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KFI Debuts Show with LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva
- Thread starter Y2kTheNewOldies
- Start date
But they're breaking a federal law. So we have a candidate for law enforcement officer who is breaking the law. Great example.
Also, If iHeart were ever fined or even something like a notice of proposed violation were to be sent to them, and due to the political campaign, other reporting sources could make for some dubious publicity --- for the campaign. People might remember reading or hearing stuff like that.
T
He has six challengers. You think KFI’s gonna offer each one two hours a week?
The law is pretty clear what they have to do. They knew the law and the number of challengers when they made the offer.
Seems pretty simple to me. They already owe the other candidates two hours apiece from last night.
Any one of those challengers can file a complaint.
Because these are FCC rules, and the sheriff as an individual is not subject to regulation by the FCC, Mr. Villaneueva cannot be considered breaking any law by agreeing to appear on KFI.
KFI could be in violation of FCC rules, if:
(1) they receive requests for equal time from Mr. Villanueva's opponent(s),
(2) AND do not honor them,
(3) AND the requests were timely filed.
I see no reason why his opponents would not file such requests. But I felt the same when Trump appeared on SNL before the Iowa Caucuses, and few of his opponents accepted the offer of equal time.
He is an active participant in the station's breaking of the law. Larry Elder voluntarily took time away from his radio show when he ran for governor. The Sheriff knowingly accepted an on-air job from a radio station in violation of the equal time rule.
No violation of FCC rules has occurred.
Nothing required Larry Elder to step aside while he campaigned for governor. That he did step aside does not imply that future candidates must.
Here's the pertinent part of the FCC regs:
"...no station licensee is required to permit the use of its facilities by any legally qualified candidate for public office, but if any licensee shall permit any such candidate to use its facilities, it shall afford equal opportunities to all other candidates for that office to use such facilities. Such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast by any such candidate. "
So as long as KFI offers equal time to Villaneuva's six opponents (again, that's an offer of 12 hours a week), they've complied. If the candidates don't take them up on it, they can keep doing the Villanueva show. If one or more of the six accept, they need to clear 2 hours of weekend evening programming for each candidate who accepts and air them.
If all six accept, they need to clear 12 hours of weekend evening programming, plus the two hours for Villanueva. They may have (should have) gamed all this out in advance and know how they'll respond and what they can handle.
"...no station licensee is required to permit the use of its facilities by any legally qualified candidate for public office, but if any licensee shall permit any such candidate to use its facilities, it shall afford equal opportunities to all other candidates for that office to use such facilities. Such licensee shall have no power of censorship over the material broadcast by any such candidate. "
So as long as KFI offers equal time to Villaneuva's six opponents (again, that's an offer of 12 hours a week), they've complied. If the candidates don't take them up on it, they can keep doing the Villanueva show. If one or more of the six accept, they need to clear 2 hours of weekend evening programming for each candidate who accepts and air them.
If all six accept, they need to clear 12 hours of weekend evening programming, plus the two hours for Villanueva. They may have (should have) gamed all this out in advance and know how they'll respond and what they can handle.
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Perhaps his boss told him he had to so that the station didn't have to give free time to other candidates.
Someone earlier referenced that this was a gesture to appease the "angry old man crowd".
No, I said [or rather typed] Angry Old WHITE Man crowd. When your core audience [read OLD] is dropping like flies, ratings are going to be falling with them. The NEWER old angry white guys aren't going to be storming the AM/FM dial looking for him or whomever else they put up there. They got into the habit of streaming/Pandora-ing/Spotify-ing/podcast listening when they were in their younger years. I deal with younger people almost every day. About 15-20 Years ago, when I was talking about radio stations I worked at they'd ask "What's AM?" Within the last three years or so it's become "What's FM?" They're streaming everything they listen to nowadays and not a one of them is from a radio stations website.
No, I said [or rather typed] Angry Old WHITE Man crowd. When your core audience [read OLD] is dropping like flies, ratings are going to be falling with them. The NEWER old angry white guys aren't going to be storming the AM/FM dial looking for him or whomever else they put up there. They got into the habit of streaming/Pandora-ing/Spotify-ing/podcast listening when they were in their younger years. I deal with younger people almost every day. About 15-20 Years ago, when I was talking about radio stations I worked at they'd ask "What's AM?" Within the last three years or so it's become "What's FM?" They're streaming everything they listen to nowadays and not a one of them is from a radio stations website.
I agree with you, mostly. I find that outside of the car, you are completely right on. Inside the car, they do have their favorite stations programed in and do listen to them, but they are definitely in competition with the Pandora or Spotify apps that are on their phone that is plugged into the console, or these days, bluetoothed in.
To the extent any Millenials (or now younger) know about AM, it is all about sports play-by-play and, to a much lesser degree, sports talk. We are mainly talking rabid Laker fans here. I know of nobody under 50 who listens to play-by-play of any other sport.
It took a while, but two candidates for sheriff say Villanueva's radio show on KFI violates election laws:
laist.com
KFI says they are following all laws. But one of the candidates says he's been turned down by KFI.
Sheriff Villanueva’s Radio Show Violates Election Rules, Two Challengers Say
Eli Vera and Matt Rodriguez say KFI is violating FCC rules by giving him his own weekly radio show without providing his electoral opponents equal time.
laist.com
KFI says they are following all laws. But one of the candidates says he's been turned down by KFI.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I expect this to turn into a full blown complaint filed with the FCC, and I cannot for the life of me fathom why iHeart would let this continue (or even how they let it happen in the first place). The applicable rules only make an exception for news coverage and a weekly two hour talk show is far beyond the scope of that...
And in this case, I don't care what the listeners want.
And in this case, I don't care what the listeners want.
The catch is he running for re-election right now. He has a bunch of opponents, and none of them have a radio show. The FCC law on this is pretty clear.
I certainly did not read "City Hall" in this case to be generic as you capitalized it and used context that seemed to refer to the City of Los Angeles.
"You can't fight city hall" is a non-specific colloquialism and seems to mean "the government" in certain situations. But in this case, and since the city/county relationship in California seems to differ from that of many other states, I read your post the same way K.M. did.
That said, let's not be so thin-skinned about everything here. The good thing about this board is the second word in its title: "Discussions". That means we can have contrasting opinions, discussions, debates and differences of perspective.
The question is also the interpretation of whether he is campaigning and addressing campaign issues in the show or responding to issues of government in general where the licensee may think Equal Time does not apply . Did Roosevelt discontinue the Fireside Chats during his campaigns? Or does any President or Governor or Senator or Dog Catcher discontinue press conferences during campaign periods?
Further, there are campaign and candidacy time limits on when "Equal Time" applies, otherwise incumbents could not do any media appearances at all. We are not inside those right now in my interpretation.
From PBS:
"What is considered 'use' under the law?
The FCC has explained that “use” consists of any broadcast that features a legally qualified candidate’s identifiable voice or image. When such a use occurs, the equal opportunity requirement can be triggered. This can occur even if the candidate never talks about his or her campaign; therefore, stations should be mindful of a candidate's on-air appearance in entertainment programs, such as dramas and comedies, sporting events, and televised feature films."
More interpretation from PBS:
Candidate Appearances | Media Law 101 | PBS
Frequently asked questions about the FCC's equal opportunities, or equal time, rule and more.
www.pbs.org
Obviously, we have the case of the TV Doctor in PA, where stations there and in nearby states have suspended his show. The question then is "when does the campaign officially begin" as opposed to what we have seen in recent years of campaigns beginning a year or more before the actual election.
This is a sheriff who is not merely carrying out government policy. He is taking actions based on his personal ideology. So he's not representing the mayor or city government on this radio show. He's representing himself. He himself is a campaign issue. So putting him on the radio for two hours a week gives him an advantage over any other candidate.
It begins when the person declares he is a candidate, which was in January. There is a primary in June. So we're in the middle of the campaign right now.
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