Must-click Youtube. The sound wasn't working for me, but the video is great!
I got wind from Spocko that KSFO would be addressing our blogswarm on Friday. Evidently, management has decided that all the naughty children that have said naughty things are going to have to face the music.
Tomorrow, at 3 PM EST, the "Snuff talker" KSFO will pre-empt their regular schedule (Dr. Laura) to do a special broadcast - a townhall radio show in which they will "discuss" the topic. (How cool is it that Dr. Laura's screechings won't pollute the airwaves for at least this Friday afternoon?)
Unfortunately, after listening to this morning's broadcast, it doesn't appear as if they are ready to take any kind of responsibility. Instead, they will discuss the "death threats" they've received and the burden of "increased security" they've had to take on. They claim Spocko's radio clips are "old", ""out of context" and in some cases, "just plain lies".
But, as the SF Chronicle points out, they won't say which clips Spocko is misusing or lying about.
flip
The funny? Well, in listening to their show, I heard over and over again Melanie and co-host being very careful in what they said.
So anyway, they have invited my (and anyone else's) participation in their show tomorrow. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to bless them with my presence. If they want me on to be their monkey, there's just no way. If they promise me equal time and volume and a genuine opportunity to discuss the issues, well, then I might decide to jump in the mix. I've got a call in to their program director.
I'll update this story throughout the day.
Update [2007-1-11 12:58:13 by Mike Stark]: I just finished firing off the email below to Keith Olbermann's producers. There seems to be an awful lot going on these days, so I doubt the story will be run. That said, it sure wouldn't hurt if we were to let them know how important an issue free speech and the Fair Use Doctrine is to us in the blogosphere. After all, without it, we have no blogs that cite any primary news sources. It really is a critical issue. Email here: countdown@msnbc.com
Nutshell: Spocko records Melanie Morgan and others on the KSFO "Snuff Talker" out of San Fran. He sends clips to advertisers pointing out how their brand is being endangered. Some advertisers pull ads. KSFO posts Spocko's picture on-line, threatens to sue him "for everything he's got". Spocko continues his efforts. ABC, owner of KSFO, sics their lawyers on Spocko's ISP. ISP pulls the plug. Spocko emails me, I launch blogswarm. It's a huge one. We bloggers know how important the Fair Use doctrine is to what we do. Lawrence Lessig weighs in - says Spocko well within his rights. The story is just now starting to be picked up by the traditional media. CBS 5 did a story on in on 1/9 and today it's in the SF Chronicle.
Finally, KSFO is feeling the pinch. More advertisers have left over the last week. They are taking the unprecedented step of pre-empting their regular programming schedule to do a three hour radio townhall tomorrow. They've invited me to join the show. I haven't decided whether or not I want to be a part of their farce.
Links:
Viral YouTube (Move America Forward, Melanie Morgans shill war support group is mmaking a dishonest defense in the comments): http://youtube.com/...
SF Chronicle article: http://www.sfgate.com/...
CBS 5 segment (w/video): http://cbs13.com/...
The comments that got KSFO in this hot water have been highlighted on your show - Melanie Morgan sayin that she's got a bulls-eye painted on Pelosi, that Obama is a "halfrican" because his mother is white, they asked a caller to say "Allah is a whore" to prove he wasn't a muslim and agreed with a caller that suggested the US rain cruise missiles down on all of the mosques in Syria during peak worship hours... there are many more examples. If you are interested, let me know. I can be reached at xxx xxx xxxx or xxx xxx xxxx.
2nd Update [2007-1-11 13:17:13 by Mike Stark]: I hope I'm not betraying any confidences here, but this is really hard on Spocko. He's doing his best to support the effort, but the attention and scrutiny isn't something that everyone thrives under... He's fearful (with reason) that these violence prone wingnuts will attempt to visit harm upon him. Remember, a KSFO has a long history of violent rhetoric - some of which has matured into real world violence. They've fired people here and there, but they keep the format, year after year...
3rd Update [2007-1-11 13:57:6 by Mike Stark]: Must-click Youtube. The sound wasn't working for me, but the video is great!
4th Update [2007-1-11 18:54:41 by Mike Stark]: Some quotes from this morning's show
5th Update [2007-1-11 18:54:41 by Mike Stark]: I just got off the phone with Ken Barry, the program director for KSFO. I called to find out what the rules were for tomorrow's festivities. I mentioned that I'd be willing to be a guest on the show for 20 minutes or 1/2 an hour and field questions from Ms. Morgan and the other hosts. Barry told me I'd have to call in just like anyone else. I told him I wouldn't be doing that because I know the nature of the beast - I know I can be muted, cut off, shouted over and hung up on. I know that immediately after they hang up on me they have every ability to disparage and slime me - even to lie about me - with impunity. If retaining those advantages is important to KSFO - more important than a reasonable discussion of the First Amendment issues at play - then I don't see the necessity of playing on their playing field. I think we're doing just fine on our own.
6th Update [2007-1-11 18:54:41 by Mike Stark]: Ripley has a fantastic video up that puts the issues into stark relief.
7th Update [2007-1-11 18:54:41 by Mike Stark]: Spocko's going through an awful lot and has asked nothing from us. But I believe it's really important to reward good behaviour. I'm going to his webpage to donate a few dollars at the through the paypal link.
8th Update [2007-1-11 23:4:5 by Mike Stark]: I just issued the following press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2007
Background:
A self described "fifth-tier" anonymous blogger, Spocko, was moved to record the incendiary and hateful rhetoric* he heard broadcast by KSFO. In an effort to make advertisers aware of the damage that was being done to their brands, he wrote emails to the companies and included links to his blog where the company executives could hear the KSFO hosts in all of their glory. Several advertisers pulled their sponsorship of the station. KSFO retaliated by posting a picture of Spocko on their website and by threatening to bring a lawsuit against him. Undeterred, Spocko pressed on. Eventually, ABC, subsidiary of Disney and parent to KSFO, directed their lawyers to convey a cease and Desist order to Spocko’s ISP that made a frivolous claim of copyright infringement. The ISP, rather than battle Disney in court, pulled the plug on Spocko. Spocko emailed Mike Stark, an internet activist, who took up his cause. Within days Spocko’s audio clips were hosted by hundreds of blogs, a YouTube clip was posted that received over 30,000 views, and over a thousand bloggers "blogswarmed" the topic. Within the past two days, CBS 5 News did a feature segment that highlighted Spocko’s ordeal and the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a lengthy page 2 story. On Monday, the story will further explode into the national media.
Body:
KSFO posted the following statement to their website this afternoon:
<center>KSFO TALK SHOW HOSTS TALK BACK TO THEIR CRITICS IN A NO-HOLDS-BARRED BROADCAST THIS FRIDAY</center>
Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, Officer Vic and Brian Sussman will address issues and concerns prompted by misleading information about the station on the Internet and in the mainstream media. The broadcast will air on KSFO Radio starting at 12 noon on Friday, January 12, 2007 and will continue as long as anyone has relevant questions of our hosts.
Both friends and critics of the station are invited to participate. Members of the news media and the blogging community will be encouraged to participate, as well.
Given the nature of the talk radio medium, I decided to call the station in an effort to ascertain the format and ground rules of the planned broadcast. I talked with Ken Barry, KSFO’s program director.
Barry told me that the show would be call-in only. I expressed my trepidation with regards to that format. After all, having made a name for myself by wallowing in the fetid cesspool that is right wing talk radio, I’m fully aware of disgusting and unfair techniques hosts use to maintain control of the dialogue and marginalize the opposition. Hosts regularly mute microphones, shout over callers, disconnect calls and rant afterwards about the caller that can no longer defend himself or his point of view.
I offered Barry the following proposal. If KSFO is interested in a genuine and reasonable discussion of the important First Amendment issues at play, I would be happy to be a guest on their show for 20 or 30 minutes – or however long they desired. I made clear that I have no interest in a radio cage match; I’m not looking for a shout-fest or name-calling. Put simply, I agree that a free and open exchange of ideas would benefit the San Francisco community and I am willing to advocate for my side with the dignity and decorum decent human beings have come to expect from one another.
Barry sharply dismissed my proposal and told me, like anyone else, I could call in if I wanted to.
I was surprised by what came next. Was it true, Barry wanted to know, that I was an Air America reporter. Taken off guard, I confirmed as much, but was genuinely interested with regards to why he would ask such a non sequitur of a question. His purpose immediately resolved when he suggested that since I was working for a competitor of his radio station, it might behoove me to disclose my connection to Air America. I explained that I am not an employee of Air America – instead I have served as a free-lance reporter for them. If I have a story I want to do and I think it fits with The Young Turks radio program, I run it by the show’s host, Cenk Uygur, to see if they have an interest in buying the rights to it. Until tonight, when I related the conversation to Cenk because I’m fully aware the ABC/Disney’s litigious reputation, I had not had a single communication (by phone, email, in person or otherwise) regarding Spocko or KSFO with anyone remotely connected to Air America.
I am disappointed by KSFO’s continued distortions and recalcitrance. They have claimed that there are people (presumably including Spocko and me), "trying to get us fired here at KSFO radio and who are trying to deprive us of a livelihood and who are trying to deprive us of our free speech rights."
None of this is true. As far as I know, the only thing any of us have done is amplify the voices heard on KSFO. We believe in the free market and the free flow of information. It is important that advertisers know what their brands are being associated with. By spreading the audio clips to an audience that was otherwise unaware of the rhetoric employed by KSFO hosts, Spocko increased the reach of the KSFO voices.
I can only think of two reasons the KSFO hosts would feel less than comfortable that their musings reached a wider audience. They are either ashamed of what they said or they regret the loss of revenue their provocative comments cost them.
After listening to this morning’s show, in which Melanie Morgan called me a "stalker" and ridiculed Spocko as a chicken (with clucks and all), I’m led to believe this is simply a money issue for KSFO. There is no shame or sorrow for the reprehensible things they have said.
Finally, I should note that KSFO has a long history of airing disgusting and violent rhetoric. They know what their brand of "Snuff Radio" is capable of. In 1994 a KSFO host called for "lynching a few liberals" and for listeners to "shoot illegal immigrants who come across the border." (Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2/24/95) KSFO fired hate spewing host, J. Paul Emerson in 1995. In 1996, a drunken caller left messages on a state Senator’s answering machine that threatened to kill him and his family. He said he was angered after listening to a KSFO program. (SF Chronicle, 8/16/96).
Hate sells. It is a fact. The only question is what kind of person is comfortable making a living by peddling toxic hate pornography? Doesn’t it take a sociopath to go home and kiss your kids after spouting bilious invective all day long? Aren’t sociopaths usually confined in hospitals? Wouldn’t society be better off if they were?
For further information, feel free to contact Mike Stark at xxx xxx xxxx or stark.m@gmail.com
9th Update [2007-1-11 23:4:5 by Mike Stark]: As I sit hear typing this update, I'm streaming the Sussman show. The mayor of San Jose just called in to chat with him. He needs to hear from us. Here's his contact info:
Office of Mayor Chuck Reed
200 East Santa Clara Street San José, CA 95113
tel. (408) 535-4800 fax (408) 292-6422
mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov
Further, Sussman just gave voice to an idea he had in which he'd get all of the local mayors to come on his show in sequential weeks and answer an identical set of questions. At the end of the round, he'd play the answers to the questions back to back. We need to be sure our guys, like Mayor Newsome of San Francisco, do no such thing. If you are Bay Area, it's time to start notifying your politicians.
Some of you earlier suggested contacting Speaker Pelosi about this. I'm not sure it would do any harm, but with Bush banging on the Iran war drums and doubling down in Iraq, I wouldn't expect an answer right away. It isn't that I don't believe free speech is a critical issue as much as it is that, well, you know, there are some pretty scary things on our country's horizon. If Bush attacks Iran, I don't know how we prevent a draft short of the deployment of nukes. I'll forgive our Speaker if she thinks she's got more important things to do right now.
10th Update [2007-1-11 23:4:5 by Mike Stark]: Hilarious. KSFO has a promo spot running for tomorrow's "special" show. In the promo, the voice guy informs us that "The program begins at 12 noon and will continue until anyone has a relevant question for our hosts."
Great... First relevant question and they're outta there... That whole friggin place is rife with incompetence. You can tell they are Bush supporters - they emulate him the way my little girl copies me. Except, like Bush, they can't even get the simplest things right.
I'll post the audio at CAW within ten minutes.