlicensed
micro broadcasters has been growing as the price of broadcasting
equipment drops."We want to make sure unlicensed broadcasters and their
illegal activities won't be tolerated," said John Earnhardt, a spokesman
for the association, which has pushed the F.C.C. to step up enforcement.
Still, in his interview, Mr. Kennard emphasized that he was open to
changing the face of the radio spectrum.
"I am personally very concerned that we have more outlets for
expressions over the airwaves," he said. "I have made it a point of my
tenure here as chairman to try to spotlight the fact that the broadcast
industry is consolidating at a very rapid pace. And as a result of this,
there are fewer opportunities of entry by minority groups, community
groups, small businesses in general. And I'm very interested in hearing
ideas to remedy the unfortunate closing of opportunities for a lot of
new entrants."
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There are new NYFMA pages announcing the RM phone zap of the FCC as well
as documents and transcripts from the Radio Mutiny Demo.
http://artcon.rutgers.edu/papertiger/nyfma/default.html
michael
Paper Tiger Television
339 Lafayette Street fax: (212) 420-8223
New York, NY 10012 email: [log in to unmask]
phone: (212) 420-9045 web: http://www.papertiger.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paper Tiger TV is a non-profit volunteer collective that has
been pioneering media criticism though video since 1981. The
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