If you try to operate what is also known as a "pirate" radio station and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) gets wind of it you will be shut down and your equipment seized. (Thereby leaving you free to go out and commit some real crimes.) According to Reason magazine Southern Florida seems to be a particularly popular spot for pirate radio stations. In fact the FCC has recently shut down approximately 34 pirate radio stations.
Hot 97 was the victim of a recent FCC crackdown. "So what?" you may find yourself asking. Well the community of Liberty City, where the show was produced, is very concerned about the shut down. Liberty City is a small town, near downtown Miami, high in crime, trash, and graffiti. The man who ran Hot 97 (Bo) began as a DJ after a 12 year stint in a state prison. He bought his equipment "one piece at a time." He made money by playing music at weddings and parties.
Bo has taken his illegal radio station and given "at-risk" youths jobs, raised money for the needy, publicly addressed issues of importance for young people throughout Miami such as teen pregnancy, drugs, crime, etc. When the FCC seized his equipment the community sent the government 11,000 signatures urging them to restore Bo's equipment and allow him to broadcast. The FCC basically told the community to forget it.
According to Westword a (sometimes) controversial community paper in Denver, Dave Granger a former radio DJ in Boulder began his own radio station Capitol Underground in 1998. In July of this year the FCC shut him down. His broadcasts didn't even reach five miles. The FCC and three Denver police officers showed up to close his station. (Meanwhile somebody in Denver was getting raped, robbed, beaten, etc. but thank God they closed down that pirate radio station - you can sleep better tonight!)
Apparently the FCC is now thinking about changing the licensing restrictions which would allow some of the pirate radio stations to broadcast. In fact you can visit their wesite www.fcc.org and comment on the issue until Septermber 1, 1999.
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