Pirate media refers to media outlets that operate without official license. This is different from alternative media—those outlets that provide in their content and operation a challenge to the dominant media and social systems. In the United States, for example, legally authorized and operated radio stations may be alternative in their programming— for example, Pacifica stations KPFA in Berkeley, California, and WBAI in New York City—but they are not pirate. Likewise, because print media are not licensed in the United States, alternative newspapers abound. Thus, "pirate" typically refers to media otherwise requiring official authority to operate (i.e., radio and television) and to the illegality of their operation rather than to the nature of their content. This does not mean that pirate media are not alternative in their content, because many, if not most, are alternative in content. Despite the fact that they do...