law, radio must not take political sides.
After World War II, the world saw what
could happen when a tyrant, in that case Hitler,
controlled the media, using it to convince his
nation to go to war. Because of media’s power,
laws were put into place that limited radio sta-
tion ownership and demanded that divergent
viewpoints be aired. The Supreme Court set out
a constitutional requirement in 1945 (before
TV, cable and Internet) that stated, “the widest
possible dissemination of information from di-
verse and antagonistic sources is essential to the
welfare of the people.” Radio was meant to pro-
vide a public service: the dissemination of in-
the owners of the venue, not them. There’s no
holding back DiFranco, however; she spoke
out; the other artists did, too, and the show went
on. Those artists weren’t concerned about Clear
Channel’s penchant for retribution.
Traci Mann, publicist for DiFranco, told the
NYT that DiFranco doesn’t need commercial
radio anyway. “Her audience is going to be there
whether she’s on the radio or not,” she said.
Some Clear Channel stations banned the
Dixie Chicks after lead singer Natalie Maines
came out against the war. Again, Hogan
claimed it was not a Clear Channel directive.
Although Clear Channel did co-sponsor and
because of that,” says Barton.
Of course, he adds, the pressures are similar
in that public radio stations have to raise
enough money to stay on the air. But if listeners
appreciate the broad perspective public radio
provides, they’ll tune in.
“KLCC is not beholden to any major na-
tional corporation and so when we do news sto-
ries about them we’re not worried about biting
the hand that feeds us, but Clear Channel owns
lots of national companies, like Disney does, so
their stations are not going to provide negative
coverage for one of their own,” he says, adding,
“Democracy is built on a good flow of informa-
Ties To Bush
What Clear Channel knows is that media is
powerful, and having a conservative political
agenda piped onto the airwaves with increasing
saturation is going to have an effect on people’s
attitudes. And that’s what the Bush
Administration is banking on. While it’s true
the 1996 de-reg came during the Clinton ad-
ministration, and earlier “reforms” came during
Carter’s time, the ties between Clear Channel
and George Bush, Jr. cannot be overlooked.
The Texas buddies are the merger masters:
Politics and business make great bedfellows.
Clear Channel execs Hicks and Mays have con-
Now Clear Channel is cozying up to the Bush administration even more,
because members of Congress, in light of Clear Channel’s
growing monopoly, are looking at once again regulating the industry.
formation, realized through divergent views,
that would inform the people and let listeners
make up their own minds as to what to believe.
Over the next few decades, everything
changed:
•1969: The Supreme Court upheld the
Fairness Doctrine, saying radio airwaves were a
“public trust” that must reflect opposing views.
•1986: the District of Columbia Federal
Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision upheld a new
FCC rule refusing to apply the Fairness
Doctrine to television text. The prevailing
judges were Reagan-appointed Scalia and
Bork.
•1987: Reagan-appointed FCC commis-
sioners repealed the Fairness Doctrine. Later
that year, Congress put the Doctrine back into
law, but Reagan vetoed it, writing, “The
Fairness Doctrine is inconsistent with the tradi-
tion of independent journalism.”
•1996: The FCC lifted the ban on radio
ownership, which had been limited to one AM
and one FM in one market and seven total na-
tionwide. The move allowed Clear Channel,
Cumulus and other corporations to begin
amassing every station they could afford to buy.
•2003: A proposed new FCC law, under the
direction of Bush-appointee Michael Powell,
would lift the regulation on television owner-
ship and the 35 percent rule and allow one com-
pany to own all media — radio, television, bill-
boards, newspapers — in any area.
Poor Business Practices
Not only has Clear Channel been accused of
promoting pro-war rallies, but also of not play-
ing music by artists who have spoken out
against the war in Iraq. But president and chief
executive of Clear Channel radio division John
Hogan told The New York Times that that idea
was “laughable.” Hogan added Clear Channel
was looking for a big audience, not “the most
politically unified.”
Clear Channel became a household name
after 9/11, when it circulated a list of songs that
shouldn’t be played, such as “Dust in the
Wind,” “Imagine” and “Peace Train.” A month
later, Clear Channel fired the popular commu-
nity affairs director, David “Davey D.” Cook,
of its recently acquired KMEL, after he aired
the views of Rep. Barbara Lee, the only con-
gressperson to vote against military action in
Afghanistan.
Then on March 19, 2003 at the New Jersey
Performing Arts center, Ani DiFranco, one of
several artists slated to perform, was told to
keep quiet about the war and to make sure the
others performing did so as well. But Clear
Channel now claims that directive came from
promote 13 out of 18 recent pro-war rallies held
across the land, the company, now under fire,
claims those rallies were done by individual
stations after conservative talk show host Glenn
Beck called for them. Yet the rallies were pro-
moted on Clear Channel’s website.
And Cumulus, which owns many country
music stations, banned the Dixie Chicks from
40 of its stations. Cumulus CEO Lewis W.
Dickey, Jr. says it has no pro-war
agenda, it just did that in deference to
its more conservative listeners. In
Louisiana, one Cumulus sta-
tion sponsored a pro-war
rally where bulldozers ran
over Dixie Chicks’ CDs.
Finally, rumors abound
that Clear Channel circu-
lated a memo to its station
managers saying the war in
Iraq would raise the fears of
the American people and that
that emotion could be used to
their advantage.
Robert Dove, General
Manager of all Eugene and Albany
Clear Channel radio stations since
January 2002, however, says he never
saw such a memo.
Dove adds that unlike other Clear Channel
stations, at KDUK the station is “100 percent
programmed by us. Nothing comes from
Clear Channel.”
But the story is different on the AM
dial. Dove says KPNW carries syndi-
cated talk shows, all of them politically
conservative, although he points out they
come from “a variety of sources.” Lars
Larson comes from Portland, and “Rush
Limbaugh and Dr. Laura Schlessinger come
from Premiere in L.A.” But Clear Channel
owns Premiere. Dove quickly adds, “But we’re
not required to carry it. Nobody forces you to
take programming that doesn’t fit your radio
station. You’re looking for programs that will
get you the best ratings. Lars Larson and Rush
have proven ratings.”
The ratings game affects all radio stations
that sell ads, leaving public radio the only entity
free of that concern. KLCC General Manager
Steve Barton says Clear Channel-owned com-
mercial station managers, while having some
freedom in what they do, are “significantly
constrained. They don’t set all their own priori-
ties.” Also, as a corporation with shareholders
to report to, Clear Channel’s “sole reason for
existing is making money for its owners.”
KLCC, on the other hand, “has no real
profit motive. The more money we bring in, the
more service we provide. Nobody gets richer
tion and open and honest discussion. I become
concerned when you find media giants taking a
position. In fact I think we should not take any
positions because that’s not what we’re here
for. In fact, it ruins our credibility.”
tributed tens of thousands of dollars to Bush’s
gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, as
well as more than $100,000 to Republicans
from 2001-2002.
And there’s the now-famous shady Texas
Rangers deal between Bush and Hicks. Bush
owned a 1 percent share of the Rangers, and
worked it out with his partners that when they
got their money back from their investment in
the team his portion would jump to 11 percent.
Bush then used his influence, according to the
Austin Chronicle, to have the stadium con-
demned, used tax dollars to rebuild it, and,
after the value of the Rangers skyrock-
eted, sold his shares, walking away with
$15 million. Who’d he sell to? Hicks.
Now Clear Channel is cozying up to
the Bush administration even more, be-
cause members of Congress, in light of
Clear Channel’s growing monopoly, are
looking at once again regulating the indus-
try. Sen. Russ Feingold
has introduced
legislation
that will
impose
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APRIL 24, 2003 13