News	Email this article

Pirate raids leave San Diego in a static lurch

By Erin Blakemore

October 3, 2005

San Diego--San Diego’s modern-day pirates have left the dial. It appears that San Diego has lost yet another alternative media outlet – this time in the form of its pirate radio stations, which were busted in FCC raids in July and August.

Free Radio 96.9, which bills itself as San Diego’s “most notorious unlicensed radio broadcaster,” is no stranger to FCC regulations – it has been the target of FCC scrutiny since its very first day on the air, when FCC agents tried to shut down its first broadcast out of a van atop Mount Soledad.

The station subsequently moved from mobile broadcasts to its permanent location on Bancroft Street in South Park, reaching listeners from the bay area to Tijuana – and defying governmental restrictions that make it next to impossible to gain a radio station license.

Founder Bob Ugly’s solution:  reclaim an unused frequency, fill the dial with alternative news broadcasts, protest coverage, political commentary, and unfiltered DJ sets from a group of volunteers willing to risk the $11,000 fine for operating an illicit station. The success of the station quickly spawned another pirate radio station, 106.9, which provided music and rebroadcasts of radioactive radio, a local, Web-based radio collective.

These two popular stations tapped into a ready-made audience of indie rockers, hip-hop and world music enthusiasts, activists, and listeners of all ages who were ready for something more than Clear Channel’s steady stream of brain-damaged pop. Despite commitments on the part of both stations to ensure that their signals did not interfere with the power of other radio stations, the FCC maintained its zero-tolerance policy against unlicensed stations, even in the face of its repeated refusals to offer new licenses on unclaimed airwaves.

Armed with a search warrant and uniformed agents, the FCC confiscated all of Pirate 96.9’s equipment in late July.  A similar fate befell 106.9 in August, leaving two empty spaces on the dial – and opening a new chapter in the struggle to keep alternative voices on the air in San Diego.

Think this is a new development? Think again.

As Clear Channel’s largest national market, San Diego is especially susceptible to media consolidation and homogenization because of its unique border location.  In order to get around anti-trust laws, Clear Channel buys, manages or gains control of Tijuana-based stations, effectively doubling the number of stations in the market and circumventing FCC regulation. The result: ineffective press-release driven news, endless top 40 hit parades and the crowding out of the independent voices that reflect the diversity and drive of the nation’s seventh largest city.

“Unfortunately, what the FCC's low frequency radio station licensing policies amount to is de facto media censorship. Clear Channel is the only real broadcasting force in the county, and in order for San Diegans to receive the kind of broadcast services they actually want, providers like Free Radio 96.9 and Pirate 106.9 have to operate illegally,” explains Kyla Calvert, a media activist who helped organize last year’s Media EmergenC, a national conference targeting ClearChannel and the National Association of Broadcasters and featuring workshops facilitated by Free Radio 96.9.

“The organizers of these broadcast services deserve to be recognized as vital community leaders who are serving a portion of the San Diego population often ignored by mainstream media outlets.  Instead, they are maligned as criminals.”

Both radio stations have vowed to resume operations as soon as new locations and equipment can be obtained. In the meantime, though, it’s nothing but static for San Diegans who care about who controls their airwaves.

Suggested Vyuz reading...

Does the Green Flash really exist? | By Erin Blakemore

Ramona Valley wine comes of age | By Erin Blakemore

Mexican Coca Cola bottles make run for the border | By David Moye

Tres vyuz on Cinco de Mayo | By David Moye

San Diego inventor gears up to deliver 200 miles per gallon | By Greg Fogg

Death by coconut unlikely in palm-filled San Diego | By Greg Fogg

San Diego State student changes roommates six times | By Maggie Grainger

San Diego keeps churning out the karaoke champions | By Larry Knowles

Irish college students flock to San Diego for a damn good time | By Kate Kowsh

San Diego activists released--but has the grand jury gone too far? | By Erin Blakemore

San Diego Dolls revive raucous roller derby | By Erin Blakemore