A few days ago in an RBR-TVBR interview National Hispanic Media Coalition President and CEO Alex Nogales was demanding that Clear Channel fire “John & Ken” from top-rated KFI-AM Los Angeles. Now the NHMC has added a video pitch as well – and has named additional Clear Channel hosts it accuses of engaging in hate speech.
In a companion report as the video was posted on YouTube, NHMC listed accusations against numerous Clear Channel hosts, ranging from syndicated giant Rush Limbaugh to John and Ken, who are local to KFI. Also thrown in were some hosts not syndicated by Clear Channel, such as Michael Savage and Neal Boortz, although they may be carried by some Clear Channel stations. Even liberal host Randi Rhodes, now syndicated by Clear Channel, was cited for an insult of Hilary Clinton off-air in a stage show that got Rhodes fired from Air America in 2008. Click here to read the two-page pdf that NHMC bills as an exposé.
Rather than accepting the idea that market forces have made the Clear Channel hosts successful, NHMC claims it is the other way around – that they make money because Clear Channel is so big.
“These pundits regularly spread vitriol against people of color, women, gays and lesbians, the poor, and others. Clear Channel is the largest radio conglomerate in the U.S. It has grown too big to fail. Even in the face of massive outcry and successful advertiser boycotts, hate pundits like Rush Limbaugh, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou remain on air. Why? Rather than selling advertising time by station, Clear Channel regularly sells placements for multiple stations at the same time. This gives Clear Channel greater bargaining power and reduces its competition. When responsible companies call Clear Channel to explicitly request that their ads not air on hate programs, they are just shifted to a different time period or station. This negates the ability of the free market to dictate content. In other words, because Clear channel owns so many stations, it can ignore community outcry over its programming, while still continuing to profit. And its CEO, John Hogan, is standing behind this hate speech profit model.
Hogan can expect to find his email inbox to be full and his telephone voicemail overflowing, since NHMC is distributing both his email address and phone number and urging people to call Hogan and demand that he take “John & Ken” off the air.
RBR-TVBR observation: Clear Channel may be most noted for its conservative Talk hosts, but it’s interesting that one of the radio giant’s liberal hosts was blasted by NHMC as well.
Guess what, guys? If the advertisers don’t want to be on so-called “hate” shows, and they call Clear Channel, and their spots get moved to other stations or into other programming…that’s not some sort of malevolent move on the part of Clear Channel, it’s agreed to by the advertisers!
When NHMC says, “This negates the ability of the free market to dictate content. In other words, because Clear channel owns so many stations, it can ignore community outcry over its programming, while still continuing to profit”, they choose to disregard the obvious fact that this is indeed the free market in action.
If advertisers want their ads totally removed from Clear Channel stations and/or programming, they can demand it. If they agree to move their ads around, that’s their call. NHMC knows how it works and what the free market is about. These kinds of statements show they are gulity of ignoring facts, distorting facts, or simply wanting to be the world-wide arbiter of good taste.
Clear Channel IS too big. You need to read For Whom the Bell Tolls because when Clear Channel becomes so big it doesn’t have to be a responsible corporate citizen, then you will be bullied by them–albeit too late.
White people who are sick of blowhards on the air trying to make America think it is brimming with hatemongers need to stand with sane people of color, or it won’t be comfortable for anyone to live in peace. Sometimes I think people are paid to sit here and make Limbaugh-esque comments, which are ignored by sane white adults, but when other people of color read them, they have no reason but to think the majority feel the same way because noone says anything. Racism is so out of style. Let it go.
This Nogales guy is a grade A JOKE!!!! He’s a NOBODY sitting in an office with some letterhead paper pathetically trying to remove the number ONE radio local radio show in the country from the air??!! He claims there is a “public outcry” to remove John and Ken from the air, but what he fails to see is that there is even MORE of a “public outcry” to keep them on the air!!!!
This guy is a JOKE and should not be taken seriously.
Yes. Clear Channel is too big. And, if the FCC listens to the NAB, and removes restrictions on ownership, Clear
Channel could own every radio station in every market in the USA. This is not good for America, In my opinion, this deal between NAB and Clear Channel/Bain Capital MUST
be defeated.
Oh yes! Haaaaate speech, another favorite of the lefties. We actually call it “freeeeee speech”. This is America Jack, love it or leave it.
Hi Deb…wonder if we are related? Why is it free speech when you say it but when others speak out its reverse racism?
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