FCC to get tough on property owners over pirate stations.

[Harvey_Dogg]

Perhaps those of us blessed enough to have owned licensed radio stations in major markets should be very thankful. There are other people who did not have our luck. And, I will continue to advocate for the ones who are less fortunate. More minorities in broadcasting.
How a Pirate went Legit

There once was a time when we were all more human.

 

[davideduardo]

Perhaps those of us blessed enough to have owned licensed radio stations in major markets should be very thankful. There are other people who did not have our luck. And, I will continue to advocate for the ones who are less fortunate. More minorities in broadcasting.
How a Pirate went Legit

There once was a time when we were all more human.

The reasons why there are the number of minority owned stations mostly have to do with banks and lenders, not the radio industry nor the FCC.

The barrier to owning any business is money. If the business is a controlled one, licensing may restrict the number and location of such businesses... such as legal marijuana stores or liquor stores... but the applicant still needs money. And the only color line there is green.

Today, my wife and I abandoned any idea of owning a station. I can invest in municipal bonds or a mutual fund and get a better probability of success, despite an extensive career at pretty good radio station and having been, in the past, an owner.

Anyone who wants to put capital into an AM or FM with no well defined new media plan is, simply, stupid. Better to start a restaurant... and 75% of those start-ups fail in the first two years.

 

[kenglish]

Sadly, the last thing I would recommend any minority folks getting in to, is broadcasting. Nearly all of the minority owners I know are operating at a loss, with facilities that cannot make power, with poorly-maintained equipment, and they are trying to do it all by themselves.
They may as well go legal with a low-power FM, or strictly on-line.
A few have sold to the big boys, and retired. Others have died of overwork, or COVID-19.

 

[davideduardo]

Sadly, the last thing I would recommend any minority folks getting in to, is broadcasting. Nearly all of the minority owners I know are operating at a loss, with facilities that cannot make power, with poorly-maintained equipment, and they are trying to do it all by themselves.
They may as well go legal with a low-power FM, or strictly on-line.
A few have sold to the big boys, and retired. Others have died of overwork, or COVID-19.

The only "minority" owned groups (or those with significant minority shareholder participation) that are doing satisfactorily are Urban One, Univision and SBS.

What they have in common are better facilities, access to capital and decent management. The ones that are in trouble are operators of inferior facilities and rimshots (think Liberman who went bankrupt), Bustos and the like.

On the other hand, there are some little-reported major successes with stations in Asian languages in markets from Seattle to LA to Houston; these are often the only local voices for larger communities. And many are leasing brokered time so they don't have the capital outlay of a purchase. Those, of course, are ethnic minorities with considerable economic power.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Do you think it's a coincidence that two of the letters linked in the original post went to the same property manager in Queens, New York? I sure don't, and that makes me wonder if the landlord is in fact party to the unlicensed broadcasting.

 

[+713]

The new FCC letter actually states that the landlord has now been made aware of the fact that there is an illegal operation on their property, and that puts the problem in their lap.

As for the operators' motives, maybe some members in the area could monitor, and tell us what format they are broadcasting.

The new FCC letter actually states that the landlord has now been made aware of the fact that there is an illegal operation on their property, and that puts the problem in their lap.

As for the operators' motives, maybe some members in the area could monitor, and tell us what format they are broadcasting.

I would imagine that the receipt of an FCC Notice of Violation by a landlord would immediately result in an evection notice for the tennant. I think that is likely the objective: make it hard on the violator of FCC rules however possible.

I own an apartment building. I have limited duties to provide a safe environment, but I am not the police. I can make repairs, but I cannot search a tenant's resident. I can't even legally give the police permission to search a tenant's resident. How can the FCC make it my responsibility to search for illegal transmitters?

 

[davideduardo]

+713: The antenna they mounted on a balcony or roof should be proof. Tell them the antenna is not legal. Notify the FCC.

 

[+713]

+713: The antenna they mounted on a balcony or roof should be proof. Tell them the antenna is not legal. Notify the FCC.

You got to be kidding? I tried to limit folks from putting up TV dishes because we have cable available, and a tenant complained to the city code enforcement. Was told I have to allow TV antennas, dishes, internet yagis and internet microwave, and pretty much whatever a tenant wants. This article says the same. Limits on Regulating Satellite Dishes and Other Antennas

 

[TheBigA]

+713: The antenna they mounted on a balcony or roof should be proof. Tell them the antenna is not legal. Notify the FCC.

Correct, and while it's been a few years since I was a tenant, I recall it being against the terms of a lease to mount an antenna on the building without permission. I recall having to receive such when I mounted a DirecTV satellite dish on my balcony.

 

[oldradiotapes]

That was the case in the complexes I rented in where they (illegally) blocked any hard-mounting a dish or aerial to the building. Period. Want to clamp a Ku-band threefer to your balcony rail? Don't you even think about it you vile scum; you might as well throw your receiver in the garbage. I got around it by attaching the aerial to a fence post set in a free-standing bucket of concrete on the balcony and THAT was alright. But pitching a tripod? Banish the thought!

Jesus, I'm so glad I'm through dealling with landlords and renting.

 

[radiocph]

I have no recollection of that policy. In fact, it was back in that era that the "a pirate operator is excluded from ever having a legitimate license" administrative procedure was introduced.

Pirates were considered about the same as other minor criminal offenders.

Do you have specific incidents that differ from this perspective?

I think the FCC treated Dick Dorwart with kid gloves, if not turning a blind eye to him.

Dick Dorwart was a disabled individual who ran "KDOR-830" out of Los Angeles in 1977-1978. He was eventually asked to stop broadcasting, but was never fined or otherwise penalized...

(From Billboard, Sept 1, 1979): Billboard

 

[Kelly A]

I really doubt that many landlords are aware of an unlicensed radio station operating on their property.
I'd also bet that most of these pirates are disabled people or minorities who don't stand a chance in Hell of getting a license from the FCC.

Totally anecdotal data, but over the years when I've tracked-down myself, or assisted tracking-down at least 20 pirate broadcasters, most have been either twenty-something white apartment dwellers, or thirty something's operating out of single-family homes. At no time have I approached anyone that, at least outwardly, appeared to be disabled. Certainly not physically. I also don't recall any of them being anything but white.

In almost all cases, these folks wanted to play their own music and or mix of editorial content over their own radio station. All of them knew it was wrong. When I was able to confront some, I gave them a choice; either shut down and skip being turned-in, or face being raided by Federal Marshalls and the FCC. For those who I wasn't able to confront in person, suffice it to say I took care of their transmissions a different way.

 

[davideduardo]

I think the FCC treated Dick Dorwart with kid gloves, if not turning a blind eye to him.

Dick Dorwart was a disabled individual who ran "KDOR-830" out of Los Angeles in 1977-1978. He was eventually asked to stop broadcasting, but was never fined or otherwise penalized...

(From Billboard, Sept 1, 1979): Billboard

Pirate AM stations were really uncommon. So that one, given the nature of the operator, was treated benignly. But putting a Ramsey or other FM transmitter on the air is no harder than installing an OTA TV antenna. It can be done in a few hours, and the gear is easy to get.

Once the novelty of pirates disappeared, they were treated as the scofflaws that they are.

 

[davideduardo]

Totally anecdotal data, but over the years when I've tracked-down myself, or assisted tracking-down at least 20 pirate broadcasters, most have been either twenty-something white apartment dwellers, or thirty something's operating out of single-family homes. At no time have I approached anyone that, at least outwardly, appeared to be disabled. Certainly not physically. I also don't recall any of them being anything but white.

In my experiences in Miami, the majority of pirates were operated by Haitians and broadcast in Kreyol. Haitians, of course, came from a country where all law enforcement was lax and "facilitating" things was common. The Haitian pirate station operators seemed to have a difficulty understanding that regulations and enforcement in the US were different, and that was, of course, a natural way for them to think.

 

[davideduardo]

You got to be kidding? I tried to limit folks from putting up TV dishes because we have cable available, and a tenant complained to the city code enforcement. Was told I have to allow TV antennas, dishes, internet yagis and internet microwave, and pretty much whatever a tenant wants. This article says the same. Limits on Regulating Satellite Dishes and Other Antennas

Read the last paragraph:

"Keep in mind that if there is no written policy regarding dishes and antennas, a landlord might be prohibited from imposing any restrictions on those items. A carefully considered and well drafted policy can help protect the appearance of your community, its marketability, desirability and property value."

An apartment, office building or condo can establish rules. Several places I have lived, including the current one, will not allow outdoor OTA TV antennas because the HOA provides cable as part of the monthly assessment; satellite is permitted if the antenna is not visible in front of or behind the homes. The rule is enforcable, and has been taken to court.

Of course, every jurisdiction can and may have different city regulations and landlords or HOAs have different authority. But in this case, the FCC is simply trying to get the landlord to make life hard on the pirate; I am fairly sure that a landloard, equipped with the FCC monitoring complaint, would be able to either evict or not renew a tenant.

 

[radiocph]

Pirate AM stations were really uncommon. So that one, given the nature of the operator, was treated benignly.

There was another station, "KDX" that operated on 530 kHz (more or less) in 1983-84 from Orange County. That operator did get a small fine....https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Short-Wave/Monitoring-Times-IDX/80s/Monitoring-Times-1986-03-OCR-Page-0030.pdf

But putting a Ramsey or other FM transmitter on the air is no harder than installing an OTA TV antenna. It can be done in a few hours, and the gear is easy to get.

Once the novelty of pirates disappeared, they were treated as the scofflaws that they are.

104.7 was a popular pirate frequency in LA around the late 1990s. Both "KBLT" in Silverlake and "KSCR" from USC held court here. There was at least one other, something called "Radio Free America" with political talk. That station was strongest in the LAX-Inglewood area.

KBLT was busted in late 1998. A Change in the Air - LA Weekly
KSCR also received at least a "talking-to" from the FCC and moved to the internet as "KXSC" About Us — KXSC Radio
I don't recall what, if anything, happened to "Radio Free America"...

 

[Harvey_Dogg]

Wow! The boomers are in charge of the Earth and what an enlightened bunch we are! What a wonderful world we have made! Guess, I'm so lucky that I grew up in the golden age of America with the WW 2 generation in control. They were so much more open minded and freedom loving than we are.
I wanted to run a radio station from an early are on. But in 1974 the FCC put an invalid stamp on my operator's license because I am legally blind.
So in protest I put a pirate station on the air on AM, FM, and short wave.
And, no one could scare me off. So, the FCC came by in 1980 and I told them why I did it.
When the TV news people came by, they couldn't believe it when I said I was going to fight the government.
Perhaps to my surprise Ted Kennedy and Dan Quayle took up for me with the FCC. Blind invalid stamps were then abolished as discriminatory.
FCC engineer George Sklom had once been a broadcast consultant.
He taught me how to fill out and file applications. Mark Lipp was Chief of the FCC's Allocations Branch. Dave Weston and he showed me how to allot channels. And, Chuck Ferris had been Chairman of the FCC. His law firm represented me and forgave the bill.
So, the FCC gave me several radio station licenses. And, I helped others get licensed too. My first legal station went on the air more than 30 years ago. No I didn't go broke.
Now it's almost 2021. Radio failed to embrace a digital age. Radio can be compared to a boat on the Erie Canal and the internet to a space ship.
Soon our broadcasting history will be in a museum. And no one under 30 cares about who we think are good or bad boat captains. Furthermore, those translators for AM's that have clogged the FM band are just a band aid and a very temporary one at that. OK boomers, carry on!

 

[kenglish]

Careful...you are sounding a bit "entitled" yourself, right now.
People who are suffering the loss of their favorite station due to interference from an unlicensed and non-coordinated station, businesses that are losing customers (or, potential customers) because of unlicensed competition, pilots who have to abort their takeoffs and landings due to spurs from cheap, uncertified transmitters, or scientists who can't get valuable weather data from their satellites due to cheap wi-fi security cameras, don't really care that you are handicapped (or any other reasons). They just care that their livelihoods and lives are being threatened by someone's need to challenge authority.

As for the operator license...hell yes, the FCC was wrong for not licensing you. If an employer could make accomodations that would allow you to do the job, there should be no issue. I believe that is now written in to the rules, likely due to you and others proving them wrong.
And, I would be the first to agree that handing out FM translator licenses to the owners who neglected their AM stations and the medium-wave spectrum they were on, made about as much sense as giving a new car to customers who never changed the oil in their old, now inoperable one.
But, the rules are there for reasons. If someone disagrees with the rules, then work within the system to get them changed. Apparently, you were able to do that.

 

[Kelly A]

And, no one could scare me off. So, the FCC came by in 1980 and I told them why I did it.
When the TV news people came by, they couldn't believe it when I said I was going to fight the government.
Perhaps to my surprise Ted Kennedy and Dan Quayle took up for me with the FCC. Blind invalid stamps were then abolished as discriminatory.
FCC engineer George Sklom had once been a broadcast consultant.
He taught me how to fill out and file applications. Mark Lipp was Chief of the FCC's Allocations Branch. Dave Weston and he showed me how to allot channels. And, Chuck Ferris had been Chairman of the FCC. His law firm represented me and forgave the bill.

I'm sure there are other Pirates who have been helped by the FCC, by pointing them in a direction to go through the licensing process. Much depends on how obnoxious or jerks the Pirate was, and how the local field office dealt with enforcement. When you did it way back when, there were an equal number of engineers and lawyers working at the Commission. Now there are few engineers and mostly lawyers. Frequencies and entire chunks of spectrum weren't being auctioned-off to the highest bidder then either.
LPFM was an attempt to give existing and future pirates a way to be compliant. Instead, for the ones that have made it, LPFM's have just added to the FM band congestion you mentioned.

The modern Pirates aren't interested in 100W and all the paperwork, they just do what they want to, at least until they get shut down.

 

[davideduardo]

Now it's almost 2021. Radio failed to embrace a digital age. Radio can be compared to a boat on the Erie Canal and the internet to a space ship.
Soon our broadcasting history will be in a museum. And no one under 30 cares about who we think are good or bad boat captains. Furthermore, those translators for AM's that have clogged the FM band are just a band aid and a very temporary one at that. OK boomers, carry on!

Of course all the real data disagrees with your statements.

78% of persons 18-34 in LA use radio every week. So much for "no one". In a non-pandemic month, 2,850,000 persons 18-34 use radio, and the average 6 AM to Midnight audience is about 170,000. So much for "no one".

As to translators, they certainly are not effective in places like LA. But in smaller markets... like Albuquerque or Austin and the like, they can cover the whole market and some are doing exceedingly well.

But the biggest problem is that streaming, except for paid services, is not profitable. The very high rights for music precludes profitability on free streams, and the ad money is not there. And putting music on podcasts is economically near impossible. So for a large part of the population that does not want to pay for music, radio is the only alternative. And often it is the best option when one wants easy and simple program choices.

The "fat lady" and her song are not even on the playlist yet.