Arrr! Radio Pirates!

In the recent class readings about the regulation of the media industry, most of the authors seem to divide the future of media into one of two camps.  It’s either government regulation or a no-holds-barred free market that eventually ends up in monopoly.  I think this is a false dichotomy, a choice between two solutions, neither of which is really that great. 

But there’s always a third way, and the early history of radio can show us a different way of doing things. 

A few years ago I read the book “Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in American” by Jesse Walker.  In it, he talks about the history of radio up until 1927, a time when the regulation of the airwaves was left not up to the government, but to the broadcasters themselves, who set up a mutual code of conduct so the could help each other self-police the airwaves.

At the time, radio wasn’t the tightly controlled corporate monopoly that we have today.  Radio evangelists, snake-oil salesman, one-man vaudeville shows, amateur reporters, and hobbyists of all kinds sailed along the airwaves.  

The spectrum was a seething sea of anarchy, and the broadcasters quickly learned that they had to have some sort of regulation to keeping from stepping on each other’s frequencies.  But the system they agreed upon was voluntary, brought on by the need for everyone to protect a shared resource.

As an anarchist (Oh no!  I just blew that internship at the State Department.)  I think it’s fascinating to look at historical moments when people came together and worked out their own rules without either corporations or the government being able to dominate the conversation. 

But this was all brought to an end by the Radio Act of 1927 that created the Federal Radio Commission, which later went on to become the FCC.  Attempts at licensing were made before this, but the government didn’t have the power to deny any applicants a license.  The pressure for regulation came not from liberal activists, as it does today, but by the large radio corporations who saw regulation as a way to cement their hold on the market.  

From what I’ve read I would argue that the radio we had back before 1927 was a lot more vibrant, informative, and entertaining than the bland radioscape that we have today, where you have to choose either corporate butt rock or NPR.  Regulation has only meant that the FCC auctions off the spectrum to the highest bidder, and today we have monstrosities like Clear Channel buying up stations like miners in the gold rush. 

So how do we go about dividing up a limited resource, like spectrum?  As a former pirate radio DJ, I helped take some of the spectrum back.  There are, believe it or not, still little islands left on the spectrum where you can anchor your ship and put up a transmitter.  Podcasting has killed off a lot of this movement, but it still exists for anyone that’s interested.  The relative ease of setting up a station in your attic  has shown that the FCC, despite threats, armed raids, and intimidation, will never be able to fully control the airwaves.

And I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.