from bbc: Authorities have been increasing their efforts to crack down on pirate radio stations in the UK. Regulator Ofcom says the broadcasts can put lives at risk by interfering with emergency service frequencies, and can also block legitimate stations. Police officers raided an address in north London which, they say, housed an illegal radio station. Five people were arrested and officers seized thousands of pounds worth of broadcasting and musical equipment. Ofcom says there are more than 150 pirate radio stations operating across the UK, half of which operate in London and the South East of England. Last year, officers raided 43 studios used by illegal stations and shut down 838 illegal transmitters. Ofcom's head of investigations, Paul Mercer, told BBC News that pirate radio was not a victimless crime. "Ofcom receive complaints from the emergency services. The two services that are most affected are the National Air Traffic services and the London Fire Brigade. In both instances, because of the proximity of the frequencies used by those services and the illegal broadcasters, they can suffer some difficulties when trying to use their radio systems to communicate." However, one pirate radio DJ told the BBC that while pirate stations may have interfered with the emergency services in the past, it was now a rare occurrence. Steve, who manages the pirate radio station Ice Cold FM, said: "Problems can occur if people use a badly built link box that connects the studio to the transmitter."
bloggers aren't journalists
update: rasmussen poll: online news sources seen as reliable as local papers
Dave
It is amazing that the ‘authorities’ can trot out the same old scare stories about any independent or unauthorised expression and get away with it, although maybe it’s not that surprising that the ‘official’ media are only too happy to join in.
btw. apologies for Gordon Brown, he’s got nothing to do with me.
Dave
UK