3/5/04: At a hearing on the 19th floor of the SF Federal Building, Judge Susan Illston set a date of April 30th at 9 a.m. to hear SFLR's motion to dismiss the FCC's case against the microradio station. SFLR filed suit in federal court in December to reclaim its "arrested" studio equipment on constitutional grounds. Giving a new meaning to "pirate radio," federal agents last October invoked a 100-year-old maritime law, designed to allow boarding and seizure of the ships of pirates and smugglers, in making a surprise raid on the SFLR studio.
2/29/04: In the last two years, activists have made media reform one of the top issues on the public agenda here in the US, and victories continue on the anti-FCC battlefield. In the latest update, corporate-sponsored junkets for FCC Commissioners have been stopped. Last year, the Center for Public Integrity revealed that the FCC had accepted over $2.8 million in free travel and entertainment from the very industries they were regulating. Public outrage at this and the loosening of media ownership regulations resulted in the FCC finally banning this practice. Read More
In addition, low-power FM broadcasters -- nonprofit radio stations with a reach of just a few miles -- recently won a round. Last Friday, the FCC recommended to Congress that it eliminate restrictions that deprived communities of their own locally-oriented radio stations. If Congress writes this into law, it will clear the way for hundreds -- if not thousands -- of communities to begin broadcasting. The battle is just heating up, though, and issues still remain to be hashed out, such as what groups can apply for LPFM licences. Right now, many "local" LPFM stations are owned and operated by religious groups. History of LPFM | Prometheus Radio Project
It's quite possible that the federal appeals court in Philadelphia will roll back the all-important newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule, thanks to public pressure and a brilliant legal fight led by the Media Access Project. Congressional members continue to push for a rollback of the rest of the laws. Free Press has more details on the Battle with Big Media.