• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

NERW: The FCC in Authoritarian Times

Status
Not open for further replies.
DavidEduardo said:
And if essentially all the significant media has news content controlled, written by and delivered by people of one single inclination, then it is likely that any "acts of excess" are going to come from them.
Click to expand...
This is a blatant lie.
This administration is targeting perceived enemies, a net wide enough to encompass anyone who does not bend the knee and kiss the ring. It is elevating outlets that peddle in demonstrable lies to positions of prominence. It is destroying the independence of every single department in the government. It is engaging in wholesale firings of independent controls. It is textbook authoritarianism. We get it. You welcome that. That doesn’t make it any less third-reich-seque in its approach to destroying anyone and everyone who dares speak in opposition.
 
radiofan2023 said:
Don’t forget Dave Ramsey who (at least when I stopped listening to him several years ago) used to browbeat his callers about how foolish they were to be charging things on their credit cards.
Click to expand...
I'm been seeing random clips of Dave Ramsey where he appears to be being punked. Caller claiming to have won the lottery and trying to hide the money from his wife. A caller who got his mistress pregnant and is trying to figure out how to pay for 2 families.
 
AbrahamJSimpson said:
This is a blatant lie.
This administration is targeting perceived enemies, a net wide enough to encompass anyone who does not bend the knee and kiss the ring. It is elevating outlets that peddle in demonstrable lies to positions of prominence. It is destroying the independence of every single department in the government. It is engaging in wholesale firings of independent controls. It is textbook authoritarianism. We get it. You welcome that. That doesn’t make it any less third-reich-seque in its approach to destroying anyone and everyone who dares speak in opposition.
Click to expand...
I have worked in TV news (behind the scenes). Smaller station, and we're talking the 90s. The News Director came from radio--his first day in a TV newsroom was the day he was in charge of it. He wanted to go to bigger markets initially but found his lifetime home in those community, after TV working in PR.
Among my co-workers was a raging conservative, a few liberals, a quirky guy who threw out talking points from both sides, and an African-American producer who is now a VP of CBS Sports. I don't remember any meetings where the subject was "how do we screw the Republicans today?".
I'm still in touch with that News Director, who has retired, and I still have no idea how he votes.
 
fybush said:
We are drifting here, as I expected we would, but I want to share this from the American Bar Association, which is typically non-political and nonpartisan.

If they're worried, I am worried too.

Click to expand...
When it comes down to "your organization did a job fair at an HBCU and now someone's going to prison", that's ridiculous. Or or crominally-convicted President can fire and even imprison those that worked on his cases, we're in no-man's land
 
DavidEduardo said:
I don't care much for baseball, but any game is going to be more interesting and fun to listen to than a State of the Union address.

I think one of the things that helped Trump win was that he did not give speeches... he chatted with the audience and improvised, often wildly. He could have been on a barstool and not a stage, and that made his presentations engaging. On analysis, he just rambled and verbally meandered, but people liked that much better than scripted speeches.

And, if we analyze Trump's approach, perhaps we see why liberal talk radio never succeeded while right-wing talk did and does. The liberal hosts, particularly on Air America, were so intense and they sounded like they were campaigning or holding a strike vote for a labor union. And they did not chat with the listener, they lectured.
Click to expand...
He ranted, raved, threatened, and said disgusting things which the so-called "leftist" media sanewashed. It seems that Trumpers I come into contact with are more "I voted for Trump to say F U", especially to women and minorities,
 
The news media is basically positioned at the most conservative edge of the Democrat party, as I see it, and they are able to criticize a lot of both parties. The Republican Party/Fox/ect. conversely tries to position itself as "right" as it goes, not the left edge to try and meet the group and compromise, as would be logical.
 
gr8oldies said:
I'm been seeing random clips of Dave Ramsey where he appears to be being punked. Caller claiming to have won the lottery and trying to hide the money from his wife. A caller who got his mistress pregnant and is trying to figure out how to pay for 2 families.
Click to expand...
Where did you see these?
 
With regards to the FCC's recent "investigation" into station concerts, I found the notice from the enforcement division to be rather tame. The fact that Carr ordered it based on the vague, unsubstantiated claim from a repub senator meant that they had very little to go on. She could have at least included a few examples of what set her off. Instead she just complained about something she thought was illegal, without really referring to the law. I wonder how these career civil servants feel about all the new politicized enforcement they're being called on to do. It's a bit out of their character.

radioink.com

FCC Issues Warning To Radio After Blackburn Payola Complaint - Radio Ink

Following payola accusations from Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the FCC Enforcement Bureau has issued an Advisory for radio stations.
radioink.com radioink.com
 
fybush said:
I don't usually editorialize much in NorthEast Radio Watch, but these are not usual times.

I don't think any of us can afford to look away from what's happening right now in Washington.

(As always, let's please try to keep discussion civil and focused on broadcasting.)

www.fybush.com/nerw-20250210/
Click to expand...
I'll just say that I appreciate what @fybush wrote. The structures that we rely upon...more than we realize...are being bulldozed in record time. A system of any kind is only as good as the people that are a part of it. Even if an existing system is torn apart, another will be in its place, with the prospect of being much less responsive to the needs and desires of those it aims to govern, even as the people seeking to tear it down benefited in so many ways from the system they want to destroy. They just don't want to contribute to its upkeep and instead create burdens for those who aren't able to defend themselves. It's greed and bullying, pure and simple.

No one stands alone.

I think it's hopeless to keep politics out of this thread given the times that we're in, but, for heaven's sake, try to say something new.

OK, y'all can go back to squabbling now, fiddling while democracy burns.
 
Last edited:
AbrahamJSimpson said:
This is a blatant lie.
Click to expand...
This has been proven not to be so. Look at all the unverified items about Trump that "made the press" in regards to things like seeing prostitutes in Russia. Look at Hillary's unsecured computer. Look at the total cover-up of Biden's obvious and visible capacity. Look at Hunter's involvement with foreign governments while traveling with his father.

All these items were minimized; the laptop item was declared a ruse with dozens of signatures on the declaration.

My point is that the so-called "establishment media" minimized or denied these things... and others... while exaggerating items regarding President Trump.

My issue is with completely biased coverage.
AbrahamJSimpson said:
This administration is targeting perceived enemies, a net wide enough to encompass anyone who does not bend the knee and kiss the ring. It is elevating outlets that peddle in demonstrable lies to positions of prominence.
Click to expand...
You believe that media that does not reflect your perspective is inherently wrong. The fact that a high percentage of reporters and editors all belong to the same party and so few belong to the other one creates an inherent bias.

A theoretical example: A member of the party journalists do not favor makes a statement about safe driving. The story includes a paragraph that says, "and Senator Jones, who himself was detained by police for suspicion of drunk driving in 1986, stated he supports increased sanctions on bad drivers". In such a case, a potentially negative item is introduced despite its total irrelevancy to the current news item, to make the opinion of one person seem of less value.

I have heard, read or seen many such "flavorings" of the news in recent years. Yet doing such acts is one of the things that Journalism 101 teaches you. And, yes, I took that class in 1962 as an advanced class for High School pre-enrollees at Michigan State.
AbrahamJSimpson said:
It is destroying the independence of every single department in the government. It is engaging in wholesale firings of independent controls.
Click to expand...
The removal of unnecessary outside consultants is a cost saving. Government, everywhere in the world, tends to expand on the taxpayer's dollar or peso or pound and there needs to be an effort to reduce unneeded, duplicated or absurd agencies and activities.
AbrahamJSimpson said:
It is textbook authoritarianism. We get it. You welcome that. That doesn’t make it any less third-reich-seque in its approach to destroying anyone and everyone who dares speak in opposition.
Click to expand...
Of course, the mention of Hitler or the Third Reich or the Nazis invokes Godwin's Law.
 
TheBigA said:
With regards to the FCC's recent "investigation" into station concerts, I found the notice from the enforcement division to be rather tame. The fact that Carr ordered it based on the vague, unsubstantiated claim from a repub senator meant that they had very little to go on. She could have at least included a few examples of what set her off. Instead she just complained about something she thought was illegal, without really referring to the law. I wonder how these career civil servants feel about all the new politicized enforcement they're being called on to do. It's a bit out of their character.
Click to expand...
I totally disagree with the spirit and intent of the concert "investigation".

If you have a rock station, and a huge rock band comes to town, it is to your advantage to get as much shared attention to the artist and concert as possible. That might mean giving the concert extra liners and promos on the air, giving ads in exchange for banners in the venue entrance, interviews in your morning show and more.

The more you give, the more you hope you get in exchange.,

Going way back, I remember when Norm Wain and Bob Weiss' station in Cleveland positioned WIXY as "the station that brought the Beatles to Cleveland". They did an event in front of the hotel where they were lodged. They did a cheering section at the venue as the Beatles arrived. They played the heck out of the group's current songs. They even got a jock to be part of their on-stage entrance.

For decades, that was my model. In one case, a big, big, big artist was flying to San Juan for a show. I sent our morning jock to Madrid to be on the plane with him. They became friends in Madrid, and when the artist got off the plane back in the era of stairways up to the plane, the two came out of the plane together and the artist was wearing one of my station's T-shirts.. Priceless.

So what is wrong with teaming up with an artist for mutual promotion?
 
DavidEduardo said:
I totally disagree with the spirit and intent of the concert "investigation".
Click to expand...

My take is the enforcement bureau agrees with you. I'm aware of some stations that do these station concerts. Most have been done for charity with the co-operation of the artists. Radio stations have raised millions of dollars every year for local charities. It's the kind of "community service" you expect from local radio. It seems to me contradictory to on the one hand claim an interest in public service, and on the other hand shut down one of the most popular ways to accomplish it. It shows a total lack of knowledge of what radio does and how it does it.

It would be nice if those charged with regulating radio spent a few minutes listening to it. Chairman Carr paid a visit to North Carolina recently. His purpose was to look at how the ISP situation had been repaired since Hurricane Helene. What he didn't mention was the number of local radio stations that raised money for hurricane victims. There was a lot of local media involvement in the Concert For Carolina that raised $24 million. But he's more interested in the internet than local radio. Unless it involves starting political investigations.

abc11.com

New FCC Chairman Brendan Carr visits WNC for the first time to tour Helene damage

New Chairmen of FCC Brendan Carr visited Rutherford, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock and Asheville to talk with emergency and public safety officials,
abc11.com abc11.com

 
Robert Douglas said:
David, I want to thank you for keeping this place sane. While I am enjoying the meltdown of what I call lug-nuts like fybush, bigA, gr8oldies, Simpson, and Mark Roberts, I really pray for them and that they will consider yours words.
Click to expand...

I pray for the people of this country who thought they were voting for "change" and instead are getting extremist ideology.

This country has been down this road before. I've studied the history and I know what happens next. It's not going to be pretty.

The one thing I know: The revolution will be televised.
 
DavidEduardo said:
This has been proven not to be so. Look at all the unverified items about Trump that "made the press" in regards to things like seeing prostitutes in Russia. Look at Hillary's unsecured computer. Look at the total cover-up of Biden's obvious and visible capacity. Look at Hunter's involvement with foreign governments while traveling with his father.

All these items were minimized; the laptop item was declared a ruse with dozens of signatures on the declaration.

My point is that the so-called "establishment media" minimized or denied these things... and others... while exaggerating items regarding President Trump.

My issue is with completely biased coverage.

You believe that media that does not reflect your perspective is inherently wrong. The fact that a high percentage of reporters and editors all belong to the same party and so few belong to the other one creates an inherent bias.

A theoretical example: A member of the party journalists do not favor makes a statement about safe driving. The story includes a paragraph that says, "and Senator Jones, who himself was detained by police for suspicion of drunk driving in 1986, stated he supports increased sanctions on bad drivers". In such a case, a potentially negative item is introduced despite its total irrelevancy to the current news item, to make the opinion of one person seem of less value.

I have heard, read or seen many such "flavorings" of the news in recent years. Yet doing such acts is one of the things that Journalism 101 teaches you. And, yes, I took that class in 1962 as an advanced class for High School pre-enrollees at Michigan State.

The removal of unnecessary outside consultants is a cost saving. Government, everywhere in the world, tends to expand on the taxpayer's dollar or peso or pound and there needs to be an effort to reduce unneeded, duplicated or absurd agencies and activities.

Of course, the mention of Hitler or the Third Reich or the Nazis invokes Godwin's Law.
Click to expand...
Yes we all know Our Lord and Savior Donald Trump is the epitome of youth and fitness, and his word salads make sense, and "are you going to believe Donald J Trump or your lying eyes".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.


Back
Top Bottom