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Pirate Radio USA

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A A A Comments By Blake Whitaker Thursday, Feb 19 2009

Armed with homemade mini--broadcasters and little else, the underground DJs of Pirate Radio USA are on a mission to scuttle corporate domination of the airwaves. The 2006 documentary offers a look at illegal stations where radio pirates “microcast” their programming at ultralow frequencies, FCC regulations be damned. Filmmakers Jeff Pearson and Mary Jones narrate effusively from a working pirate radio station, revealing a world where the little broadcasters have the means to exercise true freedom of speech (and do so -commercial-free, of course). The film showcases setups from the Tucson desert to the ports of Washington State, with broadcast excerpts providing a taste of autonomous radio in action. The budget is small; you have to love the purposefully modest plastic models used to portray the film’s different locales. The message, however, is clear: Sometimes winning one for democracy means operating outside the law. Funds raised today benefit the Houston Independent Media Center. 7 p.m. Rice University, 6100 Main. For information, visit www.himc.org. Free; donations encouraged.