{"id":9713,"date":"2014-05-24T07:58:21","date_gmt":"2014-05-24T11:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=9713"},"modified":"2014-05-24T07:58:21","modified_gmt":"2014-05-24T11:58:21","slug":"boston-pirate-radio-a-vital-resource-in-minority-neighborhoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/boston-pirate-radio-a-vital-resource-in-minority-neighborhoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston pirate radio: a “vital resource” in minority neighborhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AlwaysBeAPirate\"<\/a>Many assume that pirate radio operators only exist\u00a0to interfere with commercial broadcasters–this couldn’t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n

Indeed, there are few “jammers” on the air; most pirates broadcast on unoccupied frequencies and play content that isn’t widely available on the commercial airwaves.<\/p>\n

Many thanks to Mike Hansgen for sharing this article from <\/a>The Boston Globe<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>which\u00a0takes a sympathetic view of FM pirates who had served minority communities–at least, before they were shut down by the FCC:<\/p>\n

\n

“Although illegal, such radio stations are a vital resource in immigrant and minority neighborhoods that are underserved by commercial mainstream broadcasters, advocates contend. In addition to playing music with an ethnic flair that\u2019s heard nowhere else on the dial, many unlicensed community radio stations feature talk programming that encourages listener participation on topical issues such as immigration, local and international politics, and sports from back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sad to see that [federal agents] shut them down, because even though they are pirate stations, they truly are the main source of communication in those communities,\u201d said Yessenia Alfaro, director of organizing at\u00a0Chelsea Collaborative<\/a>\u00a0, a social justice nonprofit. \u201cIt certainly has a negative impact when they shut these down. They are the main outreach vehicle for people who speak a different language.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some outfits, like\u00a0Radio Uganda Boston<\/a>\u00a0in Waltham, opt to have an online presence outside of radio, but many new immigrants and low-income families have no access to computers or can\u2019t afford the monthly bills for Internet access, Alfaro said. Many also cannot read, even in their native language, rendering radio the only source for information, she added.<\/p>\n

Despite the potential for tens of thousands of dollars in fines and seizure of transmitting equipment, \u201cpirates\u201d continue to take the risk in order to serve the underserved, said Bruce Conti, a longtime radio enthusiast from Nashua and the international radio columnist for the National Radio Club magazine DX News.<\/p>\n

Even if they have tried to operate legally, most individuals have been priced out of potential station ownership under relaxed FCC rules that have the majority of radio stations owned by large corporations, like Clear Channel and CBS, Conti said in an e-mail. There are also no available open broadcasting channels to be had in Greater Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo an interested buyer can only wait for an existing radio station to become available\/for sale, again driving up the cost of entry,\u201d he wrote. \u201cLicensed commercial radio stations in the Boston metro area have abandoned service to the inner city, so most . . . pirate radio stations in Boston are filling a void.\u201d<\/p>\n

[Continue Reading…<\/a>]”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many assume that pirate radio operators only exist\u00a0to interfere with commercial broadcasters–this couldn’t be further from the truth. Indeed, there are few “jammers” on the air; most pirates broadcast on unoccupied frequencies and play content that isn’t widely available on the commercial airwaves. Many thanks to Mike Hansgen for sharing this article from The Boston […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,297],"tags":[2921,2922,1583,4092],"class_list":["post-9713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-pirate-radio","tag-boston","tag-bruce-conti","tag-fm-pirates","tag-pirate-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2wF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7142,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/08\/a-great-weekend-to-catch-some-pirate-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":0},"title":"A great weekend to catch some pirate radio action","author":"Thomas","date":"August 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Monday, September 2nd, is Labor Day throughout most of North America; shortwave pirates love to operate on long holiday weekends (though you can hear them most any weekend for that matter). So, if you've never heard a live pirate station on shortwave radio, this is a great opportunity to catch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Most pirate radio stations will send you an electronic or paper QSL. This is one I received from All Along The Watchtower Radio. (Click to enlarge)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/AATW-QSL32-300x192.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":34516,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/pirate-radio-fcc-enforcement-focuses-on-small-markets\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":1},"title":"Pirate Radio: FCC Enforcement focuses on small markets","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Tom Taylor Now) The FCC\u2019s busting more pirates in smaller markets. True, the Dallas office issues two Notices of Unlicensed Operation for an 87.9 in Houston, run out of New Beginnings Fellowship Church. But agents from Dallas also found a pirate FM at 93.5 up in the smallish Texas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40405,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/halloween-a-playground-for-shortwave-pirates\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":2},"title":"Halloween: A playground for shortwave pirates!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates. Halloween falls on Thursday, October 31st, and although this is the middle of the week, expect pirates to emerge like The Great Pumpkin! Here are three\u00a0things you'll want to do Halloween night: 1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog Check\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4242,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/08\/review-of-the-2012-pirate-radio-annual\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":3},"title":"Review of the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual","author":"Thomas","date":"August 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Pirate radio is perhaps one of the most dynamic aspects of the diverse landscape of SWLing. In direct contrast with major broadcasters, many of whom are now thinning out their offerings, pirate radio just seems to adapt and grow. I started listening to shortwave pirates in earnest only a few\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PirateRadioAnnual.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15343,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/tune-in-halloween-weekend-is-a-pirate-radio-playground\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":4},"title":"Tune in: Halloween weekend is a pirate radio playground!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates...so, here are three\u00a0things you'll want to do this Halloween: Listen for pirate radio stations this weekend! \u00a0Turn on your radio anytime this weekend, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,800 - 6,990 kHz. Pirates broadcast on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Haloween-Pirate-Radio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34660,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/halloween-listen-for-shortwave-pirates\/","url_meta":{"origin":9713,"position":5},"title":"Halloween: Listen for shortwave pirates!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates. Halloween falls on Wednesday, October 31st, and although this is the middle of the week, expect pirates to emerge like The Great Pumpkin! Here are three\u00a0things you'll want to do Halloween night: 1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog Check\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Haloween-Pirate-Radio-1024x640.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}