KPOJ, the long lasting and only liberal station in Portland, was not switched to a sports station by their cowardly owners for financial reasons. And today on the Ed Schultz radio show I heard liberal activist and co-host of the Ring of Fire radio show Mike Papantonio tell Ed he's thinking about legal action.
I've been hearing that bogus 'market forces' bullshit for years. RW radio and Fox 'News' are increasingly unsuccessful while MSNBC kicks ass. The election was a total repudiation of everything they stand for.
So 95% of talk radio-listening Americans want to hear stupid ass lying radio that's consistently wrong about EVERYTHING while they work or drive around? What an insult to Americans. In most parts of the US there are NO free alternatives. None of that 'healthy competition'.
Right wing radio does not exist to sell flooring and penile enhancement formula. Limbaugh and Hannity don't make hundreds of millions for their wit and wisdom.
It's about selling war and deregulation and lies through orchestrated unchallenged repetition on a monopoly of 1000-plus well-coordinated radio stations. It's about making anti-science sycophants and sociopaths acceptable for congress and senate. It's about making truth telling and liberal politicians unacceptable. It's about turning molehills into mountains in days. It's about creating made-to-order pro-corporate constituencies to feed, enable, and intimidate media and politicians of all stripes. It's about creating 'conventional wisdom' to move the center or the perception of it to the right.
That's been worth trillions over the last 20 years. Limbaugh and Hannity are underpaid for their ability to scream over the feedback mechanisms a healthy democracy needs.
RW talkers and their coordinated messaging can't handle truth or competition. That's why they killed KPOJ. When given an even playing field in blue states progressive talkers compete and even kick ass. Truth and common sense beats RW radio any time but they have a subsidized and well-protected monopoly.
Most of their army of liars are protected by call screeners. The national talkers seldom take real callers. Paid callers are used to prompt and reinforce and praise national and local talkers. Their call screening software makes it easy to classify repeat callers, exclude unwanted callers, and move paid callers to the top of the line.
What makes the situation even more tragic, but fixable, is the support RW radio gets from our universities. Universities for Rush Limbaugh is a list of 76 universities that broadcast on 171 Limbaugh radio stations. As many as 1/3 or 1/2 of RW stations may be leeching off US sports.
In Oregon, activists are shocked by the loss of KPOJ. My suggestion to them is to tell Oregon State University and the University of Oregon that they need to stop endorsing Limbaugh and the global warming denial, racism, sexism, and partisan lying that goes on on those stations. Tell them to be consistent with their mission statements and find alternatives. It's one thing to ignore your own mission statement, but to make a hideous joke of it? To enable exactly the opposite? And aside from all the more obvious hypocrisy, RW radio attacks education funding and student assistance at all levels.
Many right wing radio stations may not be able to handle a university pulling its athletic broadcasting. Those associations may have been targeted when they built their monopoly and are important for community credibility and bringing in advertising.
If a few universities lead the way, others will follow.
Here's the University of Oregon Mission Statement (my bold):
The university is a community of scholars dedicated to the highest standards of academic inquiry, learning, and service. Recognizing that knowledge is the fundamental wealth of civilization, the university strives to enrich the public that sustains it through
a commitment to undergraduate education, with a goal of helping the individual learn to question critically, think logically, communicate clearly, act creatively, and live ethically
a commitment to graduate education to develop creators and innovators who will generate new knowledge and shape experience for the benefit of humanity
a recognition that research, both basic and applied, is essential to the intellectual health of the university, as well as to the enrichment of the lives of Oregonians, by energizing the state's economic, cultural, and political structure
the establishment of a framework for lifelong learning that leads to productive careers and to the enduring joy of inquiry
the integration of teaching, research, and service as mutually enriching enterprises that together accomplish the university's mission and support its spirit of community
the acceptance of the challenge of an evolving social, political, and technological environment by welcoming and guiding change rather than reacting to it
a dedication to the principles of equality of opportunity and freedom from unfair discrimination for all members of the university community and an acceptance of true diversity as an affirmation of individual identity within a welcoming community
a commitment to international awareness and understanding, and to the development of a faculty and student body that are capable of participating effectively in a global society
the conviction that freedom of thought and expression is the bedrock principle on which university activity is based
the cultivation of an attitude toward citizenship that fosters a caring, supportive atmosphere on campus and the wise exercise of civic responsibilities and individual judgment throughout life
a continuing commitment to affordable public higher education
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Every institution of higher learning in the USA needs to hear from students, faculty, employees, alum, and their communities to find non-partisan sports broadcasting alternatives to RW radio.
RW radio may not survive if our institutions of higher learning start doing the right thing.