[516] in libertarians
Free Radio Berkeley
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul D. Eccles)
Tue Dec 20 16:10:50 1994
From: "Paul D. Eccles" <pde@sd.inri.com>
To: libertarians@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 94 13:07:11 PST
Unlicensed Braodcaster Fights For Air Space
by Tanya Schevitz
San Francisco Examiner
After peeking out cautiously between the slits of curtains that shroud the
windows of his van, Stephen Dunifer quietly lights up.
He's not lighting up a joint, but the home-made radio transmitter that
flickers to life and send his pirate radio broadcast over the airwaves is just
as illegal as marijuana.
One of the growing band of illegal microbraodcasters around the country,
Dunifer feels that anyone who can piece together a transmitter and tap into
an unoccupied radio frequency should be able to spout their opinions over the
airwaves. So he does, flouting federal laws that say he needs a license to
broadcast from his station, Free Radio Berkeley.
Inspired by Black Liberation Radio, which began broadcasting from a public
housing project in Springfield, Ill., six years ago, Dunifer, 43, started Free
Radio Berkeley in April 1993 and wants to make all airwaves open to the public.
His blatent violation of FCC regulations has landed him in court and he now
faces $20,000 in fines for allegedly airing two dozen illegal broadcasts over
a 13 month period.
On Jan. 20, a U.S. District Court judge will rule whether the FCC can block
Dunifer from broadcasting without a license.
Dunifer acknowledges his transmissions are illegal under current laws, but
maintains the Constitution guarantees him the right to free speech - even over
the airwaves - under the First Amendment. Moreover, he maintians the soaring
costs of licensing and operating a legal radio station have made radio elitist.
The result is that most stations are run by corporations and wealthy
individuals, leaving many segements of the community without an outlet, he says.
Peter Franck, an attourney with the Committee on Democratic Communications
in San Francisco, which filed court papers in support of Dunifer, said the
FCC has set up a system that would be equivalent of charging money for someone
to get up on a soap box.
"The structure of the FCC's regulations bans anybody who hasn't got huge
amounts of money from broadcasting, which disenfranchises minority
communities and the poor," Franck said.
Dunifer estimates the signal of Free Radio Berkeley travels as far as 15
miles.
