The History of the Freedom Phalanx Radio Network (FPRN)
This article was written by Kyle Rearden from The Last Bastille blog and is being mirrored on LUA.
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A Note from Shane: I agree with everything Kyle stated in this article. Ryan has been amazing to us and we couldn’t be happier to call FPRN home. Special thanks to Ryan for everything that he does, and if you’re interested in starting a show, we are positive you will be happy here at FPRN.
By: Kyle Rearden
August 25, 2015
Institutions govern modern American society; corporate media, as just one such institution, enjoys the undue influence it does only by way of government largesse. Any sort of genuine competition to the mainstream media’s stranglehold on providing the “official” narrative to current events is usually regarded as a threat to those who falsely imagine themselves to be “our” rulers. Despite this state of affairs, the rise of a truly independent and free press, over the past two decades, challenges not only the centralized flow of information, but also demonstrates that the soapbox is still worth fighting for!
The Freedom Phalanx Radio Network (FPRN) was founded by Ryan, who is affectionately referred to as “Mr. Producer,” back in August of 2012. As explained on their About page:
“We may all have our differences, our varying opinions, and we at FPRN think that our programs are evidence to how diverse all of us really are. However, there is one uniting factor with all of us at FPRN. We ALL are striving for more liberty. We are a family in that respect. Whether you are fighting big government, corporate media, militarized police, or ruthless oligarchs, you are fighting for the FREEDOM to choose how you will live your own life.”
Interestingly enough, the word “phalanx” means, essentially, a number of people united for a common purpose. Seeing that the common purpose of FPRN is more liberty, I think the intended focus is a lot more appropriate than most others I’ve seen over the years. For that alone, Ryan has my heartfelt respect.
Understanding the importance of FPRN necessarily requires traveling back to the summer of 2012 during the Bilderburg Group meeting at the Westfields Marriot in Chantilly, Virginia. Traveling alongside Anthony Antonello, Ryan and the rest of their crew noticed that since the parking lot was far away from the driveway to the Marriot, they had Kevin (the driver) pull alongside the curb in order to unload their camera equipment. Immediately, the uniformed government police harassed them, because they appear to enjoy intimidating non-sanctioned media, in much of the same way that Gary Hunt andLouis Beam were harassed during the 1993 Waco Siege. Not only that, but there was also an agent provocateur with a military haircut who repeatedly suggested to the citizen journalists on scene that “they” should “set off a bomb” inside the Marriot, to which the videographers quickly shined their cameras upon him, and not five minutes later this same provocateur disappeared and was never seen again.
Before the election of Barack Obama in 2008, Ryan had no interest in politics whatsoever, which, as the old adage goes, “I don’t care about politics until it affects me.” Prior to the Bilderberg meeting in 2012, Ryan became an avid radio listener, documentary film enthusiast, and Ron Paul supporter who handed out literature at polling stations. Following the events at Chantilly, Ryan conceived of the idea for FPRN, yet, he mulled it over until November, and soon aired FPRN’s maiden broadcast on November 14th of 2012, the content of which focused on local politics.
Motivating this truly entrepreneurial venture was Ryan’s desire to give a means by which to enable other people to get their voices out in the furtherance of liberty. He felt that his best contribution to increasing human liberty was to lend his technical expertise behind the scenes. Fortunately, Ryan already had the machines in his very unique studio, which is 100% computer driven, and thus decentralizes radio production by enabling both him and the hosts of FPRN to operate their broadcasts in separate physical locations.
Going “mainstream” under the auspices and regulatory control of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was never the intention. Although FPRN’s hosts don’t swear like sailors, expletives can be uttered without any worries of getting anyone in trouble, unlike Free Talk Live. The problem with having terrestrial stations carry one’s live-streaming material is that those stations would be heavily fined by the censors at the notorious administrative agency that is the FCC. Not only did the Internet enable the impressive expansion of the soapbox, but, as Ryan emphasized to me, without the Internet, the government would have likely become noticeably worse that much quicker than it already has.
Some people might think, why not just create a YouTube channel or a BlogTalkRadio account, instead? Well, the fact of the matter is that when you sign up with either (or both) of those corporations, you are subject to their terms and conditions; as such, they possess the ability to engage in soft censorship of your content (YouTube particularly, especially considering all the false DMCA claims). All of the FPRN technical support, including the purchased equipment and website maintenance, is done by Ryan.
FPRN is all about serving the individuality of each host’s broadcasts, so they can directly manage their own content, as opposed to the more traditional model of having the producer control the subject matter. All of the technical work, such as playing audio or video clips, handling live call-ins, and fading the intro and outro music for station breaks are all handled by Ryan. While the FPRN YouTube channel is monetized, Ryan told me that its primary purpose is as an advertising venue, of sorts, in order to attract potential listeners to the FPRN live streams and chat rooms.
In short, FPRN is the answer to soft censorship. I’m sure the implications of this truly unique business model as an end run around both the corporate media and government “regulators” are plain and obvious to you all. Why this hasn’t been replicated more often within the alternative media baffles not only me, but Ryan as well.
My experience with FPRN has been nothing less than phenomenal, truth be told. Considering both the fall of Truth Finders Network and my expulsion from New Colony Media three years ago, I’ve slowly become a pragmatic witness to the creative destruction within the alternative media over time, so I’d like to think my credibility has been reliably established with both patriots and libertarians alike. I can say, without hesitancy or reservation, that FPRN is head and shoulders the best outfit I have ever had the pleasure of coming across. It is the beacon of what the independent press should be: quick, reliable, and accessible. Perhaps if FPRN’s competitors had begun modeling themselves to what Ryan has built, we’d be further along the way toward solving this tyranny problem by now.
Ryan sincerely wants the alternative media to be able to compete with the mainstream media, without stumbling all over itself into a big bumbling mess. Defeating the corporate media’s official narrative of both events and ideas cannot be done if the prevailing attitude amongst videographers, podcasters, and even bloggers amount to little more than, “Go save my country for me while I sit here and do nothing.” Slick marketing ploys by “patriots-for-profit” are just as equally detrimental, albeit for different reasons.
Keep in mind, too, that FPRN is a labor of love, as Ryan is certainly not doing it “for the money,” as it were. His words to me about his passion for enabling others to voice themselves publicly was this:
“The only thing the hosts have to worry about is what they are going to say and how they are going to say it.”
I am optimistic about the future of FPRN as an entrepreneurial venture, yet, it requires support to keep on trucking along. As one of, what I believe to be, the truly unsung heroes of the modern American libertarian culture, Ryan also told me that it is unnecessary for any potential future hosts to be limited to America; this suggests to me that vloggers such as Syrian Girl could expand her capabilities without having to incur a steep technical learning curve.
Only once before, that I can remember, have I ever asked my audience to seriously consider getting behind and supporting what I think is a viable endeavor. FPRN has given me a chance to truly reach people I otherwise would never have been able to beyond my humble blog. Please support FPRN however you can, financially or otherwise, because not only are the services provided by FPRN truly fantastic, but they are uniquely important as well. If liberty is ever going to be securely restored, then the freedom umbrella must be used with vigor, and I think FPRN falls squarely within the realm of direct action.
In summation, consider begin listening live to FPRN’s broadcasts, and don’t neglect to check out their podcast archives. Share them, archive them onto your hard drives and memory sticks, and if you truly value the independent grassroots press, then please donate as you are able (don’t worry, they accept Bitcoin too!). If you are looking to advertise for your own product or service through FPRN, then follow these directions for doing so; I know Ryan would certainly appreciate it.
Simply put, it’s put up or shut up time. If you sincerely and genuinely care about American liberty, you ought to support FPRN with everything you’ve got. I know I am, and others are as well, yet, if we are to finally secure our common liberties, we have all got to pitch in, even if only through mutual aid, and do our part.
No more excuses. It’s time to get to work.
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