The People of Wisconsin vs. Corporate Media Broadcasters

This evening, I attended the Milwaukee stop of the Broadcast Blues Tour with Sue "Blues" Wilson.

And like the saying goes, you learn something new every day.  Although today it was several somethings

One thing I learned was that when it comes to political ads on the TV or radio, there is a mandatory carriage rule.  That means that if a politician has an ad to run during an election cycle, the TV or radio station has to carry it, even if the ad is chock full of lies.

For example, next year, after Scott Walker is recalled, he could run an ad saying how the state has a $3 billion dollar deficit, even though that has been found to be a ridiculous lie.  Likewise, his Democratic opponent could run an ad saying Walker wants to eat your children, which would be another ridiculous lie.  Walker doesn't eat children, he sells them as corporate serfs.

I also learned that even though the Fairness Doctrine is dead, there are still other factors, like the Zapple Doctrine, which still requires equal time be given to the different sides of an issue:

What remains unknown about yesterday's announcement from the Chairman is just how far this repeal goes. While certain corollaries of the Doctrine - including the political editorializing and personal attack rules - have been specifically mentioned in press reports as being repealed, the one vestige of the doctrine that potentially has some vitality - the Zapple Doctrine compelling a station to provide time to the supporters of one candidate if the station provides time to the supporters of another candidate in a political race, has never specifically been abolished, and is not mentioned in the Chairman's statement. Zapple, also known as "quasi-equal opportunities", has been argued in in various recent controversies, including in connection with the Swift Boat attacks on John Kerry, when Kerry supporters claimed that they should get equal time to respond should certain television stations air the anti-Kerry Swift Boat "documentary." We have written about Zapple many times (see, for instance, here, in connection with the Citizens United decision). What would be beneficial to broadcasters would be a determination as to whether Zapple has any remaining vitality, as some have felt that this doctrine is justified independent of the Fairness Doctrine. Perhaps that clarification will come when the full text of the FCC action is released.

Likewise, from the same article, I learned that TV and radio stations are required to uphold the standard of whatever they air has to be in the public interest:

While this action has been greeted by some as confirmation that we will not see the Fairness Doctrine revived by the Commission, that jubilation seems a little unwarranted. If there was a future FCC that decided that they wanted to impose some degree of Fairness obligations on broadcasters, they still would have ways of doing so. After all, broadcasters are subject to an overall obligation to operate in the public interest, a standard that has, over the years, changed as Commissions change their interpretation of what it means. As we've written before, some would like to put more teeth into the standard, which could include some Fairness-like requirements. Section 315 of the Communications Act, dealing with equal opportunities for political candidates, itself has language that implies that there is some sort of Fairness obligation of broadcasters, at least in connection with their news coverage:

Nothing in the foregoing sentence shall be construed as relieving broadcasters, in connection with the presentation of newscasts, news interviews, news documentaries, and on-the-spot coverage of news events, from the obligation imposed upon them under this chapter to operate in the public interest and to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance.

Thus, just because the Fairness Doctrine has been repealed, one cannot conclude that the FCC will never meddle in the speech of broadcasters. These debates over what is permiited and what should be restricted on the air have gone on as long as there have been broadcasters, and they will not end with yesterday's announcement.

In other words, it means that it is inherent on the TV and radio stations to provide equal time to opposing sides on an issues, whether it is political or not.

I also learned tonight that while media stations are required to run a politician's ad, no matter what, they are not under the same constraints for third-party ads. In fact, it is inherent on the station to determine if the ad is true or not and not run ads that are false, because that would be against thepublic interest. This was recently demonstrated when KOI-TV refused to air an ad for Stephen Colburt ad for Rick Parry, the parody of Rick Perry. They felt the ad was not in the public's interest for whatever reason. At the end of the article is the money quote:

... In fact, third party ads put more responsibility on stations to review the content of these ads as they are theoretically liable for the content of third party ads (see our articles here and here). So WOI was perfectly within its rights to reject an ad by the Colbert Super PAC – no doubt a disappointment to the Colbert fans in Iowa who wanted a first look at the commercial, but legally an appropriate action nevertheless.

If the station runs an ad that is false, they could get sued for simply airing the ad.

And now comes the fun part.

Anyone who has been paying attention during the summer of the recalls noticed that there were two major obstacles to reclaiming the state for the People of Wisconsin:

1. The unfair and biased nature of the corporate media in the state, most notably stations like WTMJ-620 here in Southeastern Wisconsin.
2. The falsehoods and misrepresentations in ads run by the Koch Brothers-sponsored front groups, like the misnamed Wisconsin Club for Growth.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth bought tons of air time all across the state, including her in the Milwaukee area, running ads to defend the Republicans facing recall.

However, the ads that they ran were demonstratively false:

• When they said that the unions had not previously had to make sacrifices, that was found to be "mostly false" by PolitiFact.
• When they said that Sand Pasch, the challenger to Alberta Darling, had done nothing to stop fraud in the child care system, that too was found to be "mostly false."
• When CfG said that the Democrats had voted for all sorts of pork in 2009, including a $5 million scoreboard for the Milwaukee Bucks, this earned them a full "False" rating from PolitiFact.

I bet it wouldn't take long to find other ads and other lies as well.

Yet the radio and TV stations aired these ads anyway.  By doing so, they have opened themselves up for the People of Wisconsin to sue them for violating their solemn duty to uphold the public interest.

Let that sink in for a minute.

We can use the Kochs' own false ads to sue their friends, the corporate media stations which unquestioningly aired them.  And we can use the reporting of the corporate media's own newspapers to support the People's arguments regarding the falseness of the ads..

That is what I would call some really sweet poetic justice.

And I could not think of a better way to start reclaiming our airwaves.

Sending My Regrets To Scott And Tonette

Dear Governor and Mrs. Walker,

I thank you for the once in a lifetime to experience Whine and Sticky Wickets with you this evening, but must regretfully decline the chance to throw good money after bad.

I shall instead be attending the Milwaukee showing of "Broadcast Blues" so that I may learn how to take our airwaves back, along with the rest of the state

Sincerely,

capper.

As If There Wasn't Enough Noise Pollution Already

This state is full of noise pollution, especially if you live in one of the bigger cities.

There's trucks, cars with bad mufflers, motorcycles, construction equipment, horns beeping, low flying planes, people with their radios blasting and a myriad of other things that assault our ears on a near constant basis.

One of the most offensive perpetrators is squawk radio.  In almost every corner of this state, you can find some radio station (usually on the am dial) that has its day filled with one blathering idiot following another bloviating liar.

In Milwaukee alone, we have Charlie Sykes, Jeff Wagner, John Mecure, James T. Harris (until the Journal Broadcast company made him do a lateral transfer to one of their stations in Arizona), Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna and Mark Belling filling the days with their tiresome and fact-free rantings and ravings.  So much so you can just visualize the spittle dripping off their microphones as they tell you the evils of creating jobs, taking care of the vulnerable and having everyone carry their fair share of the burden of being part of a society.

And that doesn't even cover the syndicated squawkers like Dennis Miller, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

(Is it any wonder I so look forward to going up north where I can shut these immoral and asocial blowhards out?)

Now we find out that the powers that be don't think there's quite enough insult to our intelligence, enough assault on our eardrums.

Nope. Now they had to go and give Scott Walker is weekly ramblings.  Instead of fireside chats, we get Pants-on-fire squawks. Oh, huzzah.  Be still my heart. (/off-sarcasm)

And just with squawk radio, there is not even the appearance of honoring the federal laws regarding the public airwaves.  They are giving the Republican governor a free shot of air time without a rebuttal:

Were Democrats invited to produce a regular alternative message? "The WBA has a history of working with Wisconsin's governor throughout the years (regardless of party) -- as we are a non-partisan organization," wrote Michelle Vetterkind, the association's president and CEO, in an email response to my inquiry. 

Did former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle have such a program? "Not a weekly radio address, no," she wrote. "However, this is something we'd love to continue" with governors of either party. 

She said legislative Democrats can do their own. "If the Democrats wish to offer a response, we are more than willing to post a link to it as well," she said. "It would be posted at the same time." 

Democrats appear likely to take them up on the offer. Melanie Conklin, an aide to Rep. Peter Barca of Kenosha, leader of Assembly Democrats, says she is in contact with an aide to Sen. Mark Miller of Monona, leader of Senate Democrats, on a next step.

Um, no, a link is unacceptable. The law requires equal air time and a link is not the same as free time over a powerful radio station's airwaves. If it were, Whallah! would have vanquished Milwaukee squawk radio long ago.

The Democrats should not and cannot settle for anything less than equal time as Walker.

Fortunately, even as it looks like Walker and the corporate media of the state are about to take another round of treading on our rights, we are about to gain valuable knowledge and skills on how to counter this.

Sue Wilson will be bringing her "Broadcast Blues" tour to the state this week, premiering in Madison this Saturday, first at Fighting Bob Fest and then again in Madison Saturday night at the First Unitarian Society Landmark Auditorium.  The rest of her tour can be found on this handy poster. (H/T Uppity Wisconsin)

For more information and to learn how you can join the fight to reclaim our airwaves, please check out their new website - Media Action Center.

Cross posted at Whallah!

Reclaiming Wisconsin's Airwaves: Broadcast Blues Comes To Wisconsin

If the gentle reader will recall, I told them that while we take the state back from the greedy clutches of the Republicans and their corporate puppet-masters, we could also take back the airwaves of Wisconsin and make them serve the public again.

Here is a press release from Sue Wilson, the maker of Broadcast Blues, announcing her upcoming tour of Wisconsin:

2011 Wisconsin Media Reform Tour

Putting the Public Back into Broadcasters' Public Interest Obligations

When Delafield resident Barbara Begale went to see a documentary film about media reform in Florida, she never thought she'd return to Wisconsin to organize an entire film tour. But after seeing the award winning Broadcast Blues, which shows how the consolidation of the media into a few corporate hands is jeopardizing our news, information, and even public safety, Begale says a light bulb went off. "Suddenly I understood why the United States is so divisive. The film explains why the news is filled with lies and why there is so much hate speech. If people know the truth, people will make the right decisions, but they're not getting the truth. Everyone in this country needs to see this movie." 

So she contacted the film's director, who readily agreed to travel throughout the state with the film. "This is a great opportunity to remind the people of Wisconsin that they actually own the Radio and TV airwaves," says filmmaker Sue Wilson. "Local TV and radio stations receive licenses for the privilege to broadcast, but there's a catch: in exchange for their licenses, the law requires them to 'serve the public interest.' If they do not, people can legally challenge those licenses and take them away. The question is, are the broadcasters serving the public interest of Wisconsinites?" 

Wilson plans to answer that question by surveying those who attend the screenings about how well local broadcasters are serving local needs. If people tell her their local TV and radio stations are not serving the public interest, she will teach them how to reach out to local broadcasters with the goal of improving the quality of local broadcasting. "Sometimes," says Wilson, "all it takes is a friendly visit to station management to create a dialogue between the broadcaster and the community. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a legal petition to deny a station's license, and we're prepared to help people whichever way it goes. What's important is that people understand they have unique rights as owners of the public broadcast airwaves."

The 2011 Wisconsin Media Reform Tour kicks off September 17 in Madison with continuous screenings at the FightingBobFest, then goes to Madison's Landmark Auditorium that evening for a 7:30 showing and organizing event. The tour continues to Appleton Sept. 17, Mequon Sept. 21, Milwaukee Sept. 22, Hartland Sept. 23, Racine Sept. 24, Wausau Sept. 26, ending in Eau Claire Sept. 27th. 

All events are free and open to the public.

Here is a trailer of the movie:



And via Steve Hansen at Uppity Wisconsin, here is a poster with all the dates, times and places that Sue and Broadcast Blues will be visiting. Please share this with your friends, family and neighbors.

Cross posted at Whallah!