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Brooklyn DA Busts Pirate in Flatlands
- Thread starter Cosmopolite
- Start date
I was surprised to hear about this today on CBS 880. They had to draw some major league attention if all these news outlets picked up the story.
F
FredLeonard
Guest
Sorry to nit pick but that's Canarsie.
I guess these guys never heard of streaming audio on the Internet.
I guess these guys never heard of streaming audio on the Internet.
D
diymedia
Guest
I live on the Midwood/Flatbush border, and a couple of months ago did an FM bandscan and picked up something like 11 pirates. It'll always be a game of whack-a-mole.
Is this the first time someone's actually been charged under NY's anti-pirate law?
Is this the first time someone's actually been charged under NY's anti-pirate law?
AlNYRadio said:
WSPK actually underwent some decent antenna upgrades about 2 years ago or so. Unfortunately no one really noticed with the pirates polluting the air around NYC, but not entirely surprised reception is better.
Has anyone ever looked into why we have this epidemic of pirates? Years ago, most pirates were recreational...young kids who either could not find a job on a licensed station or who did not like the programming on their local stations. Their stations usually sounded like college stations. But have you noticed that many of today's pirates operate commercially and serve communities that are ignored by the stations that were swallowed up by Cumulus, Clear Channel, and other such corporations? An example of such a pirate: Touch 106 in Boston.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 essentially closed minorities and small businessmen out of the broadcasting industry by allowing a few greedy corporations to buy up everything. The auction system of awarding commercial construction permits doesn't help, either, as only those with bottomless bank accounts need apply.
Granted, New York City would be a tough place to establish a new station. The last available commercial FM frequency was taken in 1960 or '61 when WHBI (now WQXR) went on the air. But someone in Washington should really look into the lousy canned programming that airs on the corporate stations and should limit these owners to one station per market. And, perhaps, some frequencies should be allocated to the outer boroughs, with the requirement that those stations actually serve those communities. Likewise, stations licensed to Newark or Jersey City should be required to serve those cities and their suburbs. But our paid-off congressmen would never remedy this situation.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 essentially closed minorities and small businessmen out of the broadcasting industry by allowing a few greedy corporations to buy up everything. The auction system of awarding commercial construction permits doesn't help, either, as only those with bottomless bank accounts need apply.
Granted, New York City would be a tough place to establish a new station. The last available commercial FM frequency was taken in 1960 or '61 when WHBI (now WQXR) went on the air. But someone in Washington should really look into the lousy canned programming that airs on the corporate stations and should limit these owners to one station per market. And, perhaps, some frequencies should be allocated to the outer boroughs, with the requirement that those stations actually serve those communities. Likewise, stations licensed to Newark or Jersey City should be required to serve those cities and their suburbs. But our paid-off congressmen would never remedy this situation.
F
FredLeonard
Guest
ka2xuk said:
I ask again, why would anyone - especially anyone below a certain age - want a radio station, want to be a pirate? Internet Radio is easier, cheaper and available. And, oh yes, has a reach beyond Canarsie, Midwood, Flatlands...
It's strange that some of these idiots leave their carriers on when they are not broadcasting. Is the FCC's enforcement so lax that nobody worries about it any more?
Isn't this like asking why anyone would want to operate a (legal) broadcast station, when it is cheaper to simply broadcast online?FredLeonard said:
There are (obviously) plenty of people that still listen to ordinary car and table radios.
When I pass through sections in the Bronx that have many Caribbean people, I usually hear radios playing pirate stations broadcasting West Indan programming. I hardly ever hear them tuned to WVIP, the licensed station with predominantly Caribbean shows. While I am not condoning pirate radio there is evidently a demand for its local programming, in certain areas.
If HD radio ever catches on, HD2 and HD3 signals could be used for specialized or local programming. But when One Caribbean Radio tried this last year, it evidently flopped.
FredLeonard said:
They want to sell ads and don't worry about getting arrested. Why would they stream? No one buys ads for that. They're not doing this for fun.
F
FredLeonard
Guest
ProducerGuy said:
Who would buy ads on a pirate station? Heck, damn few buy ads on legal radio any more.
However the solution is easy. Like cops also arrest johns, maybe they should also arrest pirate advertisers.
FredLeonard said:
Plenty of people. The 106.1 pirate in Boston has tons of 'em.
FredLeonard said:
I assume you have a law citation to back that up?
The understanding here is that a sting was what precipitated matters (detectives buying air time) ; that it was one or more of the bigger, legal stations with the complaint, and that the complaint was made to Kings County rather than the FCC.
Yet, the published charges are those of violating federal law.
At least, on the face of it.
I'm no attorney. But I doubt the FCC concerns itself in the least with rackteering (that was another word I heard being used) charges made by a county. And the cease-and-desist/shut-it-off was not the action of New York State police, either. All of this has been dumped on the plate of a prestigious county jurisdiction for the time being.
This apparently incipient bust portends to be quite a show, and perhaps quite a deterrent. The FCC did not have to come in like Elliot Ness with bullhorns and guns (although there was cooperation from them) ; a pirate has been scuttled and faces some time in the brig ; other pirates will see the prospect of potentially mortal legal fees, and there's still lots of glory to go around irrespective of jurisdiction.
Always have maintained here that the pirate problem would be resolved only when the big radio companies used their clout.
Yet, the published charges are those of violating federal law.
At least, on the face of it.
I'm no attorney. But I doubt the FCC concerns itself in the least with rackteering (that was another word I heard being used) charges made by a county. And the cease-and-desist/shut-it-off was not the action of New York State police, either. All of this has been dumped on the plate of a prestigious county jurisdiction for the time being.
This apparently incipient bust portends to be quite a show, and perhaps quite a deterrent. The FCC did not have to come in like Elliot Ness with bullhorns and guns (although there was cooperation from them) ; a pirate has been scuttled and faces some time in the brig ; other pirates will see the prospect of potentially mortal legal fees, and there's still lots of glory to go around irrespective of jurisdiction.
Always have maintained here that the pirate problem would be resolved only when the big radio companies used their clout.
FredLeonard said:
Most of the advertisers on these pirate stations are small non-traditional businesses. Check cashing places, bodegas, rent to own rims joints, etc.
ProducerGuy said:
...whose money is just as green and just as much legal tender as that fat check from a national advertiser sent to a licensed station.
FredLeonard said:
$16 billion dollars is spent on radio advertising annually... while this is down about 30% from the high just before the recession, most of the declines are related to the economy, not the "death of radio" which has been postponed for a decade...
dumber than a box of hair said:
Except they can't afford licensed station rates. That's why they advertise on pirates. Doesn't make it legal.
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