FCC Silences Community Radio Station
(Brattleboro, Vermont, USA) On the cusp of celebrating five years of
community radio, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
unexpectedly entered the studios of radio free brattleboro on Tuesday,
June 24th and ordered the station to cease and desist from
broadcasting.
The staff of radio free brattleboro (rfb) regrets that its mission of
providing a community outlet for alternative music and news is now
interrupted. The staff is considering its options and welcomes public
input and comment.
Longtime DJ and trainer Steven Twiss, who coordinates monthly
community orientations, remarked, “it’s a real shame
because in addition to providing entertainment and information to the
community, we have trained hundreds of local citizens of all ages in
the art of radio broadcasting.”
Radio free brattleboro has grown in size since starting at the Teen
Center in July of 1998. The studio is currently located on Main
Street in downtown Brattleboro; rfb has a staff of about 70 DJs and 50
weekly shows.
The mission of radio free brattleboro is to uphold and exercise First
Amendment rights in the face of increasing homogenization of corporate
radio. David Long, co-founder and DJ explained “we’re
part of national movement to return the airwaves to the hands and
voices of the citizens as it was intended under the FCC’s
original mandate. The Bill of Rights explicitly states
‘Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of
speech,’ and it is clear to us and millions of Americans that
the FCC has failed all of us.”
To contact radio free brattleboro, please call (802) 258-9879 or email
. Correspondence and donations can be sent to PO Box
1951, Brattleboro, VT 05302.
*For more information please contact rfb members David Long (w)
802-463-1613 (h) 802-254-7676. Or Larry Bloch (h) 802-254-9106.
*Please view the Brattleboro Reformer’s article on the events of
6/24/03. http://www.reformer.com (article published 6/25/03 is at
http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,14...478256,00.html)
*A video of the FCC visit of 6/24/03 and a current program guide is
available by contacting Radio Free Brattleboro.