Where Were You When They Shut Down Pirate Cat Radio?
Chances are, when you’ve tired of your 19th straight listen to Black Eyed Pea’s latest jam, or can no longer stand the banal, pre-fabricated opinions that litter the FM airwaves, you have stumbled across a true San Francisco gem — 87.9 fm, Pirate Cat Radio. Chances are if you have tried to find it again this last month, you’ve heard only static.
That is because the FCC recently put an end to Pirate Cat’s 13-year reign of terrestrial broadcasting, and fined PCR founder Monkey $10,000. The FCC sites a breach in section 301 of the US Communications Act of 1934, which forbids any person from transmitting signals by radio from within the United States without a license.
Pirate Cat has always been aware of this breach, but argue that they are legally allowed to do so. They cite the US Code Federal Regulations Title 47 Section 73.3542, which authorizes broadcasting without a license in times of national emergency, or continued involvement in a war.
The FCC’s order has volunteers and listeners livid. In a statement posted on Pirate Cat’s website, Monkey argues that since the FCC was first established to provide fair, efficient, and equitable distribution of radio service to serve the public interest, shutting down a radio station which does just that is preposterous and hypocritical.
The statement continues:
[ click to continue reading PCR statement at SFAppeal.com ]
[ click to visit Pirate Cat Radio – no federal a-holes allowed ]