four freedoms federation

Four Freedoms Federation was the name used between 1983 through 1990 by a non-profit association of several groups interested in law, education and media which were all 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 which included activities in New Zealand.

Brief history

Origin of name

The Four Freedoms Federation derived its name from the theme of the State of the Union address delivered to the 77th Congress of the United States on January 6, 1941 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This same theme was next incorporated into the Atlantic Charter agreement between the United States of America and United Kingdom and when the United Nations Fighting Forces were transformed into the United Nations Organization, it became the backbone of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Four Freedoms as outlined by President Roosevelt are: freedom of speech and expression; freedom of choice in personal worship; economic national understandings creating freedom from want, and worldwide arms reductions resulting in freedom from fear, with all four of these freedoms becoming applicable to every nation, everywhere in the world.

Application to offshore broadcasting

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 two offshore radio stations that were to be situated on board a ship to be (Motor Vessel) renamed MV Four Freedoms. The renaming of the broadcasting ship was inspired by the Atlantic Charter incorporating the spirit of the Four Freedoms which had been signed by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard a ship anchored off Newfoundland, Canada. The name of the new offshore broadcasting operating company that would operate the MV Four Freedoms was named after the Atlantic Charter itself. These plans were repeatedly discussed on the international shortwave Media Network program of Radio Netherlands. The linked reason given for naming the ship MV Four Freedoms 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 WRLI (Wonderful Radio London International) on which the format was first announced as Top 40 and later as C&W. Prior to becoming Prime Minister during World War II, Churchill, whose mother was American, had been kept off the airwaves of the BBC. In the 1950s Churchill retaliated against the BBC by causing the termination of its television monopoly with the introduction of an Independent Television (ITV) competitive network of commercial stations. The BBC radio monopoly had been left intact. The WRLI and VFG stations were also promoted to provide an alternative to the BBC radio monopoly which had been repeatedly challenged from by offshore radio stations since 1964.

Inspiration for Federation

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 licensed stations in Texas, USA. Some of the taped WRLI programs began to find their way back to England where many of them had been originally produced and some of them were subsequently rebroadcast in Europe by supporters of free radio over unlicensed, clandestine transmitters. These unauthorized relays generated international mail response received in Texas, where the commercial venture behind WRLI and VFG had become unsuccessful in raising both the capital and paid advertising necessary to expand the venture beyond the XERF and Texas syndicated station operations. Consequently further commercial activity in this regard was brought to a close. The disappointing end of the offshore venture, coupled with the lack of freedom of the airwaves in Europe and other parts of the world, created inspiration for some members of the original commercial broadcasting group, to research the history of both the copyright laws and broadcasting history in the UK and USA. This research coincided with one member having published a university thesis on the history of offshore broadcasting.

Guide to activities

In 1988 the Four Freedoms Federation published a guide to its activities (An Introductiion to the Four Freedoms Federation) which reflected three divisions of interest in law, education and media, of which only the educational and media arms were developed. Its educational activities centered upon the John Lilburne Research Institute which was devoted to researching the life and legacy of John Lilburne and his relationship to Thomas Jefferson and then publishing its findings. Media activities were divided between publishing, radio broadcasting (4FWS) and television programming (4FTN).

Four Freedoms World Service

When production of the commercial WRLI and VFG programs came to a halt, new programs were created under several related titles which eventually settled upon 4FWS (Four Freedoms World Service) focusing upon the theme outlined by the Four Freedoms. These new programs which began on December 5, 1985 were intentionally relayed over a network of unlicensed stations which had been originally created as a result of mail response. Within a short period of time a working arrangement was developed with George Gimarc whose programs originated from both a licensed AM and FM station in Dallas, Texas. These and other US stations were then used to promote the Four Freedoms Federation. The 4FWS network expanded internationally to include several types of programs which were heard on free radio stations across Europe. These stations included Radio East Coast Commercial on shortwave from northeast England, PCRL on FM in Birmingham, England, stations based in the Irish Republic and on the continent of Europe. 4FWS programmes were also heard over KIWI Radio in New Zealand, which transmitted a shortwave signal across the South Pacific. During this time George Gimarc became one of the voices heard on the 4FWS network with his own programs which were recorded "live" in the studios of KZEW in Dallas, Texas. Most of the political and human rights programs were delivered by John England. 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.

StarText Intranet

Prior to widespread commercial use of the World Wide Web on the Internet, the story of John Lilburne and his links to Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Bill of Rights was also published on a regular basis by the Intranet Startext online service of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper.

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 in Tennessee whose signal could be heard in the United Kingdom. To this end two British companies were formed and registered in Chelmsford, England. However, due to complications involving the actual registration of the ship and the inability of the seller to provide proof of legal ownership, this plan also faltered.

John Lilburne Research Institute

It was during a quest to both discover and document the history and development of the copyright laws in both the UK and USA, that resulted in the creation of John Lilburne Research Institute. This development took place when members of the Federation discovered the genealogical and legal connections between the lives of John Lilburne (c.1614-1657) and President Thomas Jefferson (1700-1800), and the subsequent interest taken by Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in this subject. According to Genie Baskir (who helped to form the Four Freedoms Federation), the son of Hugo Black informed her that his father had begun to call himself a legal leveller in 1947 when he began to incorporate the ideas of John Lilburne into his Supreme Court Opinions. Justice Black also began championing his view that the United States Bill of Rights had been made applicable to the various states. Justice William O. Douglas joined Black when he began to draw attention to Lilburne in his non-court writings. Black and Douglas were also a part of the majority Opinion in Miranda v. Arizona that was written by Chief Justice Earl Warren. In his written work for the Court in this case, Warren quoted from the 1637 trial of John Lilburne as the origin of the United States Fifth Amendment. This same theme was then picked up and advanced in various books produced by notable publishing houses. However, regardless of this research, very little of it had found its way into school textbooks which treated the development of British and American history as two, separate and often unrelated subjects when in reality both subjects were intertwined with each other.

Challenging school textbooks

One of the first appearances made by the Four Freedoms Federation was before the Texas Education Agency and its School Textbook Review Committee in Austin, Texas. This challenge led to a regionally famous civil action that was brought by Genie Baskir as a test case against a Texas Independent School District. The case dragged on for three years following an appeal which was suddently denied when a newspaper feature covered the event. Other public engagements that were held in various parts of the United States during the 1987 included protests regarding the American Express tour of the 1215 Magna Carta which ignored the major contribution towards the development of personal liberty and human rights by John Lilburne.

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 it now specializes in academic research projects. Footnote regarding some of the key personnel: Genie Baskir who acted as representative before the Texas Education Agency; 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 proprietary 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. Dr. Gilder is currently assisting in the reestablishment of Cuttington University College 120 miles north of Monrovia in Liberia, West Africa, following its destruction during the civil wars.

Publications and recordings

Partial list of publications and recordings produced by the Four Freedoms Federation:

An introduction to the Four Freedoms Federation. Publication, Four Freedoms Federation. 1986.
Report on School Textbooks. Official presentation to Texas Education Agency by Dr. Lawrence Ellwell and Genie Baskir (representing Four Freedoms Federation.) Austin, Texas. July, 1986.
First Wave of the Four Freedoms, concert. - Poster referencing event in Arlington, Texas. Hosted by George Gimarc of KZEW on September 12, 1986.
Fight for Free Radio. - Special 90 minutes production by 4FWS about the history of copyrights and the development of broadcasting in the UK and USA. Distributed in conjunction with concert on September 12, 1986.
Don't take freedom for granted. - Publication, John Lilburne Research Institute. 1987.
Carolana Mystery. The Lost Page of Texas Heritage (in conjunction with Dr. Kenneth Brown, University of Houston), by England, John. - Publication with recording, John Lilburne Research Institute. 1988.
Radio Tiananmen - half-page advertising to promote proposed offshore station - Dallas Chinese Times, Dallas, Texas. August, 1989.

Broadcasts

Partial list of radio and television programmes produced by 4FWS for radio and 4FTN for television, between 1985 and 1990:

Don Pierson Story - exclusive two-part interview about the creation of 'Wonderful Radio London' and 'Swinging Radio England' recorded and produced in March 1985. Excerpts of this interview were used as part of a commercially released CD together with other research material as the basis for a book about 'Wonderful Radio London'. (The book actually acknowledges this chain of custody.)
Big Brother is Watching You! (Four Freedoms and Four Ministries of George Orwell's novel Nineteen-Eighty-Four.) - 45 minutes program produced by 4FWS and broadcast as part of a continuing series on a number of international free radio transmitters. March 12, 1987.
Carolana Mystery. - 30 minutes television program produced by 4FTN and featuring an on location interview with Dr. Kenneth Brown at the alleged Carolana site in Houston. Repeatedly aired on various Texas cable stations. 1988.
Charter 88 - broadcast series produced by 4FWS and aired in the UK and Europe by various transmitters. 1989.
John Lilburne Story - research in both the UK and USA and written and produced by 4FWS for broadcast in four parts in the UK during 1989. The series covered the Star Chamber trial of John Lilburne in 1637 with its relationship to the development of the U.S. Fifth Amendment and the 1966 Miranda Warning. It also covered both his later trials and his fight to introduce a written constitution into England during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. Also included was a description of the genealogical line between John Lilburne and Thomas Jefferson and resulting legacy in the USA.
Radio Tiananmen. - 30 minutes radio program produced by 4FWS and aired by KNTU-FM, Denton, Texas. September, 1989.

References

The History of Pirate Radio in Britain and the end of BBC monopoly in radio broadcasting in the United Kingdom, by Gilder, Eric. - Thesis, North Texas State University. Denton, Texas, 1982.
Radio programming. - The Fifth Estate, Broadcasting. February 20, 1984.
Dallas to put Radio London back on the air, by Liner, Elaine. Major feature, Dallas Observer. May 31 - June 13, 1984.
Pirate stations ship music to London, by Kaye, Roger. - Feature, The San Juan Star. July 8, 1984.
''Piratensender aus Dallas: "Radio London" versucht sein Comeback. - Feature, Hrfunk Aktuell, Hrzu, Hamburg, Germany. August 3, 1984.
Pastor helps launch European religious station, by Johnson, Kay. - Arlington Daily News. December 7, 1984.
US cash backs invasion of radio pirates, by Rayment, Tim. - The Sunday Times, London, England. February 10, 1985.
Pirate waves. Texans plan North Sea despite European limits on radio, by Barrett, William P. - Front page feature, Dallas Times Herald. July 8, 1985.
English radio pirates resist government regulation, by Hogue, Larry. - Feature (about the 4FWS concert and Four Freedoms Federation), The Shorthorn (University of Texas at Arlington). September 12, 1986.
Book critics hopes lawsuit gets attention (lawsuit brought by Genie Baskir representing Four Freedoms Federation), by Crowe, Deborah. Arlington Citizen-Journal. April 5, 1987.
Federation tries to change history, by Hogue, Larry. - Feature, The Shorthorn (University of Texas at Arlington). May 1, 1987.
Activist disputes Magna Carta's significance, by Torbett, Bob. - Feature article, The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia. August 26, 1987.
The Frame of Reference to individualism and collectivism, by England, John and Baskir, Genie. Multi-part work in 11 volumes first published by StarText, Fort Worth, Texas in 1990, and then as a limited edition book by the John Lilburne Research Institute, Washington, D.C. 1991.
Who is John Lilburne? Textbooks don't tell us, by England. John - Feature article, StarText Ink, Fort Worth, Texas. January, 1992.
Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the USA, by Gilder, Eric. - "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003 ISBN 973-651-596-6