“Following this global trend of consolidating private ownership of public resources, channels of mass communication have become less and less accessible to individuals and local communities. The assumption that most of our society desires a spoon-fed version of current political and cultural events, denies the potential for an ever-changing blend of ideas and values to stimulate social change on a local level.”
The following is taken from the Evolutionary Statement of Radio Free Cascadia (RFC) 98.5FM:
“The capitalist marketplace has put a price on the earth and the very thoughts of citizens, as if these were products to be owned and traded by faceless economic machines. Huge multinational conglomerates, facilitated by the industrial governments of the world, use their profits to control more and more public space, from national forests and city parks to television, print and radio media.
“Following this global trend of consolidating private ownership of public resources, channels of mass communication have become less and less accessible to individuals and local communities. The assumption that most of our society desires a spoon-fed version of current political and cultural events, denies the potential for an ever-changing blend of ideas and values to stimulate social change on a local level.
“Mass media provides a constant flow of meaningless, consumer-oriented, mass-produced cultural symbols that simultaneously encourage both uniformity and competition. This commercialization of culture is a massive obstacle to the emergence of the creative social interaction and artistic expression that is vital to confront the diverse problems facing civilization.
“Citizens around the globe have chosen to respond to this domination of public discourse nonviolently and pro-actively, by simply reclaiming these public spaces, even in the face of violent government repression. Micro-power or ‘pirate’ radio is one such response.
“Radio Free Cascadia seeks to be only one outlet for the incredible diversity of ideas and perspectives in our bio-region. Like the water, air and soil, radio airwaves are a public resource, and as such should be utilized for the greatest common good.
“RFC believes that the public freedoms expressed by the First Amendment of the Constitution should
apply equally to micro-power radio, Internet web sites and your local community bulletin board.
“Perhaps the FCC’s insistence on control over the airwaves is best explained by their economically biased regulatory process – hopelessly skewed in favor of corporate interests. RFC believes that to allow profit-driven corporate entities to elbow out
grass roots media channels is to mock the notion of free speech, and suppress the possibility of deeper social interations in our daily lives.
“RFC is prepared to confront this threat to the survival of our civil liberties through continued nonviolent direct action and constitutionally-based legal defense.”
Radio Free Cascadia has been providing an alternative to corporate radio for over three years to the Eugene community.
CONTACT: Steve Bouton at 541.242.0943
email: radio985@efn.org
PO Box 12200 Eugene, OR 97440
Author: Steve Bouton
News Service: The A-Infos News Service
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