GRC
I was not going to go here. But, I will. Thirty Years ago, I operated a pirate radio station called
Jolly Roger Radio. We had 20 live jocks and 80 more volunteers. We had thousands of fans and
were on AM, FM, and short Wave. We were closed by the FCC in November 1980.
I made the argument that those guys half way across the country in Washington, D.C. had no
right to come to Indiana and shut me down. And, this made for good publicity. The media loved this story.
I was saying this on NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, The NY Times and across the AP. I also
told how the FCC had given me an operators license that discriminated against my handicap. I was
angry with them.
My case took an unexpected direction. I was contacted by Senator Edward Kennedy. He told me the
FCC would give me a license. All I had to do was apply. The FCC agent from Chicago who shut me
down became my friend. He spent hours showing me how to do FCC paperwork. The FCC in
Washington let me hang out on M Street. The Chief of the Allocations Branch taught me how to find channels and change allotments.
I"ve had licenses from the FCC for more than 20 years now. The FCC is a much better choice to
regulate radio than local or state government. Over the years my stations have reported wrongdoing
by some local power players. Do you think it might have effected my ability to report the news
if I thought they could yank my license.
Also, the FCC will keep regulations uniform across our nation. I consider my friends who are
lawyers, judges, and politicians to be my peers. Give the local government authority in licensing
and you've made these guys my superiors.
We all are entitled to be wrong sometimes and I was wrong way back then in my arguments
in the news against the FCC. We are better off with the FCC.
I was not going to go here. But, I will. Thirty Years ago, I operated a pirate radio station called
Jolly Roger Radio. We had 20 live jocks and 80 more volunteers. We had thousands of fans and
were on AM, FM, and short Wave. We were closed by the FCC in November 1980.
I made the argument that those guys half way across the country in Washington, D.C. had no
right to come to Indiana and shut me down. And, this made for good publicity. The media loved this story.
I was saying this on NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, The NY Times and across the AP. I also
told how the FCC had given me an operators license that discriminated against my handicap. I was
angry with them.
My case took an unexpected direction. I was contacted by Senator Edward Kennedy. He told me the
FCC would give me a license. All I had to do was apply. The FCC agent from Chicago who shut me
down became my friend. He spent hours showing me how to do FCC paperwork. The FCC in
Washington let me hang out on M Street. The Chief of the Allocations Branch taught me how to find channels and change allotments.
I"ve had licenses from the FCC for more than 20 years now. The FCC is a much better choice to
regulate radio than local or state government. Over the years my stations have reported wrongdoing
by some local power players. Do you think it might have effected my ability to report the news
if I thought they could yank my license.
Also, the FCC will keep regulations uniform across our nation. I consider my friends who are
lawyers, judges, and politicians to be my peers. Give the local government authority in licensing
and you've made these guys my superiors.
We all are entitled to be wrong sometimes and I was wrong way back then in my arguments
in the news against the FCC. We are better off with the FCC.