The "War on Pirates" in 2008: paper beats rock, scissors

From DIY Media:

I've just finished updating the Enforcement Action Database. The FCC's Enforcement Bureau has reported its field actions through mid-December, and as you can see, given any activity over the balance of the month, it is on target to meet and/or (most likely) beat the record enforcement year of 2007.

What does this mean? It depends on how you look at the data. Sure, the FCC's busting more pirates than ever, but does that really mean it's making a dent in station proliferation? A couple of major conclusions from the year-in-review are striking:

1. Most FCC enforcement is concentrated around geographic "hot spots" around the country. The top two are south Florida (most notably the Miami-Dade metroplex) and New York. If you add New Jersey in with NYC, the density of enforcement actions is about tied. It's not that far of a stretch to equate that with the density of existing pirate radio stations (i.e., they're not going away).

2. Although most of the enforcement occurs in these hot spots, the fact that enforcement takes place essentially nationwide makes the phenomenon of pirate radio a national one. I think it's just much less of a priority for some field offices than others.

3. There's a compelling trend this year in the timing of enforcement actions. Multiple field offices tend to go pirate-hunting around the same time of the month (often on the exact same days). If I had to guess, the FCC's mandate from D.C. is, "spend some time hunting pirates to show that we care," and the agents in the field mark a day or two on their monthly calendars to handle any pending complaints. (For what it's worth, there's no indication that the FCC's 15 month-old online pirate station reporting form is doing much good).

4. Finally, the primary tools of FCC enforcement remain, by and large, quite administrative. Station-visits and threatening-sounding certified letters are the field agents' ammunition of choice. It's worth noting that although the amount of monetary forfeitures has risen to 2006 levels, the FCC's expected recoupment for each enforcement action it takes is paltry; going pirate-hunting is a big money-loser for the agency. Note that the number of arrests and convictions have remained stable - and less than a handful at that. It would seem that those state laws criminalizing pirate radio are doing a whole lot of nothing.

In fact, looking at the raw data from which I compile the majority of my statistics, the Enforcement Bureau's been going after more serious unlicensed broadcasters, like those who potentially jam public-safety, maritime, and land-mobile two-way radio networks. This is a phenomenon that also appears to be on the rise. The FCC's much more quicker to bring the fiscal hammer down on those sorts of people, but they're the ones doing real harm.

The bottom line? 2009 will be a year of opportunity for unlicensed broadcasters. Without some sort of massive infusion of human resources, capital, and political will, the FCC simply doesn't have the strength to shut much of anything down. It's reached its enforcement capacity, and it's being overwhelmed. In that sense, we're winning.

Record number of New York City pirate radio stations contacted by the FCC

From New York Radio Guide:

Following the December 23 New York Times article on pirate radio broadcasters in Brooklyn, the FCC's New York field office has been spending a great deal of time visiting Brooklyn neighborhoods, tracking down illegal broadcasters and issuing more than a dozen "Notices of Unlicensed Operation" (10 day notices). Some of the broadcasters identified include a pirate on 88.5-FM broadcasting from central Brooklyn, a pirate [Frito Destra] on 90.9-FM broadcasting from Flatbush, [Jean Cleophat] a pirate on 88.1-FM broadcasting from central Brooklyn, and a pirate on 91.9-FM broadcasting from south of Williamsburg. The FCC also sent a Forfeiture Notice to Trevor Whitely for broadcasting on 102.3-FM from the Eastern Parkway area. as "102.3 Red Hot FM." Listeners in Brooklyn have noticed somewhat clearer signals for a number of stations, but at least 20 unlicensed stations remain on the air.

That story barely touches the recent enforcement action in New York City, which seems to be at some sort of historic level. Judging from the location and the name Moshe Ezagui on the FCC's "Notice of Unlicensed Operation," the 91.9-FM station was the long-time Hasidic station that was sort-of day-parting with the 10 a.m.-midnight hip hop station that uses that frequency. The landlords of the Hasidic station's location also got a "Notice of Unlicensed Operation."

The report above also missed the Feb. 8 Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Clement Viau/Biau allegedly operating on 90.1-FM also near Flatbush, Brooklyn. And it neglects to mention Esther King or Ambassador Courts Associates who both got a Notice of Unlicensed Operation for operating at 102.5-FM in Brooklyn. Pietro Russo also got a Notice of Unlicensed Operation for operating at 90.9-FM in Brooklyn. And there's also Newkirk Realty, LLC, south of Park Slope, Brooklyn, operating on 88.1, with a Jan. 31 "Notice of Unlicensed Operation." They also missed another "Notice of Unlicensed Operation" to operators on 88.5-FM in Brooklyn, Nachla Associates, LLC in central Brooklyn and Felix Leonard, Aries Communications, in Brooklyn. Clearly, the FCC is also contacting landlords as well as suspected pirates these days.

So that is 12-15 stations, depending how you count them, receiving notices so far in 2008. By any measure that is a record number of pirate radio busts in New York City.

The premise of the New York Radio Guide story, that the Dec. 23 story in The New York Times started this all, is also wrong. Three days before the story, the FCC also took action against a slew of New York pirates. Notices announced on Dec. 20, 2007 include Randel and Shawnett Palmer, no location given, at 95.9-FM; Moshe Realty LLC, Brooklyn, 102.3-FM; Latesha Johnson, Brooklyn, 107.9; Anthony Goolchalan and American Heritage Management Corporation, Brooklyn, 95.1; and AG 815 LLC, Fort Greene, Brooklyn, 107.9. So clearly, the action started before the Times story.

The FCC also posted a "Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture" to Joaquim Barbosa, Amateur Extra Class licensee, call sign N2KBJ, of Elizabeth, NJ. FCC officials observed him operating on 296.550 MHz, a government operations channel. The Notice says Barbosa admitted he knew he was on a government channel. The FCC also sent a "Notice of Unlicensed Operation" to a Bedstar Associates, Inc., a business operating 463.375 MHz. They also posted a Citations to Job Lot Wholesale & Retail Stores #4, 32-29 Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway, Brooklyn; C.H. Martin, Inc., 148-22 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica: and Joy Electronics & Appliances, 156-16A Northern Blvd, Flushing, for selling analog televisions to consumers without warning them of the imminent switch to digital transmission.

Add it all up, and that's about 20 FCC enforcement actions against pirates in the last 80 days in New York City, a pace of one every four days. But at least one rabid anti-pirate crusader, posting on the New York Radio Message Board, says, "All those notices were sent out in early February and everyone of those frequencies still is occupied by the same pirates."

The New York Radio Guide story also does not get to the "why" of the story, which in this case seems to be that minority communities find the need for low-power broadcasting in New York City so great, that they are willing to break the law. Tom Roe and Dharma Dailey of free103point9 met with the FCC last week, within a larger group organized by the Prometheus Radio Project about low-power FM. The FCC's Peter Doyle said in that meeting that if the current LPFM bill passes Congress, a new station might be available in Brooklyn Heights. This is the first time there's been any hint of the possibility of LPFM being an option In New York City. A better plan: find the couple of frequencies that do have some space in the city (the pirates have proved there are a couple of holes, though clearly some are on top of licensed stations' signals), and spread very-low power 10-watt stations in each neighborhood in the five boroughs.

FCC on track to meet/beat enforcement record

From DIYMedia:

As the graph above shows, the agency's Enforcement Bureau is well on pace to meet or exceed last year's record-breaking enforcement action effort. Looking more closely at the data, one can see how FCC field agents are escalating the initial levels of the enforcement protocol much more quickly now (for example, the New York field office has cut the time between visit to warning letter down to as little as eight days).

Nevertheless, the FCC's not keeping such a good record when it comes to excersising actual muscle to shut pirate stations down: the number of Notices of Apparent Liability and actual forfeitures issued appears relatively unchanged from last year, and these actions remain but a small fraction of the Enforcement Bureau's overall enforcement effort. The number of raids/seizures conducted against pirate stations may edge up this year, but this is due to state-level enforcement efforts, most notably in Florida, where unlicensed broadcasting has been criminalized as a felony.

As far as what happens during the last three months of the year, it's anyone's guess: historically-speaking, there's a tertiary spike in enforcement actions against unlicensed radio stations in November, and it will be interesting to see whether this trend continues. Nevertheless, it's safe to say the agency's still a paper tiger, as unlicensed microbroadcast activity continues to blossom, especially in the nation's largest urban areas. However, recent developments, like the Enforcement Bureau's new online pirate complaint form and the possible installation of an anti-pirate attorney general, may change the game, but it's too early to tell by how much.

Free Radio Olympia off-air but online, for now

From DIYMedia:

It seems that the FCC's sweep of microradio is not leaving the old guard alone. Several long-running microradio stations have been visited by the FCC recently, including two individuals specifically targeted from the Free Radio Olympia collective, which sent out this missive: "Free Radio Olympia, a 6-year-old consensus-run pirate radio collective, has come under heavy harassment from the FCC. Although we have temporarily gone off the air while maintaining our internet stream, we have decided to continue broadcasting once we have found a new, willing transmitter site, despite the strong possibility of an immanent FCC raid...We especially would appreciate your being alert for any news of an actual raid, and spreading the story as rapidly and widely as possible."

Mediageek details another communiqué which details the station's long history of being a good steward the airwaves while posing a radical challenge to the FCC's licensing policies which deny the existence of stations like FRO. The station may consider separating its studio from transmitter via webcasting, which seems to at least complicate the FCC's enforcement process, if not stymie it.