"Bozo Pirates"

[Damon Cassell]

On Mon, 8 Mar 2004, Dan Billings wrote:

> I agree with Mr. Cole.

I agree with Mr. Ganley. 

It's been established that pirate radio station operators are generally
disliked by list members, but "bozo brains" is a little silly.

Anyone who goes through the trouble and aggravation of setting up a pirate
station has to have a pretty serious interest in radio, so I feel bad for
the guy.  

I consider radio listening (AM, FM, shortwave) a hobby and pirate radio
stations are undeniably an intriguing part of the history, past and
present, of radio. I know most on the list would feel a lot better (and I
am not sure why) if these stations never existed. Obviously, many people 
on the list earn a meal ticket from commercial radio stations. Maybe this 
is why. Or maybe, a lot of folks on the list are just threatened by 
something that violates the status quo. 

But for me, they are just one of the things that makes radio interesting. 
And it certainly is pretty difficult to maintain an interest in an era 
where radio stations are essentially terrestrial repeaters for 
satellite-fed corporate radio and the cliched and sanitized stuff it 
produces. 

I believe in an evolutionary theory of radio. It evolved as a result of 
experimenters and enthusiasts, picked up momentum and became an anarchic 
medium, tamed by government regulation only later, but never quite 
shedding itself of people who will always challenge the prevailing 
wisdom of the corporations that ultimately crawled onto land. You can try 
to eliminate these types, but I think radio would be the poorer for it. 

My mind, at least.

-d