This is not a new idea. theleftcoaster brought it up twice that I know of, most recently in connection with the ABC mendacity known as "Path to 9/11." The continuing saga of radio station KSFO has brought this idea forward once again, so anticipating questions about it, here's the scoop.
Timing, as they say, is everything and railing against a radio station is best done when the renewal of broadcast licenses is on the line. There's good news and bad news here.
The bad news is that the three-year FCC radio licensing cycle has just been completed for the nation's radio stations to obtain their eight-year licenses, so there's nothing we can do right now. The good news is, if this crap keeps going on--and I expect it will--for the next four years, we have plenty of time to plan for the first renewal in the next wave of licensing, which begins in the spring of 2011.
I'll revisit this closer to that time, but here's a preview, and the teaser is, we can hit Disney right between the eyes all over the country.
We have plenty of time to do this, and it might even merit the level of "dkospedia project" when the time comes. The need won't go away; Radio HATE is here to stay, broadcasting bile and vomit 24/7. There's too much at stake for their side. Besides, this was the vanguard of their movement in recent decades. We can cut it off at the knees this time because we've seen it before.
I see a long-term plan evolving in two tiers. First, we would need to track objectionable content--for which the KSFO saga defines what I hope to be the outer limits of insanity--especially for the one-year period preceding radio license renewals. Then, we report it in mass, at the right time and according to proper procedure--but with what Condi would call "augmentation."
Second tier is pointed right at Disney. Disney has a broadcast network of franchisees across the country. Disney, as we all know, owns ABC and bears ultimate responsibility for PT9/11 and the attack on Spocko in defense of KSFO's venom. Even though the licensing process is content-related--that is, it has to do with what is actually broadcast on the radio station--we know that Disney is in the enemy camp (sorry, Sen. Mitchell, your chance to stand up passed you by with PT9/11).
Now, the other side isn't opposed to throwing dust to obscure the issues. Me, on the other hand, I'm not opposed to throwing some extra light on the cockroaches. And while none of the Radio Disney stations broadcast offensive content, I'm certainly not above using my First Amendment right to petition government to question whether Disney has forfeited its right to broadcast each and every time a Radio Disney affiliate's license comes up for renewal.
I actually like this better than boycotts. I mean, face it, it's easy for me to decree no Disney vacations to Florida (go to Universal instead--VERY cool!) but I'm not going to stop watching ESPN, and I can't get my wife to abandon "Gray's Anatomy." PUBLICITY, however, clearly has the desired effect. Let's get one other thing straight: even if we have a Democrat in the White House when this rolls out, the FCC is not going to deny a license. But here's a few things that might happen:
- If advertisers on stations like KSFO and Radio Disney get cc'd on massive formal and informal license renewal objections sent to the FCC, it will make them very, very uncomfortable and as part of a public process, they will have to be addressed.
- If local media is cc'd on these same objections, we can capture a few local news cycles. Again, doing this in the form of an organized effort through a required public process could draw major attention locally. Local media attention is critical to this strategy. A huge amount of radio advertising is local, local media is itself often it's own subject-matter, and local stations are always looking for even the slightest edge to use against the competition when it comes to getting advertiser dollars.
- Finally, if we can generate enough heat and light through the licensing process and local media attention, and if we cc members of congress who represent the broadcast market in question as well as the chairs and ranking minorities of the appropriate committees, we might be able to bring about hearings.
Again, the idea here is change through discomfort, but not to silence critics, just to make media what it should be again: Balanced news with a clear demarcation from opinion, and opinion that is not driven by hate. It's the free market, baby.
Unfortunately, the wait will be long. The next opportunity to challenge radio broadcast license renewals come up in May 2011 for the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
I'll be standing by; if this is still a problem in four years, Hell comes to breakfast. As we near that time, we can get organized regionally (radio monitors, links, dates, addresses, etc.).
It's a long way off but I expect that some of you were curious about this.