Thursday, May 15, 2008

Pirate Radio in Boston


Over on Universal Hub, I've been following the story of Touch 106.1 FM, a pirate radio station based out of Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester. The station primarily serves the Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan neighborhoods of Boston and has filled the void left when Boston's only hip-hop station, Hot 97.7, was sold. The FCC has cracked down on proprietor Charles Clemons but, as far as I know, the station is still broadcasting.

Yeah, I know it's illegal and all, and I'm not even into hip-hop, but I can't help but root for Touch FM. Maybe I'm romanticizing things, but the idea of a guy operating a covert radio station strikes me as kind of awesome, in a damn-the-man Pump Up The Volume sort of way.
This story also illustrates the notion that sometimes bloggers are the best source for local news. I haven't seen anything about Touch FM in the Globe or the Herald.
Update: Dochester's local paper profiles the station.

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