Pirate radio

The term pirate radio lacks a specific universal interpretation. It implies a form of broadcasting that is unwelcomed by the licensing authorities within the territory where its signals are received, especially when the country of transmission is the same as the country of reception. When the area of transmission is not a country, or when it is a country and the transmissions are not illegal, those same broadcast signals may be deemed illegal in the country of reception. Therefore "pirate radio" can mean many things to many people. Pirate radio stations are sometimes called bootleg stations.

Possible origins of the term pirate radio

Pirate radio lacks a universal definition and the term's usage, with variations, seems to go back to the birth of broadcasting itself. The term pirate radio is a political term of convenience since the word "pirate" suggests a venture not sanctioned by any sovereign power. However, this is not a true definition with regards to the term pirate radio. While country (a) may license the use of a transmitter within its own sovereign jurisdiction, the output of that transmitter may be audible in country (b) which would never grant a license for the operation of the station from within its own borders.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1960's in the UK, the term referred to theft: the unlicensed broadcasters were seen by some to be 'stealing' audience from the state monopoly broadcaster, the BBC. Naturally, not all audiences were happy to be regarded as the BBC's property! It was also taken as a colourful reference to the seafaring and risk-taking nature of most offshore radio stations.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prime examples of this kind of activity have been Radio Luxembourg located in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and radio station XERF located at Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas, USA.

Related Topics:
Radio Luxembourg - Luxembourg - XERF - Ciudad Acuña - Coahuila - Mexico - Rio Grande - Del Rio, Texas - USA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The English language evening broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg were intentionally beamed toward the British Isles by Luxembourg licensed transmitters, while the intended audience in the United Kingdom originally listened to their radio sets by permission of a Wireless License issued by the British General Post Office (GPO). However, under terms of that Wireless License, it was an offense under the Wireless Telegraphy Act to listen to unauthorized broadcasts such as those transmitted by Radio Luxembourg. Therefore as far as the British authorities were concerned, Radio Luxembourg was a "pirate radio station" and British listeners to the station were breaking the law.

Related Topics:
British Isles - United Kingdom - Radio - Wireless - General Post Office - GPO - Wireless Telegraphy Act - Unauthorized broadcasts

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The relationship between Mexico and the USA was a little different. While Mexico issued radio station XERF with a license to broadcast, the power of its 250,000 watts transmitter was far greater than the maximum of 50,000 watts authorized for commercial use by the government of the United States of America. Consequently, XERF and many other radio stations in Mexico which sold their broadcasting time to sponsors of English-language commercial and religious programs, were labeled as "border blasters", but not "pirate radio stations", even though the content of many of their programs were in violation of US law. Predecessors to XERF, for instance, had originally broadcast in Kansas, advocating "goat-gland surgery" for improved masculinity, but moved to Mexico to evade US laws about advertising medical treatments, particularly unproven ones.

Related Topics:
Watts - United States of America - Border blasters - Kansas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The difference between these two examples is that in the UK, the government licensed both the use of transmitters and receivers, but in the USA only the use of transmitters was licensed. The basis of this fundemental difference is found in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America which until very recently was interpreted to allow the unrestricted right of any person within the USA to listen to any ordinary broadcast from whatever the source. However, this interpretation initially opened the door to commercial companies who attempted to enforce their own licensing authority, with respect to the sale and use of their transmitters.

Related Topics:
First Amendment - Constitution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1924, New York City station WHN was accused of being an "outlaw" station by AT&T (then American Telephone and Telegraph Company) for violating trade licenses which only permitted AT&T stations to sell airtime on their transmitters. As a result of the AT&T interpretation a landmark case was heard in court, which even prompted comments from Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover when he took a public stand in the station's defense. Although AT&T won its case, the furor created was such that those restrictive provisions of the transmitter license were never enforced.

Related Topics:
New York City - Outlaw - AT&T - American Telephone and Telegraph Company - Airtime - Secretary of Commerce - Herbert Hoover

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another variation on the term pirate radio came about during the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco during the hippie days when many things were named "free". Examples include "free store", "free love" and even "free radio", which usually referred to clandestine and unlicensed land-based transmissions. These were also tagged as being "pirate radio" transmissions.

Related Topics:
Summer of Love - San Francisco - Hippie

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The term free radio crossed the Atlantic Ocean, where it was adopted by the Free Radio Association of listeners who defended the rights of the "pirate radio stations" broadcasting from ships and marine structures off the coastline of the United Kingdom. However, the term free radio also has another meaning, because it differentiates between that form of licensed broadcasting supported by the sale of commercial airtime which anyone can hear free of charge, from that form of licensed commercial broadcasting (especially television) that listeners and especially viewers have to subscribe to and which is usually known as Pay TV.

Related Topics:
Atlantic Ocean - Free Radio Association - United Kingdom - Pay TV

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In Europe, in addition to adopting the term free radio, supportive listeners of what had been called "pirate radio" adopted the term offshore radio, which was usually the term used by the owners of the marine broadcasting stations.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Freebooter was yet another variation of the term pirate radio and it was sometimes used by the business press in the USA when describing marine broadcasting in Europe.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While pirate radio began as a defamatory term in Britain, it later became accepted as having a secondary meaning to describe adventurous forms of licensed broadcasting that had roots in true offshore unlicensed broadcasting. To this end the British licensing authorities have allowed both independent stations and to date even one local BBC station to use this name, while the government retained use of the term pirate radio to describe any stations on land or at sea which are broadcasting without a license and contrary to law.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~