The World According to Peter Hart-Brinson
The Free Radio Movement
Research
My
past research focused on the free radio movement that peaked in the
late 1990s and played a crucial role in motivating the FCC to establish
the new low-power FM (LPFM) class of radio licenses. I interviewed
24 past and current microradio operators throughout the United States
in order to gain an understanding of what they did, why, and the relationship
between the movement and the subsequent LPFM service. The movement
was driven by a harsh critique (sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit)
of mainstream radio,
both commercial
and non-commercial. Movement participants argued that mainstream radio
and the regulatory system that made it possible promoted cultural
homogeneity by excluding ordinary people from having access to radio
broadcasting. The movement was actually successful in that it put pressure
on the FCC to create a new class of non-commercial radio broadcast
licenses that would be available only to non-profit and educational
organizations.
In the published article below, I consider what lessons this case study
provides for scholars' understanding of the relationship between social
movements and mass media:
"Liberation Frequency: The Free Radio Movement and Alternative Strategies of Media Relations." The Sociological Quarterly, 47 (Fall 2006), 543-568. PDF.
This is an electronic version of an article published in The Sociological Quarterly: complete citation information for the final version of the paper, as published in the print edition of The Sociological Quarterly, is available on the Blackwell Synergy online delivery service, accessible via the journal’s website at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/tsq or http://www.blackwell-synergy.com.
I also have a conference paper on the relationship between the free radio movement and the broader media reform movement. That paper can be downloaded here.
For more information about this, please see my undergraduate thesis. Please note, this isn't the exact version that's actually in print. If you need full citation or correct page numbers, email me.
Resources
DIY Media--Web resource on microradio, LPFM, and other media-related topics.
Rogue Radio Research--Resources and research on the U.S. microradio movement.
Prometheus Radio Project--Organization that grew out of the microradio movement and is now assisting community groups establish licensed low-power FM stations.
Links
Making Waves--A documentary about the free radio movement. I still haven't seen it yet, but it's on my list.
Freeradio.org--Website of Free Radio Berkeley, still active.
Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? I don't see anyone else here, so you must be talking to me. Send me an email.
Page last updated November 13, 2009