Seetee's Blog

Broadcast Blues

Today, I went to see a film at Victoria Theatre on 16th and Mission called Broadcast Blues by Sue Wilson, put on by Common Cause.

Most of the things that I learned today during the screening is new stuff that I am still trying to process but I will throw out a few facts:

I learned about how most of the radio station in the nation are owned by large corporations, about 90% and headed by white males.

There are at least 3 times as many conservative talk radio stations than there are progressive.

The only way to revoke a station’s license is to file a “petition to deny” with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It was shown in the film by a phone call to the FCC and other video clips that the FCC itself has no record or any idea how many of these petitions have been filed nor any record or knowledge of how many licenses have been revoked if any.

So what is the issue?

The fact that media companies own various radio stations across the country is a problem because not only are these shows run from one central location and programmed there. This ends up creating a problem when local news to residents needs to be broadcast because there is no way to get it on the air.

Example from the website and the film:

” Toxic fumes fill the night sky; people are choking to death. Four miles away, seven Canadian Pacific train cars have derailed, spewing poisonous anhydrous ammonia into the air. Emergency personnel scramble to alert the residents of the deadly threat. But the local radio station tasked with providing emergency information play music. Just music. For more than 90 minutes.

As Minot Resident Jennifer Johnson told the local paper, “The phone line was out, so I couldn’t call 911. The only thing on the radio was music — no one was telling us what happened or what to do.”

Media consolidation rules had permitted Clear Channel to own six of Minot’s seven commercial radio stations. All six were programmed from 1200 miles away.”

In the film Wilson also follows the story of two Fox News reporters who were fired because they wanted to report/uncover the truth in an investigation. When they went to court the jury sided with one of the plaintiffs who was able to prove that she was fired because she wanted to tell an accurate account while Fox News wanted to tell lies. That day, in Fox News, they reported that they had not falsified news and basically told the public everything but the facts about the trial. Then they also testified in court that “legally, they are not required to provide news that is accurate and truthful.” How’s that for all you news watchers? We all knew Fox was shady, but really? C’mon, now they’re just getting technical to save their asses.

Do you guys remember hearing about the woman who held her “wee” (pee) in to win a Wii? Many people’s first reaction is to blame the woman..”who could be so stupid to so that”? She didn’t die because her bladder burst, she died because she drank over two liters of water, which were first given in 8 oz bottles every 15 minutes, but apparently later on contestants were given larger amounts and died of water intoxication death. Callers repeated bombarded the station telling the broadcasters that what they were doing to the contestants was dangerous, and they openly laughed and said that they knew, but kept on, even when contestants were feeling sick.

While employees were fired, the FCC did nothing to the station.

I thought that it was a very insightful film that really brought to surface things that I hadn’t really known about. It is also great to see a woman filmmaker and producer with such a passion for this cause. Big ups to Sue Wilson.