The following message has been sent out to the stations in other markets carrying my "Echoes of a Century" program.
+++++++++
This message is an extremely difficult one for me to write, but it is
one that I must send.
I am no longer going to produce the "Echoes of a Century" program at
WLSU. The reason for this is spelled out below. Consequently, it will
not reappear unless I am able to revive it at a station or network
outside of the United States. I can no longer, in good conscience,
continue it in the community where I currently reside, and I see no
opportunity to find a community inside the United States where I am
capable of doing so.
I am a broadcaster of over 35 years' experience, extending back to my
first radio job as a voice actor in commercials when I was 9 years old.
In the last five years, I have become physically disabled by a spinal
condition. This severely limits my ability to support myself in the
employment market. It, however, does not limit my ability to
communicate, think, and observe. I wish to find a community in which I
am able to contribute to the fullest extent of my capacities.
For the last two years, I have had a Friday night block of program time
at WLSU, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of
Wisconsin system. "Echoes of a Century" has been an element of this
programming block, the remainder being jazz and blues music. Because the
station is licensed to a non-profit organization, it is expressly
illegal for me to use the station to advocate my position on public
policy as a community citizen. In this year, the administrators of WLSU,
Wisconsin Public Radio, has purged from its schedule programs hosted by
Dave Berkman in Milwaukee and Duke Skorich in Superior, as well as Harry
Shearer's national NPR program "Le Show," because of the "political
content" contributed by the hosts. For the most part, these hosts'
perspective mirrors my own.
There are only two commercial broadcasting companies within reach of the
transportation available to me, the La Crosse Radio Group in Onalaska,
Wisconsin, and Family Radio in La Crosse itself. Of these companies,
only Family Radio operates a station -- the only commercial station in
this market, in fact -- to air issue-oriented talk programming. This
station is WIZM. During my first year here, WIZM aired a full 7-hour
daily block of programming advocating a "conservative" viewpoint
(Michael Gallagher, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity), plus the weekend
program of conservative blogger Matt Drudge. In the last couple of
years, Gallagher's program was moved to a weekend slot. The only program
providing any other political perspective is a single hour on Sunday
nights hosted by "Lionel" of the WOR network out of New York. There are
no "liberal" programs, nor any locally-produced programs advocating any
discernable perspective; the only locally-produced program discussing
issues, mainly local politics, is hosted by a Mitch Reynolds, who
neither advocates positions, nor has even five years of broadcasting
experience, according to WIZM's web site.
The program director of WIZM is a man named Scott Robert Shaw. I have
attempted, since the first week I resided in La Crosse in April 2004, to
contact Shaw about my doing a daily two-hour or three-hour program, on
which I would advocate "liberal" positions. Shaw has consistently
refused to return my phone calls, acknowledge receiving my emails or
meet with me in person about such a proposal.
Yesterday, Shaw broadcast an editorial (allegedly the only editorial
broadcast by a Wisconsin station, or so WIZM's website claims) which is
posted at
http://www.1410wizm.com/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=2&topic=817
.. In it, Shaw displayed the utter ignorance to compare a snowstorm in
Western North Dakota to Hurricane Katrina and claim the Katrina victims
handled their storm in a worse manner than the North Dakotans.
I find myself wanting to respond to this insultingly stupid commentary
on a basis identical to that Shaw has. Unfortunately, the law prohibits
me from doing so on the station I have been associated with, and Shaw
himself prevents me from doing so on the station Shaw programs.
Consequently, my conscience does not allow me to further contribute to a
state-operated system that creates such a situation, and as of today I
will be resigning my position with WLSU. I simply cannot stay silent any
further in the face of such an insult to my intelligence, yet I have no
platform other than this email with which to voice my outrage.
Unfortunately, this appears to be the norm across the United States in
relation to citizen access to a broadcast platform. The freedom
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to news media, including
broadcasters, is consistently being used by radio station licensees not
as an ability to inform, but an opportunity to insult, misrepresent and
demonise. The CRTC, the Canadian regulatory agency for broadcasting,
demands that radio station licensees prove their responsibility to hold
these licenses IN PRACTICE rather than simply IN THEORY. The FCC, the
U.S. agency, shows no interest in having licensees of U.S. radio
stations similarly prove themselves to be responsible, and when such
cases of irresponsible conduct arise, looks the other way.
Earlier this month, I asked the members of an email list relating to
Toronto station CHWO whether or not they would like for me to approach
that station's management with the idea of producing a version of the
program there. The majority of those responding to the question
indicated they would. I hereby ask those reading this message to call
CHWO Program Director Gene Stevens at 416-544-0740 and emailing him at
[email protected] towards this end. Thanks for your time.
--
Daevid MacKenzie
+++++++++
This message is an extremely difficult one for me to write, but it is
one that I must send.
I am no longer going to produce the "Echoes of a Century" program at
WLSU. The reason for this is spelled out below. Consequently, it will
not reappear unless I am able to revive it at a station or network
outside of the United States. I can no longer, in good conscience,
continue it in the community where I currently reside, and I see no
opportunity to find a community inside the United States where I am
capable of doing so.
I am a broadcaster of over 35 years' experience, extending back to my
first radio job as a voice actor in commercials when I was 9 years old.
In the last five years, I have become physically disabled by a spinal
condition. This severely limits my ability to support myself in the
employment market. It, however, does not limit my ability to
communicate, think, and observe. I wish to find a community in which I
am able to contribute to the fullest extent of my capacities.
For the last two years, I have had a Friday night block of program time
at WLSU, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of
Wisconsin system. "Echoes of a Century" has been an element of this
programming block, the remainder being jazz and blues music. Because the
station is licensed to a non-profit organization, it is expressly
illegal for me to use the station to advocate my position on public
policy as a community citizen. In this year, the administrators of WLSU,
Wisconsin Public Radio, has purged from its schedule programs hosted by
Dave Berkman in Milwaukee and Duke Skorich in Superior, as well as Harry
Shearer's national NPR program "Le Show," because of the "political
content" contributed by the hosts. For the most part, these hosts'
perspective mirrors my own.
There are only two commercial broadcasting companies within reach of the
transportation available to me, the La Crosse Radio Group in Onalaska,
Wisconsin, and Family Radio in La Crosse itself. Of these companies,
only Family Radio operates a station -- the only commercial station in
this market, in fact -- to air issue-oriented talk programming. This
station is WIZM. During my first year here, WIZM aired a full 7-hour
daily block of programming advocating a "conservative" viewpoint
(Michael Gallagher, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity), plus the weekend
program of conservative blogger Matt Drudge. In the last couple of
years, Gallagher's program was moved to a weekend slot. The only program
providing any other political perspective is a single hour on Sunday
nights hosted by "Lionel" of the WOR network out of New York. There are
no "liberal" programs, nor any locally-produced programs advocating any
discernable perspective; the only locally-produced program discussing
issues, mainly local politics, is hosted by a Mitch Reynolds, who
neither advocates positions, nor has even five years of broadcasting
experience, according to WIZM's web site.
The program director of WIZM is a man named Scott Robert Shaw. I have
attempted, since the first week I resided in La Crosse in April 2004, to
contact Shaw about my doing a daily two-hour or three-hour program, on
which I would advocate "liberal" positions. Shaw has consistently
refused to return my phone calls, acknowledge receiving my emails or
meet with me in person about such a proposal.
Yesterday, Shaw broadcast an editorial (allegedly the only editorial
broadcast by a Wisconsin station, or so WIZM's website claims) which is
posted at
http://www.1410wizm.com/forums/index.php?action=vthread&forum=2&topic=817
.. In it, Shaw displayed the utter ignorance to compare a snowstorm in
Western North Dakota to Hurricane Katrina and claim the Katrina victims
handled their storm in a worse manner than the North Dakotans.
I find myself wanting to respond to this insultingly stupid commentary
on a basis identical to that Shaw has. Unfortunately, the law prohibits
me from doing so on the station I have been associated with, and Shaw
himself prevents me from doing so on the station Shaw programs.
Consequently, my conscience does not allow me to further contribute to a
state-operated system that creates such a situation, and as of today I
will be resigning my position with WLSU. I simply cannot stay silent any
further in the face of such an insult to my intelligence, yet I have no
platform other than this email with which to voice my outrage.
Unfortunately, this appears to be the norm across the United States in
relation to citizen access to a broadcast platform. The freedom
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to news media, including
broadcasters, is consistently being used by radio station licensees not
as an ability to inform, but an opportunity to insult, misrepresent and
demonise. The CRTC, the Canadian regulatory agency for broadcasting,
demands that radio station licensees prove their responsibility to hold
these licenses IN PRACTICE rather than simply IN THEORY. The FCC, the
U.S. agency, shows no interest in having licensees of U.S. radio
stations similarly prove themselves to be responsible, and when such
cases of irresponsible conduct arise, looks the other way.
Earlier this month, I asked the members of an email list relating to
Toronto station CHWO whether or not they would like for me to approach
that station's management with the idea of producing a version of the
program there. The majority of those responding to the question
indicated they would. I hereby ask those reading this message to call
CHWO Program Director Gene Stevens at 416-544-0740 and emailing him at
[email protected] towards this end. Thanks for your time.
--
Daevid MacKenzie