I was reading the alt.radio.pirate newsgroup when I came across a post from DJ Johnny Silver, who is aparently the man behind Iron Action Radio in Nyack, NY. The post is promoting the “second film
about the Infamous DJ Johnny Silver,” which “is based on when the FCC came knocking at the door to shut the station down” around six years ago.
So, I went to the website, Primitive Man Hand, and watched the 12 minute video entitled, “The Chase.”
It’s a pretty well done amateur video, with good quality shooting and sound. But if it’s based on when the FCC busted Johnny Silver’s station, it must be loosely based. The bulk of the film is an extended chase sequence, wherein an FCC agent busts into Silver’s apartment, chases him out of the window, through a farmer’s market, onto skateboards, and eventually onto a dock where they have a martial arts battle.
Generally, FCC agents aren’t so well trained in combat techniques, nor are they permitted to bust into private residences without a warrant and actual cops doing the dirty work.
But what’s even more interesting is that DJ Johnny Silver apparently has started broadcasting again, though no longer from his kitchen as when he was busted. He has the story of the first station and its bust posted on the station’s blog.
According to the most recent blog post, Johnny Silver did an interview with the local Nyack newspaper for an article that he expected to be published on Sunday.
My only advice to DJ Johnny Silver is that he’d better be careful, since if indeed he is the same guy who pirated in Nyack back in 1996 and he is now broadcasting again, he’s giving the FCC a big head’s up as to who to look for and where to find him.
Also, I’d be concerned about the short films — I hope the person portraying DJ Johnny Silver is not the actual DJ Johnny Silver. If you’re trying to stay clandestine, it’s best not to give the feds a picture to go by, either.
Of course the question of publicity is always one that nags at any unlicensed radio broadcaster. If you want to avoid detection and a bust, you’d wisely limit your publicity, but then you also make it more difficult for listeners to find you. On the other hand, more publicity means increasing the risk of a bust.
For a lot of unlicensed broadcasters, they choose their level of risk based up their goals. Are they hoping to create a community radio station as an act of community empowerment or civil disobedience. Then perhaps being out in the open and risking FCC attention is worth it for the sake of providing an accessible community resource. That’s the calculus used by stations like Radio Free Brattleboro.
But a broadcaster may be more interested in putting some challenging information and culture out on the air, maybe not even 24/7, than creating a community station. In this case, being more clandestine, and limiting publicity, may be a good approach. This can be an especially useful method for providing event-based broadcasts, like during major protest actions. But it’s also fine to do a good, tight, well-produced weekly broadcast.
Personally, I think both approaches are valid, yet I think it’s important to make the choice thoughfully.
And if you want to be a little more well known, but also avoid getting busted, then I recommend looking to Boulder Free Radio for inspiration. They’ve used wi-fi technology to help separte their studio from the transmitter, and station founder Monk blogs about many of his techniques and thoughts.