Missouri is the latest state to be targeted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry in his campaign to entice businesses to pull up stakes and relocate in his state. But at least one station in Missouri isn’t biting – St. Louis talk outlet KTRS-AM.
Perry had been invited to speak in the state by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, and according to a report from Fox KTVI-TV St. Louis, Perry’s appearance was underscored by a barrage of radio and television ads with a price tag said to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars aimed at luring businesses and jobs out of the state and into Texas.
According to the report, KTRS is the only station in the state that is making an effort to stand up for the citizens and businesses of Missouri and refuse Perry’s ads.
The station’s McGraw Milhaven told KTVI, “I am shocked at the silence. You’re going to tell me KTRS is the only one who is standing up for Missouri? Where are the elected officials? Where are the businesses?”
As for the Chamber, it is interested in getting a business tax cut passed in Missouri, and invited Perry into the state to drum up support for that effort. Chamber President Dan Mehan told KTVI that at the same time, it was not in favor of exporting Missouri business interests permanently to Texas.
KTVI noted the irony of the Chamber’s desire to keep Missouri businesses in Missouri even while it perhaps inadvertently triggered the Perry campaign to pilfer them.
RBR-TVBR observation: We understand what KTRS is doing but our policy would be to run the ads as long as the content is not indecent, misleading or fraudulent and Perry pays his bill. We just think that it is in the public interest for stations to make advertising time available with utter impartiality.
This is especially true in political and issue advertising. Your station must be available to all candidates, and should also be available to all different viewpoints. It’s just that simple.
