wheatley@inuxi.UUCP (Steven Wheatley) (10/14/85)
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:: T H E W 5 Y I R E P O R T ::
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:: D i t s & B i t s ::
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:: Vol 7 #20 -- 10/15/85 ::
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:: HamNet Electronic Edition ::
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Up to the minute news from the worlds of amateur radio, personal
computing and emerging electronics. While no guarantee is made,
information is from sources we believe to be reliable. May be
reproduced providing credit is given to The W5YI Report.
In this issue:
- A Special Report on Broadcast Use of Amateur Radio
HamNet thanks Fred Maia, W5YI, for permission to excerpt this Electronic
Edition of his W5YI Report. The full ten-page biweekly newsletter is
available by mail for $21 per year from Fred at Dept. C, PO Box 10101,
75207. Samples available for a 2 stamp large SASE.
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The W5YI Report, even though a VEC in all regions, has been given
permission by the FCC to distribute license preparation materials as a
convenience to applicants and VE's. All manuals contain ALL questions,
answers and discussion why the answer is right! You can order the
guides from The W5YI Report, Dept. C, PO Box 10101, Dallas, TX 75207.
The following guides are available:
FCC-Novice Study Guide $3.00 + $1.00 Postage
FCC-Novice Element 2 Test $1.00 + $0.50 Postage
FCC-Tech/General Study Guide $5.00 + $1.50 Postage
FCC-Advanced Study Guide $5.00 + $1.50 Postage
FCC-Extra Class Study Guide $5.00 + $1.50 Postage
FCC Part 97 Rules Book $3.00 + $1.50 Postage
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Note: Would you like to become a Volunteer Examiner under The W5YI
Report program? If so, please send a copy of your Extra Class license,
the following statement, and an SASE to:
W5YI - VEC - Dept. C
PO Box 10101
Dallas, TX 75207
You will also receive a booklet on how the Volunteer Examination program
operates and how to go about giving tests. A certificate
(optional) is also available for $1.00. Details and accreditation
materials will be sent to you within a two week period. Include
the following statement with your VE request:
"I am a currently licensed Extra Class amateur radio operator and wish
to be a Volunteer Examiner. I have never had my station or operator
license revoked or suspended. I do not own a significant interest in
nor am an employee of any company or entity engaged in making or
distributing amateur radio equipment or license preparation materials.
My age is at least 18 years old."
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Do you have Amateur Radio news to contribute to The W5YI Report? If so,
please call (817) 461-6443 and leave a message on Fred's recorder!
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o Broadcast Use of Amateur Radio - Mexico City
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To what extent can amateur radio be used by broadcasters during an
emergency? That is really the big amateur radio story to come out of
Mexico City. Powerful tremors rocked the world's second most populated
city on the morning of September 19th downing phone lines and knocking
out long distance communications.
Quickly reacting to the disruption in commercial communications, the
news media for the first time established logistical radio circuits
right in the middle of the ham bands. They said the "new rules" allowed
it. Radio and television news correspondents and anchors converged on
Mexico City... their travel and support coordinated on amateur radio by
broadcast hams.
Journalists, concerned with only one objective, reporting the news and
getting their people and equipment in and out of Mexico City, were
annoyed with other amateurs interfering with their transmissions.
Broadcasters more or less took over the ham bands. Media people are
very aggressive and do whatever it takes to report the news. As a mass,
ham operators were completely confused!
Angry amateurs wanted to know "How can this legally happen?"..."Doesn't
the FCC forbid news gathering and transacting business on amateur
radio?" They heard of 'new rules' from transmissions that they monitored
but didn't know what they were. My phone rang off the hook... "What
did I miss? Why doesn't the amateur radio community know about them...
Why didn't you report them?" ... You can use ham radio for reporting an
emergency, but you can't use it to report on an emergency. When did
that change? Just take a listen to twenty meters... you won't believe
it!"...and on and on! Quite honestly, it caught us by surprise, too.
While I did make a couple of phone calls before the last issue went to
press, there wasn't time then to investigate the broadcast use of ham
radio in detail. One thing became apparent. I wasn't the only one
getting complaints. The FCC got them by the dozen.
HISTORY: BROADCAST USE OF HAM RADIO
Nearly seven years ago the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)
filed a petition seeking to allow CBers and amateurs to transmit
emergency and public safety information for broadcast and broadcast
related purposes.
The Commission ruled (on March 15, 1979) that amateurs were prohibited
from participating in these communications... no exceptions. CB, on the
other hand, could be used for news gathering - although not for
broadcasting to the public - since "business" could legally be conducted
there.
In 1982, Congress modified Section 605 of the Communications Act to
eliminate the statutory prohibition on the unauthorized interception of
amateur and CB radio transmissions. In a sentence, amateur
communications were no longer to be considered private. Section 605 was
redesignated Section 705 in 1984.
THE GRENADA INVASION NEWS BLACKOUT
Many questions arose during the United States invasion of Grenada in
October of 1983 concerning broadcast use of amateur radio. The media
was prevented from covering the military action by a Department of
Defense news blackout. Newsmen were herded onto nearby Barbados Island
and prevented from going to Grenada. They weren't happy.
The only news link as to what was going on in Grenada came from a
medical student who happened to be a ham operator. He reported the
invasion to the world from under a table at the medical school campus.
Broadcasters, starving for news, began reporting and rebroadcasting his
transmissions. The FCC issued cautioning bulletins as to what the media
could and could not do on amateur spectrum.
COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW UNDERTAKEN
In light of the uncertainty about broadcast use of amateur radio, the
FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on July 12, 1984. The
Notice set forth specific proposals for eliminating restrictions and
procedures with respect to rebroadcast activity and for rewriting
portions of the amateur rules to clarify the Commission's policy with
respect to use of amateur facilities for broadcast purposes.
Up until this point, broadcasters had to obtain permission from the
station licensee and the FCC before personal radio transmissions could
be rebroadcast in the media. Amateurs weren't allowed to engage in any
form of broadcasting to the public, but could give rebroadcast consent
provided that the transmissions did not contain any reference to the
airing. Broadcasters were precluded from interacting with ham operators
since Part 97.114 prohibits use of an amateur station for third party
communications involving compensation or business.
JUST WHAT ARE 'THE NEW RULES'?
On June 7, 1985, the FCC finally released their ruling entitled
"Rebroadcasts of Transmissions of Non-Broadcast Radio Stations." It was
printed in the June 18th Federal Register (...pages 25241 to 25247 if
you want to read it at your public library). We reported on it in our
July 1st issue.
It set forth the following rule changes:
(1.) - The FCC eliminated the prohibition on rebroadcasts of Personal
Radio Service communications stating that they "were sensitive to the
First Amendment rights of broadcasters and do not wish to impose any
regulation that might necessarily restrict broadcasters access to
information sources."
(2.) - The FCC was concerned in 1984 that their amateur rules "might be
insufficiently specific with respect to (their) intent that they
prohibit all activities involving use of amateur stations for broadcast
purposes." They proposed to "resolve this by rewriting pasts of the
amateur rules and including a specific prohibition on the use of amateur
stations for broadcast news gathering and other program production
purposes."
Two powerful broadcast organizations, the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) and the Radio-Television News Directors Association
(RTNDA) supported bona fide news event gathering by amateur radio when
other telecommunications facilities were not available or inadequate.
NAB membership includes more than 4,500 commercial radio stations, 800
television stations and the major commercial broadcast networks. RTNDA
is a professional journalism organization of more than 2,000 news
directors and others involved in supervising, reporting and editing news
programs. Both groups are very well funded.
The ARRL opposed their position saying it was overly broad and
inconsistent with the noncommercial nature of the amateur radio service.
THE NEW AMATEUR RULES - PART 97.113
The final FCC amateur rules clearly prohibited use of amateur stations
for broadcast news gathering or production as originally proposed. Part
97.113 was rewritten to make this crystal clear. There were no
exceptions! The FCC said in new Part 97.113 that...
(a.) An amateur station shall not be used to engage in any form of
broadcasting, that is, the dissemination of radio communications
intended to be received by the public directly or by intermediary relay
stations...
(b.) An amateur station may not be used for any activity related to
program production or news gathering for broadcast purposes.
(c.) An amateur station shall not retransmit programs or signals
emanating from any class of radio station other than amateur except for
emergency communications which were redefined by the Commission to
ensure against any misinterpretation.
The redefinition of "Emergency Communication" (Part 97.3(w) is "A
non-directed request for help or a distress signal directly relating to
the immediate safety of human life or the immediate protection of
property." The key word is non-directed. It was a very narrow and clear
definition.
PARAGRAPH 22 OF THE FCC ORDER...
The FCC acknowledged, however, that broadcasters had sought a much
broader application of amateur radio to broadcast purposes. The RTNDA
and the NAB wanted to use amateur radio circuits when commercial
facilities were not available. Ham operators...and communications...are
always readily available. There are few remote locations where a ham
station is not already set up and operational. Broadcasters wanted to
use them.
The FCC decided not to provide for any "unnecessary exceptions in the
amateur rules which could needlessly encourage unauthorized broadcast
related amateur transmissions." At least that is what they said in one
portion of the Order...
THE BROADCAST LOOPHOLE EMERGES...
In another, the FCC said RTNDA's needs could be accomodated by a "rule
of reason." While never appearing in the written amateur rules, the
Commission wrote in paragraph 22 of their Order that...
"Conveying news information directly relating to an unforeseen event
which involves the safety of human life or the immediate protection of
property falls within this rules of reason, if it cannot be transmitted
by any means other than amateur radio because of the remote location of
the originating transmission or because normal communications have been
disrupted by earthquake, fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, severe storm
or national emergency."
The Commission further added that "We believe acceptable uses of amateur
radio in emergencies are governed by traditional common sense
interpretations..."
RTNDA AND NETWORKS INTERPRET RULES
When broadcasters received the new rules last June, they took particular
note of paragraph 22. Here was a loop-hole in the ruling. The RTNDA's
legal counsel, Larry Scharff of the Washington law firm of Pierson, Ball
& Dowd, put out a "Special Report" in August that was very widely
distributed. Every newsroom across the country got it.
In it, Scharff said that the FCC's Order was complex when applied to
their request for increased journalistic use of ham radio during an
emergency. The RTNDA published paragraph 22 of the Order in their
Special Report. While acknowledging that the FCC generally reinforced
its rules prohibiting ham radio stations being used for broadcast
purposes - the RTNDA opinion to news broadcasters said the paragraph...
(1.) - "...went beyond its new non-directed 'distress call' emergency
communications definition to include transmitting news information
during a disaster when normal channels have been disrupted."
He was right! While paragraph 22 used the word "emergency", it also
related it to "conveying news information directly related to an
unforeseen event..."
(2.) - ...the FCC is not expected to interpret the "safety of human
life... the immediate protection of property... or the newly adopted
'emergency' rule" requirements 'narrowly.'
(3.) - "...the FCC condones 'common sense interpretations' of ham radio
use in emergencies."
(4.) - "...it is the RTNDA's legal opinion 'that paragraph 22 permits
cooperation between broadcasters and ham operators in such instances as
immediate post-hurricane or immediate post-plane crash coverage, even
when there is no immediate threat to life or property..."
(5.) - News organizations were advised to have their attorneys review
the new rules "to determine the extent to which ham facilities may be
used for broadcast purposes."
ARRL ASKS FCC TO RECONSIDER
While it never made it to the rules, the League also noted paragraph 22.
They filed a Petition for Reconsideration on the emergency
communications definition and criticized the "rule of reason"
broadcaster/ham operator cooperation approach taken by the Commission.
Another amateur, David B. Popkin, W2CC, of New Jersey, also took issue
with the ruling.
Both said there were shortcoming in the Order. The League said that
clear parameters for amateur operation during emergencies should be
stated in the amateur rules. In responding to the two Petitions for
Reconsideration, the NAB and RTNDA jointly agreed that a clarification
of paragraph 22 was needed.
"NAB and RTNDA believe that in paragraph 22 of the Report and Order, the
Commission essentially has adopted our recommendation that amateur radio
operators be allowed to cooperate voluntarily with broadcasters for news
gathering and reporting purposes when information about extraordinary
and significant events cannot be transmitted by other means of
communication," their August 26th comments on the Petitions for
Reconsideration read.
"The paragraph specifically states that the new rules permit amateur
radio cooperation with journalists in certain situations and refers
approvingly to examples offered by the RTNDA in its comments in this
proceeding, including the use of amateur radio during 'severe weather
and seismic conditions, ...tornados after they have struck and severed
all other communications systems, ...rapidly moving forest fires
...(and) an airline crash in a remote area.' These definitions clearly
go beyond the definition of emergency communication adopted in the
Report and Order...'a non-directed request for help or a distress
signal'"
NAB, RTNDA REQUESTS CLARIFICATION
The NAB and RTNDA again in August asked that the FCC "adopt, as an
exception to the prohibition against business communications and
broadcast related activities of amateur radio, a provision that would
allow voluntary cooperation between an amateur operator and a broadcast
journalist for news gathering and reporting when information concerning
extraordinary and important news events cannot be transmitted by other
means of communications."
The NAB and RTNDA said that "At minimum, the Commission should add a
footnote to Part 97.3(w) stating:
For purposes of amateur radio operators cooperating with the news
media in certain emergency situations, a "rule of reason" will
apply.
They also added that without further clarification "...that aids the
free flow of information to the public, the Commission's new rules raise
serious dum qrocess and First Amendment issues." The NAB and RTNDA again
"urged the Commission to adopt rule changes that would permit amateur
radio operators to cooperate with journalists for news gathering and
reporting purposes when information concerning extraordinary and
important events cannot be transmitted by other means of communication."
MEXICO CITY LEVELED BY EARTHQUAKE
All of this... the legal interpretations by the networks and their
industry association counsels... the Petitions for Reconsideration...
the Comments on them... the RTNDA "Special Report"... was going on
between July 1st and the end of August.
On the morning of September 19th, Mexico City was devastated by a
terrible earthquake that killed over 5,000... and knocked out most, but
not all, long distance communications. Satellite circuits were still
available and used to transmit video and telephone communications out of
the city.
Freshly armed with all of the high priced legal opinions, reports, and
interpretations of what the FCC said in their June Report and Order
could be done on the ham bands during an "emergency", the media took
matters into their own hands. They established amateur radio logistical
and news gathering links which they maintained were legal and
specifically provided for. They had been given an inch... they took a
mile. In effect, broadcasters "tossed the ball" into the FCC's "court"
and have now forced a confrontation.
One thing is known! The Commission never intended to provide for any
amateur radio circuits being used for news media support, period! The
FCC went to great pains to preclude it. Still, their handling of
paragraph 22 remains a mystery.
We have talked to officials in the FCC's Private Radio Bureau and they
are as surprised as anyone over the extent that amateur radio was used
by the broadcasters. "We thought we put an end to all of that (amateur
spectrum use by broadcasters)," I was told.
We will have to wait and see how they deal with it. This story is
undoubtedly not over!
[End this issue]