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The Importance Of Community-Owned Media (or The Dangers Of Clear Channel Communications) |
Current rating: 3 |
by Sascha Meinrath
Email: sascha (nospam) ucimc.org (verified) |
25 Mar 2003
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At a time when pro-peace protests are increasing in size and scope recent pro-war protests that have been popping up in cities across the nation. One big question that's been asked by many on both sides of the debate has been "who's behind these protests."
Local pro-peace activities have been falsely described as funded from foreign governments, terrorists, etc. But who is behind many of the pro-war demonstrations? The answer is fairly shocking... |
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/25/opinion/25KRUG.html
Channels of Influence
By PAUL KRUGMAN
By and large, recent pro-war rallies haven't drawn nearly as many people as antiwar rallies, but they have certainly been vehement. One of the most striking took place after Natalie Maines, lead singer for the Dixie Chicks, criticized President Bush: a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and other paraphernalia. To those familiar with 20th-century European history it seemed eerily reminiscent of. . . . But as Sinclair Lewis said, it can't happen here.
Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry β with close links to the Bush administration.
The CD-smashing rally was organized by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, a radio chain that has banned the Dixie Chicks from its playlists. Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.
The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious β and widely hated β for its iron-fisted centralized control.
Until now, complaints about Clear Channel have focused on its business practices. Critics say it uses its power to squeeze recording companies and artists and contributes to the growing blandness of broadcast music. But now the company appears to be using its clout to help one side in a political dispute that deeply divides the nation.
Why would a media company insert itself into politics this way? It could, of course, simply be a matter of personal conviction on the part of management. But there are also good reasons for Clear Channel β which became a giant only in the last few years, after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 removed many restrictions on media ownership β to curry favor with the ruling party. On one side, Clear Channel is feeling some heat: it is being sued over allegations that it threatens to curtail the airplay of artists who don't tour with its concert division, and there are even some politicians who want to roll back the deregulation that made the company's growth possible. On the other side, the Federal Communications Commission is considering further deregulation that would allow Clear Channel to expand even further, particularly into television.
Or perhaps the quid pro quo is more narrowly focused. Experienced Bushologists let out a collective "Aha!" when Clear Channel was revealed to be behind the pro-war rallies, because the company's top management has a history with George W. Bush. The vice chairman of Clear Channel is Tom Hicks, whose name may be familiar to readers of this column. When Mr. Bush was governor of Texas, Mr. Hicks was chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company, called Utimco, and Clear Channel's chairman, Lowry Mays, was on its board. Under Mr. Hicks, Utimco placed much of the university's endowment under the management of companies with strong Republican Party or Bush family ties. In 1998 Mr. Hicks purchased the Texas Rangers in a deal that made Mr. Bush a multimillionaire.
There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear, but a good guess is that we're now seeing the next stage in the evolution of a new American oligarchy. As Jonathan Chait has written in The New Republic, in the Bush administration "government and business have melded into one big `us.' " On almost every aspect of domestic policy, business interests rule: "Scores of midlevel appointees . . . now oversee industries for which they once worked." We should have realized that this is a two-way street: if politicians are busy doing favors for businesses that support them, why shouldn't we expect businesses to reciprocate by doing favors for those politicians β by, for example, organizing "grass roots" rallies on their behalf?
What makes it all possible, of course, is the absence of effective watchdogs. In the Clinton years the merest hint of impropriety quickly blew up into a huge scandal; these days, the scandalmongers are more likely to go after journalists who raise questions. Anyway, don't you know there's a war on?
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More On Clear Channel |
by Robert Porter
rporter (nospam) newtonbigelow.com (verified) |
Current rating: 0
25 Mar 2003
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For more information on Clear Channel Communications, visit the following websites:
http://www.clearchannelsucks.org/
http://www.clearchannelbites.freeservers.com/
http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=4808
Also, here is an incomplete list of Illinois radio stations who are either owned by or get programming from CCC:
670 WSCR CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (WAS WMAQ)
720 WGN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
780 WBBM CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
890 WLS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
WFMB-AM Springfield, IL
WFMB-FM Springfield, IL
WDAN 1490 Danville
WSOY 1340 Decatur
WFIW 1390 Fairfield
WFRL 1570 Freeport
WGIL 1400 Galesburg
WJPF 1340 Herrin
WMIX 940 Mount Vernon
WTAZ-FM 102.3 Peoria/Morton
WZOE 1490 Princeton
WUFI 1460 Rantoul
WTAX 1240 Springfield
WSDR 1240 Sterling |
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Re: The Importance Of Community-Owned Media (or The Dangers Of Clear Channel Communications) |
by anon
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
25 Mar 2003
Modified: 11:23:56 PM |
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I already despise ClearChannel, thanks for giving me even more ammunition. |
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The Skinny On Cheap Channel |
by Paul Riismandel
paul (nospam) mediageek.org (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
26 Mar 2003
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Last year I aired an interview with a former Clear Channel radio engineer on my radio program, mediageek. He recounts, in graphic detail, what happens when Clear Channel takes over a station, guts it, and then proceeds to harass or fire everyone who works there.
Clear Channel is the pinnacle of the Bush/Cheney corporate program, where employees are either rendered useless or forced to accept utter servitude and abuse in exchange for a paycheck.
You can listen to this program on-line at:
http://www.mediageek.org/radioshow/radioshow2002.html#092702 |
