What a story! 14 year old (with Dad’s help) kid in Ottawa launches a 2,000 watt pirate radio station.
Ottawa boy ordered to shut down his radio station
I saw the story had 338 comments and assumed it was 338 freedom loving rock and rollers coming together to say fuck yeah! But when you assume, you make an ass of u and me.
I read this blog post where people want to put him in jail? Throw the book at him! Get child services involved! rar rar rar.
“Yes, he should be fined to the maximum extent of the law, which is at least $5000 and possibly more. And all of the equipment should be confiscated, including the antenna and tower.” Gordon Dewis
First off….
look at this kid. I don’t think he normally crushes a lot of vag, he needs to be on the radio. I should know.
Second… WTF Canada? When do we cheer on the government to champion the rights of uh… ginormous corporations? I missed that meeting, maybe I am supposed to be on the government’s side?
Calm down everyone, its a pirate radio station… they make movies about these things.
I’ve always wanted to start a radio station and have bold plans for my own pirate station if the Lotto Max thing works out.
I’ve wanted to start my own station longer than I can remember. When I was a kid taking Marketing in high school we had to do a year end project where we make a business plan for a business.
All the kids pick clothing stores or restaurants. I made a radio station. I felt very strongly at the time that Ozzy Osbourne needed to be on the radio way more than he was in 1997. I made a business plan for a station called CHMR, the Hammer! All Metal ALL THE TIME! Grrrrr.
The station had a mascot, the Phantom Dreamer… it was this character my friend Adam invented. He was this boy/man with a blank stare that carried a two handed sledge hammer that was always dripping blood. Fucking hard core man. This station’s target demographic was virgins, the unemployed, LARPers and most of the residents of Mission.
I don’t remember my grade, but it was most probably a A.
The Morning After Show was the closest I’ll likely ever get to what MY radio station would sound like. Indie rock interrupted by 40 minute tirades that consisted of half-informed political opinion, sexism, and Art Bellesque Conspiracy theory diatribe.
Now I am older and oh so wiser and the plan if far more sinister and basic. A low watt FM, 40 watts maybe. A tall building in the WestEnd of Vancouver… and the cool sounds of freedom.
That is low key, the “oh my god, you mean I have to actually invest my own money on this” sorta plan.
My lotto max radio station will be even more fun.
An AM radio station.
Easy, the corporations abandon them all the time, so I figure anyone can have one now. The ones that still exist that aren’t news/talk/sports are a joke. I’d play rock and roll and just generally be groovy. Seems radical I know, but funny story, no AM radio station does that? weird… you’d think the old duffers that haven’t shuffled off the mortal coil would be into some “Crimson and Clover” spinning on a 45 played by some guy way to stoned to be standing upright. But maybe not? Maybe they’re all too busy, logging onto the CBC message boards demanding the government take decisive and swift action against Puberty over in Ottawa?
Maybe CHMR should fire up, I can count on the virgins and LARPers.
Go with yourself.
You make a lot of strong points here, Jeremy. I especially like the one about that guy (likely) scoring less than Shane O’Brien. Here’s the problem: The CRTC can’t choose who gets in trouble, and who doesn’t when the rules are broken. Government Commissions must hold people accountable, publicly in my opinion, or else the message they send is a dangerous one. So one kid broke the rules? So what! So one station didn’t fulfill all it’s spoken word commitments? So what! So one radio company didn’t pay it’s SOCAN bills? So what? It’s a slippery slope, and when I pay the salaries of those empowered to enforce the rules, I want to know they’re doing their job. I hold them accountable, for holding the industry accountable.
That said, they shouldn’t find the kid $5,000. Tell him to take the signal down, publicly praise the kid for his passion for local radio, and give him a job at the CBC rolling cords, or working in a studio somewhere. The Government looks good for going easy on him, and for giving the impression to the general public that they’re doing their job.
By the Way: CHMR “The Hammer” would have ruled my world in 1997.
yeah his biggest problem was 2000 watts! zoinks and he interrupted the CBC signal… so that will piss off a lot of people. Smaller frequency, and squat on something not used… no problem to me. or broadcast on the new unregulated frontier; the internet… how many of those stations are paying SOCAN?
If it becomes an artists rights thing, … I am sure he could pay the blanket NON-Comm rate which is? maybe $500 a year? $1,000?
and for people into Pirate Radio, check out 40 Watts From Nowhere! http://www.amazon.ca/40-Watts-Nowhere-Journey-Pirate/dp/0743229886
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