Clear Channel’s radio network stirs controversy
■The conglomerate has denied
corporate-level censorship, but
acknowledges that suggestions
for song lists were made
By Steven Neuman
for the Emerald
Immediately following the terror
ist attacks of Sept. 11, a radio con
glomerate with stations across the na
tion allegedly sought to avoid stirring
emotions by blacklisting songs that
might call to mind the tragic events,
creating a controversy of its own.
Clear Channel Communicjations,
a media conglomerate with the
largest chain of radio stations in the
United States — roughly 1,170 sta
tions nationwide reaching more
than 110 million listeners weekly—
was reported to have released a list
of approximately 150 songs not to
be played on the radio.
The corporation recently made
acquisitions of local radio stations
including KDUK, KODZ and
KPNW.
In the Sept. 19 edition of The New
r
York Times, an article stated that
Clear Channel Communications cir
culated a list of songs that station
managers were requested to avoid
because of possible references to the
terrorist attacks.
The company denied that it had
indeed mandated the list of songs,
according to the report in the New
York Times. It said that the list had
been an effort by local program di
rectors to pull together their own
improper song lists and was not the
doing of corporate management.
Songs on the list, such as the Gap
Band’s “You Dropped a Bomb on
Me,” the Pretenders’ “My City was
Gone” and REM’s “It’s the End of the
World as We Know It” could be in
terpreted as being related to the at
tacks using literal translation of cer
tain phrases.
Freshman Jessica Mauer said she
thought it must have been a difficult
choice for radio personnel to decide
which songs were appropriate giv
en the interpretive nature of music.
“It’s absurd to create a list of songs
that could stir emotion, because any
song can be interpreted by an indi
vidual a million different ways,”
Mauersaid.
Since the article in The New York
Times was published, other media
sources have railed against what
they say is flagrant censorship and
corporate gagging by Clear Channel
Communications.
Jay Kogami, programming direc
tor for campus radio station KWVA,
said there were differences in the
consequences that college and cor
porate radio stations would face in
avoiding certain songs.
“In college radio we have more
freedom; the disc jockey holds a lot
of the responsibility for what we play,
so it’s hard to relate,” he said. “It’s
very sad that (the attack) happened.
It’s just as tragic as you can get.”
Kogami said if the accusation is
true, it wasn’t a good decision for
the large radio network to censor its
music.
“We use radio to connect people
— to reach people. When we don’t
play all types of songs, we’re not do
ing our job, which is connecting
people (through media).”
Valerie Steele, an early-morning
DJ for Eugene’s KDUK, denied the
accusations that there was any list
being used by the local radio sta
tions. She said that as far as she had
seen, a list hadn’t been in use, rather
her station manager had simply in
structed the station workers to use
their own judgment regarding ques
tionable songs.
Steele did confirm reports that
there had been some attempts by a
regional executive on the East Coast
to compile the list and ensure that
the local stations were complying.
Steele’s statement supported the
claims reported in the New York
Times by a Clear Channel spokes
woman who said the song list had
been “a grassroots effort that was ap
parently circulated among our pro
gram directors.”
Steven Neuman is a freelance reporter for the
Oregon Daily Emerald.
Some songs called
“inappropriate”:
Bob Dylan/Guns N Roses “Knockin’
on Heaven’s Door”
Cat Stevens “Peace Train," “Morning
Has Broken”
Dave Matthews Band “Crash Into Me”
Elton John “Benny & The Jets,”
“Daniel”, “Rocket Man"
John Lennon “Imagine"
Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful
World”
Metallica “Seek and Destroy,”
“Harvester or Sorrow,” "Enter
Sandman,” “Fade to Black"
Neil Diamond "America"
REM “It's the End of the World as We
Know It"
Talking Heads "Burning Down the
House"
U2 “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
All Rage Against the Machine songs
were requested to not be played.
Source: vwaw.Reifterc.eom
For a complete list, go to
www.dailyemerald.com.
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