Guest Blogged by Sue Wilson
I was strolling through my local county fair this summer, a small fair, a friendly fair, where cows, sheep, and pigs outnumber food vendors.
The Republican booth caught my eye, but not because of the red, white, and blue decorations. What caught my eye was the sign they’d posted, the sign that summed up the one key issue of importance to local Republicans.
What would it be, in this raucous political summer of 2009? Anger over bailouts, fear over death panels? No. The number one issue for Amador County Republicans: “Save Talk Radio.”
I hadn’t realized that the industry that just signed a $400 million contract with Rush Limbaugh needed saving, but they thought so; they even had a petition to save it…
Sponsored by a group called “First Amendment Now,” the petition read:
Therefore, we the undersigned oppose all efforts of any Government to limit, censor, or restrict in any way our unfettered right to free speech on our radios, televisions, the Internet or any other medium.
Wow, I thought, a Republican petition that I can really get behind! Then I read on:
In other words, they advocate free speech for giant corporations, but not for local people. Hmmn.
I wondered how pervasive petitions like this might be. It turns out there are many such petitions on line, promoted by groups much more familiar than “First Amendment Now.” So many, in fact, that they have amassed an army of more than a half a million to silence local views.
The Christian Coalition:
Equal time to all points of view? What a radical concept.
We need to be aware, however, that liberals may achieve their ends without passing legislation, or even without a new FCC “fairness” rule. They could do it by requiring a fixed amount of local content for radio.
Local content on local airwaves? It must be a Communist plot.
It is easy to dismiss these petitions as fringe. But postings from the Free Speech Alliance reveal something greater:
- Obama’s FCC will use “localism,” “diversity of media ownership” and serving the “public interest” as a backdoor “Fairness” Doctrine.
- We must make any attempt by Obama’s FCC to silence talk radio a political third rail, one that the Administration or Congress dare not touch.
- We will defend talk radio from these governmental assaults on their industry, and build further the case for free speech in all things.
The Left dominates every medium of news delivery, save for talk radio. And they can’t stand it, so they want to wipe it off the media map.
The Free Speech Alliance is an arm of Brent Bozell’s rightwing Media Research Center (MRC), which for years has been claiming liberal bias in the media with little evidence to back up the claim. This group has been quietly building an army to “go to war” in support of corporate-owned media and to squelch local voices. From another MRC/Free Speech Alliance petition [emphasis added]:
Among the 69 groups in support are: Accuracy in Media, American Conservative Union, National Taxpayers Union, National Religious Broadcasters, Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, World Net Daily, Salem Communications, and Clear Channel.
The creator of the Free Speech Alliance is Seton Motley, the same Seton Motley who appeared on Glenn Beck’s show on Fox to target FCC Chief Diversity Officer Mark Lloyd with fabrications about his suggestions in the Center for American Progress/Free Press study “The Structural Imbalance of Talk Radio” [PDF] to give local audiences more control over what they get on their radio stations over their public airwaves. (To see an interview with Mark Lloyd about that report, see the documentary Broadcast Blues, or see a clip of the conversation with Lloyd at right.)
It is clear that the “right” has been quietly assembling troops and is now mounting their attack, an attack largely unanticipated by media reformers, an attack now staged on “Conservative” talk radio and TV (not that there is anything conservative about opposing localism.) Their dominance over radio, where “conservatives” voices outnumber “liberals” by nine to one, means their army is growing every single day, while the other side didn’t even know there was going to be a fight.
An army of 550,000 from County Fairs and the Internet. How many more will there be as recruitment shifts to the public airwaves, currently under the private control of those who wish to keep it that way?
And who will stand ready to fight back?
Shortly after Barack Obama was sworn in as President last January, as Brad Friedman reported at the time, the new White House website “Technology” page signaled a hopeful change, and a call to re-examine the oversight of our public airwaves:
A few months later, after the campaign from the right had kicked into full gear, charging that liberals were trying to prevent free speech on the radio, the paragraph was quietly removed from the White House website.
So I ask again…who will stand ready to fight back and in favor of real free speech on our public airwaves?
===
Sue Wilson is the Emmy Winning Director of the media reform documentary “Broadcast Blues”.
I’ve often asked myself over the last 10-15 years; Why the conservative propaganda onslaught in the media ?
My answer came when I stumbled across information that characterizes the conservative mindset as *Authoritarian*.
The corporate-military industrial complex needed a compliant populace; and conservative-right wing programming would deliver that. There has been a generation of right wing lies and boogeyman politics that started with the Reagan administration and to this day is in full operation.
The public has been dumbed down to the point of what’s said doesn’t matter…only how it’s said. If a lie is repeated often enough with fervor and with an authoritarian tone of voice it becomes the basis of belief.
We’ve been bludgeoned with the lie of *free market economics* and the boogey man fear of socialism, terrorism, we’ve been told the might makes right lie and that white males are *persecuted*; and the dumbed down television watchers believe it without question.
I also wondered why the word “liberal” was spit out of conservative mouths like poison…I settled on the answer that liberals have brought about every meaningful, humanitarian, progressive change this country has made…the conservative authoritarians despise change when they’re in power…they despise questioning of their motives and tactics.
Conservative authoritarians are fighting a class war…. They’ve fully programmed those they despise to fight their battle on the front lines… while the right wing authoritarian oligarchs simply disseminate their orders to the mindless drones over talk radio and Fox news. The Oligarchs keep their hands and suits clean… while the foolish ignorant army they’ve programmed works enthusiastically against its own best interests….
Program a fool with hate… and he’ll run into a collapsing burning building to satisfy that hatred.
The conservative-right wing-authoritarians don’t need the white house or congress… they have the airwaves. That’s where the real power is.
Great piece Sue. This was right up my alley, since my lone “Liberal” radio station was yanked right after the 2008 election.
I think you could have written this same piece using the “Tea Baggers”. The Corporate MO is always working both ends(buying political access then also cultivating 50,000 men marches). They hate competition and love Monoply. Thanks
“The Left dominates every medium of news delivery, save for talk radio.”
Really? That’s false to begin with. We’re always complaining the opposite…with proof, that the so-called liberal media (the corporate media) speaks for it’s OWNERS, the wealthiest few, the military industrial complex, and corporations. And we have proof, and there is no proof that the media is liberal.
Must remember to send a “thank you” note to Bill Clinton for signing the 1996 Telecommunications Act that allowed for such wonderful consolidation of the mass media into the hands of so few (right wing) corporate entitites.
The way to get local stations to air views on the left is simply send them an email informing them of the views. It seems to have worked locally. If the station can justify it being a local view they can run the story, however if no one says anything then it must not exist as a view in the community.
“Who controls the present, controls the past. Who controls the past, controls the future.â€
Really eye-opening. What’s this shit about ‘go to war’…my wife keeps telling me I can’t have a gun, but hmmm, these bastards are totally batshit crazy and evil. They go for the jugular every time.
The Progressive’s are unorganized, they can’t be counted properly for everything, there would be disagreement within it’s own members on some of the simplest things.
The Corporate media (a dangerous cult) mixes everyone together using the word liberal or democrat, this is like mixing Satanists with Wiccans and calling them the same. They are not the same. Some principles of the understanding of the sources of power might be the same, but the direction and intent are not even close. (No disrespect to either Belief system)
Corporate media mixes everyone they disagree with into the term “liberals”
Progressives are not the same as the OLD term liberal. But are mixed in, however wrong that may be.
The corporate media makes use of the word “democrat” singular for the wrong plural form.
There are never simply called “democrats.” Your not a democrat in the democratic party, instead your a democrat in the democrat party.
Example, Corporate Media use of the term “The Democrat Party” Makes it sound like one dude with a bong or a bottle of ripple. There is no equal vulgar slang response.
Now for the last 8-10 years we been hearing about this “Liberal Media” I first heard this term from Michael Savage’s AM radio show like 8-10 years ago. I’ve yet to find this “liberal media” ‘s website or corporate station. In fact, I would argue most of the media is corporate media, and if there is any “liberal media” it’s like a hand full of people on Earth, and that’s if you can lump them together under some new term or buzzword, and that’s only if they don’t disagree among themselves and destroy such an idea in the first place.
If you really wanted to save talk radio, you wouldn’t have allowed Air America, and Nova-M to get nuked to the point of irrelevance. Short of that, perhaps there should be a public access to much more broadcast spectrum under a emergency constitutional superfund. As the reality is currently there a HELL OF good amount of diversity, but when it comes to certain topics, like Electronic Voting, Forced Mail In Voting, Sibel, War Crimes, there are no voices at all. So while all the goody goody grand poo ba’s all stroke each other for excellence in leadership the reality is they are miserable failures with a very loud voice.
I don’t know what the answer is, I suggested making PUBLIC FILES for all stations available online. You can’t tell me not one station doesn’t have a website. If such files were made available, the public could literally eliminate corporate media which continuously controls the timing, topic, and direction of the discussions.
Hey there’s a new OJ SIMPSON…The Yale Murder.
Yeah but, someone may have sold nuke secrets.
Fill out the PUBLIC FILE as a complaint, and slowly get the station’s frequency allocation and station id revoked by the FCC. Instead you have a hand full of people out there who know good comments keep the station lit. So they get on the PUBLIC FILE with stupid shit like “Oh Thanks For that recipe on pork and cream cheese”
While Brad noticed the White House website scrubbing comments, I remember the FCC’s mission statement got scrubbed. Remember we have an FCC controlled by a presidential appointee. Julius Genachowski is the current office holder. And the thing I notice right off is no real electronics background, not unlike Bush’s appointee Former FCC Chairman Powell Endorses McCain – 2008-01-25 01:19:00 (Cough)
Anyway, it’s a small world. Poor leadership, and decisions do have consequences, maybe AM RADIO does have financial problems. Although I don’t really see how, all you need is FCC’s blessing, an Antenna, A transmitter or two, phone lines, internet access, computers to move audio data, some rack effects, A few killer microphones and the balls to keep paying the electric bill. There’s no secret here, it’s not NFL and HDTV! At the worst a satellite link. For $250,000 a year you could probably squeak out video too.
Now what do we get from corporate media who does a hell of a lot more than 250 and change?
Does the Sign mean, “Save Clear Channel?”
A quick observation on clear channel, the audio feeds on the web.. Ever try getting a winamp feed off a clear channel stream? That’s right it doesn’t work without some external hacking, and even then it times out. Good luck complaining about that.
I think the corporate media could possibly make itself completely irrelevant if it doesn’t step back and look at the damage it leaves behind it.
While hell of people were killed in the US and outside in these wars, and hell of money is stolen, and hell of non constitutional laws have been passed, and Millions right here in the US lost their homes. Corporate media would rather, we eat 99 cent tacos at Jack In The Box, Recycle and Up Grade from our tube tv’s to plasma, toss out all the other stuff, cassette, tapes, vcr, dvd player and go with BlueRay. They would have us cash for clunkers right next to the latest car/truck ad. How we supposed to do this? Oh yeah, the credit card. How did we get in this problem? Oh yeah, the credit card.
Next they want us to vaccinate with an unknown substance mixed with some known toxic substances.
That’s controlling the topic and the direction of the discussion. Right there…
We need to be doing that, so we don’t HEAR CORPORATE MEDIA.
This requires a few broadcast stations and licenses.
If you don’t have a station/channel, you don’t have a voice. This isn’t something you treat as a quick garage hobby. A station has a birthday, and you don’t kill your child.
You can make a video, but where can it play when you have no station?
Compare all media.
Papers
Books
CD
DVD
AM Radio
FM Radio
Broadcast TV
Network/CABLE TV
Satellite
Web
Theatre
Here’s my prediction the way rightwing media keeps pounding and pounding and pounding ACORN stories: someone’s going to shoot ACORN activists, and they will be “heroes” in the rightwing media…just like the abortion doctor killer, and those rightwingers who shot people in liberal churches!
The Myth of the Liberal Media: The Propaganda Model of News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlyb1Bx9Ic
Comment #8….Big Dan…
Acorn is the latest right wing boogey man…
The MSM now gives Acorn the Orwellian 2 minute *hate* treatment. No one in the MSM untwists the lies and otherwise disinformation about ACORN and what it does. You have to ask yourself; why this is ?
I think it’s because ACORN is a voice for the poor, the unheard and the evidence of how this capitalist system isn’t working for the good of the whole.
The right wing authoritarians would rather smear and discredit ACORN, instead of acknowledging the injustices of the present system and work to help our economy work for all.
Our economy working for all involved isn’t what the right wing authoritarians believe in. They believe in a prosperous few…and slavery for everyone else. it’s how society is controlled. If someone is solely concerned about economic survival; he’s less likely to speak out against his slave master.
It’s why jobs today are very scarce…
ACORN campaigns: Affordable Housing, Better Schools, Fair Housing, Fair Tax Fees, Foreclosures, Gulf Coast Recovery, Health Care, Immigration, Living Wage, Paid Sick Days, Predatory Lending, Utilities, and Voter Engagement.
ZERO media coverage on the GOOD things ACORN does!
Talk about dehumanizing ACORN activists?
ACORN is the total opposite of everything the GOP stands for!
The GOP and rightwing media hates and fears ACORN, because it’s the biggest minority driven activist group, having nearly half a million members.
The media said “a few bad apples” for the Abu Ghraib torturers, have you seen that media cliche for ACORN? They deomize the entire group of half a million people!
They DEHUMANIZE them, making violence against them more acceptable.
Fox News’ Glenn Beck recently aired a video indicating that an ACORN employee shot and killed her husband, without first bothering to verify whether the husband is, in fact, dead. He isn’t. The video is, in other words, a fraud. But that didn’t stop Beck from calling it evidence of “murder” and perhaps even “premeditated murder.” Of a person who is still alive.
Sean Hannity aired it, too.
Here’s a bunch of Fox News “reporters” who are outraged about the murder. Which didn’t happen. Because the guy is still alive:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wVZJdBCQxY&feature=player_embedded
Even Jon Stewart did a hit piece on ACORN last night…but I, Big Dan, stood my ground that they are being smeared!!!
I wouldn’t doubt if ACORN was setup, and this story is at least not totally true, and most: totally not true!
THAT is why responsible news sites aren’t running with this story until all the facts come out!
…I said: “…but I, Big Dan….” …just for effect, btw…
Is there a limit on the number of characters you’re allowed to use in a single comment, Big Dan?
Just sayin.
The Konservatives have THEIR reality:
he Left dominates every medium of news delivery, save for talk radio.”
And we have ours:
“Hitting Conservatives very hard over the head with an aluminum baseball bat is good for their health, and will make them into better people.”
Everyone here has brought well composed thoughts and valuable information. I find that on Left leaning sights.
I appreciate that, considering I go to Right wing sites and engage them, in debate, challenging them, bring numerous sources, show evidence that is in mass, and beyond question, yet, it is irrelevant to them. What does it take to make one merely connect the dots to see that which is obvious?
The wealth of the corporate elites, own free speech, after all, free speech has only so much power, measured simply by how far reaching that microphone/in top percentage of network ownership. These are the people with the free speech. Hell, we don’t really even get to decide who the “legitimate” presidential nominees are. The damned MSM, (and I can’t remember what network it was) but they decided that in the campaign debates, apparently the most honest, ballsy in speaking out, actually doing what the country wants, by most all polls, regarding issues, not those voting ofor him, the things people most wanted then, the end to the war, recognizing the problems we here all know, the guy, most people I talked to, Dennis Kuccinich, was the choice most all of us, I bet, and most friends I have, that are Liberals, all of us. So, I can’t help but wonder, HOW in the hell did the MSM get away from offering in the debate Dennis Kuccinich, when, my bet is, he was the number one choice, except that we got distracted, when that point in the started getting 24/7 media coverage of the ones the MSM decides who and what are “newsworthy”. I resent that.
Anyway, the main reason I decided to post, was this information:
A study by American Progress reported-
*257 news/talk stations are owned by 5 commercial stations owners, and reveal that 91% of total weekday talk radio programming is Conservative
AND:
* 9% Progressive
* Each weekday 2,570 hours and 15 minutes of Conservative, to 254.
*10 times as much.
I greatly appreciated Phil’s link he left here, wealth of knowledge those here bring.
Also, for all those that are serious about understanding and making information available, the immensity of this problem, and how we are being shorted as a supposed “democracy”, the documentary movie will fill an evening with a sense of being politically inspired, and mentally more rich, with information to share with others. Let’s not let the thugs destroy our democracy. Media ownership is just one of their thuggish tools, keeping the stupid stupified. Anyway, this link will enlighten you greatly if you are debating facts on the subject of media, IN the now more remarkable, and trusted forms of media, the internet, which has opinions and sources to offer discussion, actually a much more trusted source, assuming we hear all sides of it. Don’t count on the Right wing to share that though. The MSM is not respected anymore either, among thinking people.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1925114769515892401#
Blubonnet (#23):
It was NBC. Oh, it was. I know because that was the day ‘NBC’ became a four letter word, in my house.
In fact, it was NBC’s CHUCK TODD who made that unbelievable, antithetical-to-all-things democratic, knuckle-headed, bong-wrong call to oust Kucinich, Paul, and Gravel from the debates. (I believe at the time he was NBC NEWS Director of Programming and Development ? I don’t remember his exact title, but I’ve made up one or two that I find fitting.)
For that abysmal showing on behalf of the voters and for shuttering open debate, and dare I say, perhaps altering the course of our history, he has since been rewarded many times over by NBC with promotions and a daily national platform for his Poondog, pandering-as-punditry routine. The Obama administration rewarded him with inside access-in-exchange-for-who-next-time? Dancing like a twiggy pinocchio boy at Gippet-O-bama’s request, he openly demurs on Rule of Law with such raw stupidity – beginning his sentences with ways to justify shitting on the Constitution. I guess even that’s easier “from thirty thousand feet.”
His great, moral wrong-i-tudes like: “torture investigations are so much cable cat-nip” are like verbal Escher – he’s the very kitty-nip he’s professing to analyze. A critical, independent Smitty, he ain’t. To me, he is the one who shall not be named. Nickle-prick with ass-poor taste in facial hair.
Sure, Glenn Beck is freakier, but far less credible (or WAS, until last week when Obama started to let him drive the Country, promting TIME to give him even more TIME.
Martini Mandatory Times We’re Havin’, eh?
Chuck Todd is a completely useless dipshit. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say anything substantially analytical, he’s just a regurgitator of schlock.
Now, about the phrase “bong-wrong” I must take issue…
I doubt anyone, short of Bill Moyers, will be interested in bringing this to the public. He was responsible for stopping the onslaught of media conglomeration and it cost him his position on “Public Broadcasting Corp.” The major thing to remember that the Right is like your parents and we are their children: they are wiser and more mature(why else would they bring guns to public meetings and believe G Bush had a direct line to God) than us so we need to be guided. Also they fight “with God on thier side.”
Jeanie Dean…Comment #25
That was a good read….entertaining and spot on.
italics off (I hope).