Four Freedoms Federation was the name used between 1983 through 1990 by a non-profit association of several groups clustered around the theme of the Four Freedoms. It was incorporated at various times in the states of Texas and Delaware in the United States and a commercial unit was also registered as two companies in the United Kingdom, although its work was international in scope and included activities in New Zealand.

1 Activities

Contents

1 Offshore broadcasting origin

Offshore broadcasting origin

The Four Freedoms Federation was created in stages by various groups who incorporated the name Four Freedoms into their activities. It was first used in Texas during 1983 to promote an offshore station intended to be anchored off the coast of southeastern England, when it was announced via the Media Network program of Radio Netherlands that the broadcasting ship would be named MV Four Freedoms after the State of the Union address delivered to the 77th Congress of the United States on January 6, 1941 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The reason given for naming the ship MV Four Freedoms http://www.offshore-radio.de/fleet/sealevel.htm was because one of the two stations to be located on board would be called VFG (Voice of the Free Gospel), and at the time there were no full time commercial religious stations that could be heard in the United Kingdom. The other station was to be a revival of the famous 1960s offshore station created by Don Pierson called Wonderful Radio London. The new version was to be given the name of WRLI or Wonderful Radio London International) on which the format was first announced as Top 40 and later as C&W. Although the offshore venture did not succeed in coming on the air, programs of both stations were syndicated from Mexico over XERF and a handful of US licensed stations in Texas.

Some of the WRLI programs then began to find their way back to England where many of them had been produced and unlicensed pirate radio transmitters then began to relay them without authorization. Due to the mail response received in Texas after the entire WRLI/VFG venture ceased creating programs, other programs concerning the censorship of the British airwaves were then specifically created for airplay under several titles which eventually settled upon 4FWS (Four Freedoms World Service).

Activities

The theme of the Four Freedoms was then incorporated under the name of the Four Freedoms Association by a related study group first formed in 1985 called the John Lilburne Institute. This institute was dedicated to researching the political links of individualism in the related family lives of John Lilburne and Thomas Jefferson and their incorporation into the United States Constitution and federal law. One of the first appearances made by the Four Freedoms Federation was before the Texas Education Agency http://www.tea.state.tx.us and the School Textbook Review Committee in Austin, Texas. Other appearances were made in various parts of the United States during the 1987 American Express tour of the 1215 Magna Carta.

Public speaking engagements were held, and a small 4FTN (Four Freedoms Television Network) emerged on Public access television stations in Texas with daily half hour telecasts. Literature was also created in booklet and brochure formats and the overseas 4FWS network expanded to include several types of programs which were heard across Europe (including England via PCRL and other stations in the Irish Republic), as well as KIWI Radio http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9885/kr1.html in New Zealand which transmitted programs across the South Pacific via shortwave. During this time George Gimarc became one of the voices heard on this network with his own programs which were recorded "live" in the studios of KZEW in Dallas, Texas from where they originated. Later work was also published on a regular basis by the Startext http://www.geocities.com/n5csu/interact.htm online service of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw newspaper, prior to widespread commercial use of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Second offshore operation

Concurrent with the ongoing activities of the Four Freedoms Federation, contractual undertakings were entered into with regards to buying the offshore radio ship which had been used to broadcast between 1987 and 1988 as Radio Newyork International. One of the intended new uses for this ship was to broadcast under the call sign of Radio Tiananmen in support of Chinese students. Because of governmental opposition to the project the plan was dropped in favor of relaunching Wonderful Radio London once more. This time the ship was to be docked in a US harbor and the onboard studios linked to the shortwave transmitters of WWCR http://www.wwcr.com/ in Tennessee whose signal could be hear in the United Kingdom. To this end two British companies were formed and registered by associates in Chelmsford, England. However, due to complications involving the actual registration of the ship and the inability of the seller to prove legal ownership, this plan also faltered.

Opposition and eventual demise

Although a wealth of archival materials in both written and recorded formats was produced by the combined efforts of the Four Freedoms Federation, its work was constantly opposed by governmental entities and this eventually led to total demise of the group as a federation. The John Lilburne Institute became independent of the Four Freedoms Federation and now specializes in academic research projects.

Footnote regarding some of the key personnel: Genie Baskir who acted as representative before the Texas Education Agency http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ ; media spokesperson, co-anchor of 4FTN and 4FWS programs and chief negotiator in the purchase of the former Radio Newyork International pirate radio ship; is now headmistress of a small proprietory school in Virginia. John England who was commentator on the 4FWS documentary programs, is now retired. George Gimarc whose Rock and Roll Alternative radio program was distributed internationally by 4FWS to promote the cause of free radio, is now a published author and broadcasting authority on music formats and popular music history. Dr. Eric Gilder is a US citizen from Texas; published author currently teaching governmental and media studies in Romania and South Korea, who also serves as academic advisor to the John Lilburne Institute.

External sources

• History of the MV Four Freedoms http://www.offshore-radio.de/fleet/sealevel.htm by various contributors to the article.
• History of the various and related Four Freedoms offshore radio ventures http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME05/Ill-fated_WRLI.html by various contributors to the article.