The Dutchman knows how to do FCC filings. And I'm glad he's took up for this station.
Good Luck Touch FM!!!!!!!!
Good Luck Touch FM!!!!!!!!
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Touch FM 106.1 Roxbury
- Thread starter Flying-Dutchman
- Start date
What really touched me about Touch FM was their stand against the offensive pop music of today. Where I live,
carloads of white kids blare the N word and the B word from their automobiles. They use these words in common
speech. I thought those words had been deleted from our language 60 years ago. I thought some leader needed
to take a stand. But the only ones who stood up were the people at Touch FM.
They deserve a license from the FCC.
carloads of white kids blare the N word and the B word from their automobiles. They use these words in common
speech. I thought those words had been deleted from our language 60 years ago. I thought some leader needed
to take a stand. But the only ones who stood up were the people at Touch FM.
They deserve a license from the FCC.
Rule, regulation, crime. We can argue semantics all day long, but what Touch is doing is wrong.
It is not a matter of semantics. If the FCC did not exist with its rules and regulations there would be no law broken. My point was simply that the rules are not being enforced, and if the pirate station deserves a permit then they should get it. They have broken no law.
If you object to the station file a complaint, especially if you can make a case, and especially when it comes time for their license renewal. ;D
Mr. Clemons would be better off paying the fine and then try to buy one of the "has beens" AM sticks on the Boston area. Or he could wait until a new LPFM window for 10 watts in Boston proper materializes (100 watts won't fit).
I believe former pirates are still barred from holding interest in an LPFM license.
The LP10 LPFM license is a pipe dream; even if the FCC ever authorizes it (which it won't) the NAB will make sure Congress overrides it. Besides, there is precisely one and only one spot for an LP10 license inside Rt.128 (assuming the original proposed rules from 1999 are adopted). There's a tiny space, less than a square mile, where a transmitter could be located in southwest Dedham. Not close enough to Boston to realistically serve it (or Dorchester, for that matter).
I don't disagree with the notion that Mr. Clemons could buy one of the weaker AM signals for comparatively little money these days, but station sales are still based on a multiplier of revenue so even a "cheap" station would probably sell for at least $500k if it actually serves Boston proper. More likely it'd be over seven figures. That's a lot of money, and it's a lot of money that's hard to get these days as credit is very, very scarce. Clemons is a pirate and should be tossed in jail if he won't stop broadcasting illegally, but I won't argue that it's still virtually impossible for the little guy to get on the air anywhere near a major or medium market these days.
Even the college radio route is tougher than it used to be; a surprising number of college students are very media-savvy AND interested in radio. Damn near impossible to get an airshift at WZBC or WMBR anymore, while WERS, WMLN and WUMB have been closed off to community volunteers (and with good reason) for decades now. There's still some room at WBRS and WMFO, I think, maybe even at WRBB...but all of those stations have terrible signals in Dorchester & Roxbury.
If you object to the station file a complaint, especially if you can make a case, and especially when it comes time for their license renewal.
Welllll, here's part of the problem. Many, many people HAVE been filing complaints to the FCC about the pirates in Boston. Including people who are directly involved (either listeners or stations receiving actual interference), or stations indirectly involved through economics (stations like WNTN have lost a lot of leased-time revenue because of the pirates)...and the FCC has been incredibly blase about it. Only a handful of pirates have had any action at all taken against them, and it's usually some weakass NAL that accomplishes little - as Clemons himself demonstrated.
Filing a compliant during license renewal? It was tried, extensively, in the last go-around and not a single station's license was successfully challenged, AFAIK.
What's often surprised me is why some commercial stations won't offer up an HD2 channel to a TouchFM or similar station. Lord knows those pirates obviously have community support, and have listeners, and - in some cases - have quite a few advertisers. That's more than can be said for a LOT of HD2 channels! Yeah, granted, it'd mean the listeners would have to pony up $75-$100 for an HD Radio receiver, but more than likely you'd be able to reach a much wider area so it kinda balances out.
A precedent case has been established when the FCC gave a pirate in Goldfield NV an STA (Special
Temporary Authority) to stay on the air. Congress is in the process of repealing the bill that prohibited
former pirates from owning LPFMs. It was also challenged in court and the FCC can grant licenses on a
case by case basis.
The frequency used by Touch FM 106.1 could be used by an FM translator under the current FCC
Rules. So, if Touch FM was removed, there will be a new signal. And it would be a rebroadcast station.
I feel the people are better served with a community station such as this. So, I hope the FCC will make
Touch a precedent case. We need community stations in small towns and inner cities
Temporary Authority) to stay on the air. Congress is in the process of repealing the bill that prohibited
former pirates from owning LPFMs. It was also challenged in court and the FCC can grant licenses on a
case by case basis.
The frequency used by Touch FM 106.1 could be used by an FM translator under the current FCC
Rules. So, if Touch FM was removed, there will be a new signal. And it would be a rebroadcast station.
I feel the people are better served with a community station such as this. So, I hope the FCC will make
Touch a precedent case. We need community stations in small towns and inner cities
The pirate in Nevada probably didn't interfere with anyone, and the FCC thought it could get more money by offering a license than a fine. The pirate was in the middle of nowhere. You don't hear about pirate stations in the middle of nowhere because no one hears them or they don't interfere, and the operators lose interest after a while when they get no listeners. Pirate stations in cities cover a lot more people, but there is no room for another station. There is no room for even a religious translator on 106.1 because of WROR and WCOD. Maybe you can get Touch 106.1 a license in Moapa Valley, Nevada, but you sure ain't getting them a license anywhere between DC and Boston.
Could Touch 106.1 go offshore into international waters and then broadcast 1000 watts from a ship without breaking the law?
Could Touch 106.1 go offshore into international waters and then broadcast 1000 watts from a ship without breaking the law?
Maybe you can get Touch 106.1 a license in Moapa Valley, Nevada, but you sure ain't getting them a license anywhere between DC and Boston.
You might be surprised by how much room can be found - especially when the word "Anti-Trust" shows up in the conversation. But hey, if they can't catch them what is the point? And if they are caught, I can hear the excuses already. Oh, the possibilities!
I'll bet someone like Senator Kennedy is able to see how this is like Rosa Parks. Minorities
have been denied a seat on the bus again. There are very very few independent minority
owned stations in America.
These guys took a big risk with terrible consequences to prove a point and, to alert us
to a business that has become very unfair to blacks and women.
have been denied a seat on the bus again. There are very very few independent minority
owned stations in America.
These guys took a big risk with terrible consequences to prove a point and, to alert us
to a business that has become very unfair to blacks and women.
Flying-Dutchman said:They deserve a license from the FCC.
This may come as a shock to you, but your opinion carries no weight.
The radio spectrum is governed by rules and regulations, and the fact that the "Flying Dutchman" thinks they should have a license has no bearring on this situation.
BTW...We are still waiting for that long list of pirate stations that have gotten licenses.
And....where is that long list of community groups you have helped get licensed.
<crickets>
R
rapking
Guest
So True !Flying-Dutchman said:I'll bet someone like Senator Kennedy is able to see how this is like Rosa Parks. Minorities
have been denied a seat on the bus again. There are very very few independent minority
owned stations in America.
These guys took a big risk with terrible consequences to prove a point and, to alert us
to a business that has become very unfair to blacks and women.
Flying-Dutchman said:I'll bet someone like Senator Kennedy is able to see how this is like Rosa Parks. Minorities
have been denied a seat on the bus again. There are very very few independent minority
owned stations in America.
These guys took a big risk with terrible consequences to prove a point and, to alert us
to a business that has become very unfair to blacks and women.
Now don't bring Women into it! There are many radio stations here programmed just for women in several different age groups. Lets see Mix985, Kiss108, Jamn945, WMJX and I'm sure there are others specifically targeted at woman that just don't come to my mind.
Also as someone pointed out earlier Radio One the corporation that is the current owners of WILD and former owners of WBOT is a minority owned and operated corporation. They even realized that there was not a big enough minority market here to make enough money for a major station when they sold WBOT. They program stations all over the country so I think they know what they are doing.
The thing is that no one has a right to a radio station. Doesn't matter what color or ethnicity you are. And when the FCC talks about stations serving the public interest they are not talking about formats and never were. They are talking about EAS and running so many hours of public service announcements a week. As long as your doing this and keeping a public file you meeting this requirement. But you can bet your bottom dollar that if the audience you speak of in Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury etc. was large enough to matter in the 10th radio market stations would be beating down your doors for your numbers and revenue. It just isn't and this is commercial radio we are talking about. These folks may be entertaining you but they are also interfering with licensed broadcasters that are obeying the rules and regulations while trying to make a profit in a tough economy. Whats next people will just start powering up TV stations when they don't want to watch anymore reality TV?? I'll bet they would stop that pretty quickly. There is just not enough room in Boston for LPFM so it really doesn't matter if the rules change. You just can't squezze one in without interfering. If these folks really want to program to this audience they could either buy time on any of the many AM's around town or go to one of the majors and push an HD2 format. But they don't. They want a free ride. They don't want to pay any of the costs involved in running a radio station. So yes most of us here have no sympathy they are just pirates plain and simple hiding behind a loyal following they have duped.
"There is just not enough room in Boston for LPFM so it really doesn't matter if the rules change. You just can't squezze one in without interfering. If these folks really want to program to this audience they could either buy time on any of the many AM's around town or go to one of the majors and push an HD2 format."
Good points, indeed.
1330, 1600, 1510, 1550 and some other AMs would gladly sell you blocks of airtime, or even LMA most or all of the station, if you came up with the bucks. And they are not mega-mega bucks like that involved in purchasing an FM (even a small one like WFNX).
And yes, I'll bet if you approached an FM about leasing their HD-2 for bucks, they just might do it. They really don't care much about those HD-2s. Shades of FM in the 1950s and early 1960s!
I guess the only conceivable LPFM frequency would be 101.3, since the WFNX repeater was once allowed on it, but that was WFNX agreeing to shortspace with themselves.
I am not saying that the African-American community does not need a radio station that serves their community. They certainly do. But every other ethnic group in Boston bought time-brokered radio over the decades, but I don't see a lot of that with African-Americans for some reason.
Besides, with more and more smartphones that stream and internet connectivity in cars becoming more widespread over the next couple of years, a radio transmitter will not be as necessary to reach an audience.
Good points, indeed.
1330, 1600, 1510, 1550 and some other AMs would gladly sell you blocks of airtime, or even LMA most or all of the station, if you came up with the bucks. And they are not mega-mega bucks like that involved in purchasing an FM (even a small one like WFNX).
And yes, I'll bet if you approached an FM about leasing their HD-2 for bucks, they just might do it. They really don't care much about those HD-2s. Shades of FM in the 1950s and early 1960s!
I guess the only conceivable LPFM frequency would be 101.3, since the WFNX repeater was once allowed on it, but that was WFNX agreeing to shortspace with themselves.
I am not saying that the African-American community does not need a radio station that serves their community. They certainly do. But every other ethnic group in Boston bought time-brokered radio over the decades, but I don't see a lot of that with African-Americans for some reason.
Besides, with more and more smartphones that stream and internet connectivity in cars becoming more widespread over the next couple of years, a radio transmitter will not be as necessary to reach an audience.
They deserve a license from the FCC.
This may come as a shock to you, but your opinion carries no weight.
The radio spectrum is governed by rules and regulations, and the fact that the "Flying Dutchman" thinks they should have a license has no bearring on this situation.
BTW...We are still waiting for that long list of pirate stations that have gotten licenses.
And....where is that long list of community groups you have helped get licensed.
<crickets>
It is rarely a good idea to presume to know where you can take a man if you do not know where he has been, particularly when the one who is being undermined does not need to answer to anyone; but one morning you wake up, and the pirate station has a license. It is usually better to understand whereof you speak before going on the attack - but it's great book material.
R
rapking
Guest
..And Mannywood got a 2 year deal . Now everything is good in the world .chall said:I thought this was a board for broadcast professionals, it seems the loosers are taking over with their stupidity,
why not..... they are now running the nation.....right into the toilet....God help us!
The Dutchman. Busted in the UK for pirate radio. Busted in the USA for pirate radio. Now an
eccentric with several FCC licensed radio stations.
The story told in the news was that a Kennedy attended Indiana University where Dutch had his
pirate station. After it was busted Teddy got him a license.
I found this account from the FCC about Dutch, his real name is Quinn.
The FCC man who had caught him, George Sklom, had taken a liking to Quinn and helped him. "I remember his music was out of the ordinary," says Sklom, now retired and living in Fla. "And he had a relatively sophisticated system to try and thwart us. He showed a lot of promise. And he was a pretty nice kid. When I told him it wasn't so hard to do things right, he was receptive. He didn't have many resources, but he was willing to do the leg work." Sklom showed Quinn maps of existing broadcast frequencies. Quinn studied them. He's legally blind, but if he holds an object 2 inches from his face, he can make out what it says. He learned the complex radio license application process. He studied broadcast maps. He found an unused frequency. Quinn started small. First he launched a station in Attica, and then one in Monticello. Then, in 1993, in Indianapolis, he joined the league of millionaires with WKLU-FM (101.9).
Just wondering, isn’t this guy the top dog at the FCC there in Boston?
Pirate radio stations are fairly common today. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission office that polices the Northeast and Midwest shut down 103 pirates. Typically, they're reported by legitimate broadcasters. Twenty years ago, pirates were much rarer, the necessary equipment harder to come by. "You could say Bruce Quinn was sort of a pioneer," says Joe Monie, who directs the FCC's Northeast regional office.
Maybe there is magic
eccentric with several FCC licensed radio stations.
The story told in the news was that a Kennedy attended Indiana University where Dutch had his
pirate station. After it was busted Teddy got him a license.
I found this account from the FCC about Dutch, his real name is Quinn.
The FCC man who had caught him, George Sklom, had taken a liking to Quinn and helped him. "I remember his music was out of the ordinary," says Sklom, now retired and living in Fla. "And he had a relatively sophisticated system to try and thwart us. He showed a lot of promise. And he was a pretty nice kid. When I told him it wasn't so hard to do things right, he was receptive. He didn't have many resources, but he was willing to do the leg work." Sklom showed Quinn maps of existing broadcast frequencies. Quinn studied them. He's legally blind, but if he holds an object 2 inches from his face, he can make out what it says. He learned the complex radio license application process. He studied broadcast maps. He found an unused frequency. Quinn started small. First he launched a station in Attica, and then one in Monticello. Then, in 1993, in Indianapolis, he joined the league of millionaires with WKLU-FM (101.9).
Just wondering, isn’t this guy the top dog at the FCC there in Boston?
Pirate radio stations are fairly common today. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission office that polices the Northeast and Midwest shut down 103 pirates. Typically, they're reported by legitimate broadcasters. Twenty years ago, pirates were much rarer, the necessary equipment harder to come by. "You could say Bruce Quinn was sort of a pioneer," says Joe Monie, who directs the FCC's Northeast regional office.
Maybe there is magic
There are some but not a lot. Ask Arthur Liu of Multicultural. He and his family own both Radio and TV stations in multiple Top 10 markets.
According to a summary available at http://www.freepress.net/files/off_the_dial_summary.pdf
Non-hispanic Whites control 87.2% of full power commercial radio stations in the US.
Broadcasting has always been a rich mans game. Anyone with money can buy a station...it's not like there's big racist conspiracy to limit minority owned stations. The only color recognized in Radio is green. Period.
According to a summary available at http://www.freepress.net/files/off_the_dial_summary.pdf
Non-hispanic Whites control 87.2% of full power commercial radio stations in the US.
Broadcasting has always been a rich mans game. Anyone with money can buy a station...it's not like there's big racist conspiracy to limit minority owned stations. The only color recognized in Radio is green. Period.
Flying-Dutchman said:I'll bet someone like Senator Kennedy is able to see how this is like Rosa Parks. Minorities
have been denied a seat on the bus again. There are very very few independent minority
owned stations in America.
And the tighteners too. ;D
chall said:I thought this was a board for broadcast professionals, it seems the loosers are taking over with their stupidity,
A precedent case has been established when the FCC gave a pirate in Goldfield NV an STA (Special Temporary Authority) to stay on the air.
Not exactly, but you make a good point.
Yes the FCC did bend the rules pretty hard for Rod Moses, and only did so because of the intervention of Senator Harry Reid. And even then, I think it was a "perfect storm":
- Reid is Senate Majority Leader, and thus in a position (moreso than many other senators) to dictate policy to the FCC.
- Tonopah is a pretty isolated community, with only ONE station that is actually locally operated.
- Most importantly: Moses wasn't actually interfering with anyone else, and I mean that in a FCC contour/minimum-distance-separation sense...not just anecdotally.
- Concordantly, there was legally room on the dial for an LPFM station; Moses just couldn't get one because the FCC isn't opening any LPFM windows.
And technically, Moses doesn't have a license: he has an STA that, presumably, has to be renewed every six months. Strangely, it does not appear that he applied for anything during the NCE filing window of October 2007; there's nothing I see in the FCC's CDBS about it. That strikes me as exceedingly foolish of him if he just stuck with his STA. Someday Reid might not the be senator for Nevada anymore, and then that STA will likely stop being renewed.
Anyways, I think this was a one-time deal; I'm sure others have tried to get their senators to do something with the FCC and no doubt all have been rebuffed precisely because Moses got through. Nobody else wants to encourage the practice. Especially since there was that filing window.
I found this account from the FCC about Dutch, his real name is Quinn.
Now look up The Flying Dutchman, whose real name is not Quinn.
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