A Brief History of Pirate Radio in the United States
While many American’s are accustomed to Freedom of Speech being the norm in the United States, it is not the norm when it comes to radio broadcasting. The Federal Communications Commission created in 1934, a more robust and firm regulatory body compared to its counterpart the Federal Radio Commission. The FCC enforced morality, profane and indecent speech as well as illegal broadcasting.
Illegal broadcasting, is when an individual or group of individuals, uses an FM or AM transmitter to use a vacant or occupied radio frequency to broadcast an opinion, news or music over said frequency without a license. To obtain a license you must essentially rent the frequency from the Federal Government. The FCC owns the frequency, you have to rent it from them. Therefore, it is stealing of property and you can be fined and punished, First Amendment be Damned. While I can write at depth about this topic, I want to save you all the time and redirect you to my Pirate Radio Mini Series on my Podcast, Backpacking America.