Most of you are now familiar with KSFO Hate Speech Radio, and the efforts of Spocko and Mike Stark to protest against the station. A brief history of protest against the station can be found here.
An interesting case happened in 1996
In 1996 a KSFO listener, based on misinformation broadcast on KSFO that would incite the public to panic, threatened the life of a CA Senator and his family.
Lawmakers Blast Radio Hosts' Smog Claims
San Francisco Chronicle; August 16, 1996
KSFO Listener Threatens to Kill CA Senator and Family
Things reached the breaking point this week when a drunken caller left five messages on Senator Mike Thompson's office answering machine threatening to kill him, his wife and his mother.
The caller, who left his name, was interrogated by police and apologized, saying he had become angry after listening to a KSFO talk program. Thompson later asked authorities not to press charges.
California State Senator Mike Thompson was one of five legislators that fought back against KSFO Hate Speech Radio in 1996, including three SF City Supervisors and the SF Mayor. cite
California State Senator Thompson had his own reasons for not pressing his case against the caller who threatened his life and that of his family. Further, he had a sound case of Negligence (Incitement) against KSFO, as 20 years earlier there was a case won in the CA Supreme Court against a California Radio Station charging Negligence and Wrongful Death.
The test? The Supreme Court of California affirmed the jury’s determination that the defendant radio station was liable under a negligence theory for the "foreseeable results of a broadcast which created an undue risk of harm
Ultimately this is what's so wrong about hate speech. It is an incitement to do violence.
CALIFORNIA RADIO STATION HELD LIABLE IN NEGLIGENCE CASE
From the Cornell Law Blog, First Amendment:
For example, in 1975, in Weirum v. RKO General, Inc., the Supreme Court of California held that a radio station could be held liable for its broadcast, which inspired two listeners to drive recklessly toward an announced location, killing another driver in the process.112 The plaintiff in Weirum brought a wrongful death action against a radio station for its promotion that urged people to drive to the location of a disc jockey to receive a prize.113 Two listeners, incited to reach the disc jockey, drove recklessly toward his location and in the process drove another vehicle off the road, killing the driver.114 The Supreme Court of California affirmed the jury’s determination that the defendant radio station was liable under a negligence theory for the "foreseeable results of a broadcast which created an undue risk of harm . . . ."115 Cornell Law; First Amendment
In today's San Francisco Chronicle there is an article reporting on yesterday's on air call in show at KSFO. Buried there in the article is this little nugget: KSFO has been reissued guidelines by their parent company ABC about the limits of violent hate speech:
KSFO Radio host Melanie Morgan said ABC has reissued corporate guidelines to the station's hosts about what constitutes "violent" commentary. "We don't believe we have crossed a single line," she said. cite
You will note in the so-called defense by KSFO talkshow hosts one thing they dismiss is the past history of hate speech on the station and its repercussions.
This is the fifth nightmare on the table for KSFO Hate Speech Radio:
- Bad publicity
- Loss of advertising revenue
- Reprimand by ABC/Disney
- FCC Complaints
- Weirum v. RKO General
Nota Bene:
Here's a guide to filing FCC Complaints by MikeMci
o Filing an FCC Complaint (the unofficial How-To)
o Big List of Disney Contacts, by highacidity is also helpful
My suggestion is that those of us who are writing letters to ABC/Disney include the case of the KSFO listener who threatened California State Senator Mike Thompson and his family, and the California Supreme Court's decision that a California Radio Station was liable in this case under a negligence theory for the "foreseeable results of a broadcast which created an undue risk of harm .
And just a note, on the January 3rd first Mike Stark diary about Spocko vs KSFO/ABC/Disney, there were 1,065 recommends. If each of those people wrote just 10 letters that would be more than 10,000 letters.
1065 recommendations!!
While it is not unknown for a Daily Kos diary to garner this many recs, it is a rare day when this many names are listed in support of an ACTION Diary.
The purpose of Mike's action diary was to get Kossacks to phone and write letters to KSFO advertisers. How many of you who recommended Mike’s diary did so?
If every one who recommended that diary wrote just 10 letters, that would be more than 10,000 letters. I can guarantee that with that number there would be some changes made. More advertisers would reconsider their support of KSFO. And the talkshow hosts would cease and desist the most offensive hate speech on KSFO.
UPDATE: From Spocko
Hi everybody:
Well Melanie Morgan has taken this story globally to her One Million strong email list from Move America Forward.
They also have a professional PR firm coordinating their response. "Those nasty bloggers are picking on us!"
So we will also take our story global. Only we will TRY to be smarter (and in this case I'll need your help)
I need a few volunteers (3 at least) to help keep this list (advertisers) updated. Not all info is perfect and although I tried hard to get the right info some will be wrong and out of date. I chose a method to keep the list from getting stale so that we could also REMOVE advertisers who Choose to stop after they have heard what this station is about.
I also wanted to respect the email addresses of the people I found. One thing is that they are more powerful if not everyone has them, because then they are spammed. I know I can't control the Universe, but I'm trying to ensure that we don't piss off the advertisers.
Also, I know that someone on this list will use the list against us. They will take our work and do blast emails to all the advertisers saying how much they love KSFO and how if they don't support KSFO they will boycott them! "The Stupid, It Burns!" So we need to be first on the ball with the polite mails explaining the case. The winged monkeys will want to reframe it using their usual methods, so we need to prep for that too.
(Spocko's guidelines for letter writing to advertisers can be found here
Three Tips for Writing an Effective Informative Letter: When writing to the advertisers, the way to get the best effect is to follow at least these three principles.
- Keep it short and simple. Stick to one or two main points. Use lots of white space, bulleted lists, and other formatting to make it easy to read. A letter of this type should ideally be one page.
- Be polite. Keep your tone respectful and professional. In corporate communications, you always catch more metaphorical flies with honey than with vinegar. If you're really angry when writing your letter, don't send it until you're calmer.
- Take some time before writing to figure out what you want to say. That way you're less likely to get sidetracked and you can stay "on message" more effectively.)
(4) THANK people who respond (even it they choose to remain advertisers.) that is their choice.
I also want to set up for writers to check in to the list because an advertiser may have already decided to leave. Then instead of a polite request to check out the show, they can sent them a thank you note. (Reward Good Behavior!)
So, I want to have a separate list of advertisers who say, "This isn't really our cup of tea" and those who say, 'We know it. We hear it and we will continue to advertise" that is their choice as well. As it has been pointed out. They have that right. I'll be listing two advertisers (PG&E and Best Buy) who have said, "We listened to the show and we didn't find it offensive." Now I might disagree with them, but now they know.
So, if anyone can help me keep this list updated I would really appreciate it. Those who do will be given collaboration capability to update the list.
Thanks,
Spocko