Some of the biggest rallies this month have endorsed President
Bush's strategy against Saddam Hussein, and the common thread
linking most of them is Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation's
largest owner of radio stations.
In a move that has raised eyebrows in some legal and
journalistic circles, Clear Channel radio stations in Atlanta,
Cleveland, San Antonio, Cincinnati and other cities have sponsored
rallies attended by up to 20,000 people. The events have served as
a loud rebuttal to the more numerous but generally smaller
anti-war rallies.
The sponsorship of large rallies by Clear Channel stations is
unique among major media companies, which have confined their
activities in the war debate to reporting and occasionally
commenting on the news. The San Antonio-based broadcaster owns
more than 1,200 stations in 50 states and the District of
Columbia.
While labor unions and special interest groups have organized
and hosted rallies for decades, the involvement of a big publicly
regulated broadcasting company breaks new ground in public
demonstrations.
"I think this is pretty extraordinary," said former
Federal Communications Commissioner Glen Robinson, who teaches law
at the University of Virginia. "I can't say that this
violates any of a broadcaster's obligations, but it sounds like
borderline manufacturing of the news."
A spokeswoman for Clear Channel said the rallies, called
"Rally for America," are the idea of Glenn Beck, a
Philadelphia talk show host whose program is syndicated by Premier
Radio Networks, a Clear Channel subsidiary.
`Just patriotic rallies'
A weekend rally in Atlanta drew an estimated 20,000 people,
with some carrying signs reading "God Bless the USA" and
other signs condemning France and the group Dixie Chicks, one of
whose members recently criticized President Bush.
"They're not intended to be pro-military. It's more of a
thank you to the troops. They're just patriotic rallies,"
said Clear Channel spokeswoman Lisa Dollinger.
Rallies sponsored by Clear Channel radio stations are scheduled
for this weekend in Sacramento, Charleston, S.C., and Richmond,
Va. Although Clear Channel promoted two of the recent rallies on
its corporate Web site, Dollinger said there is no corporate
directive that stations organize rallies.
"Any rallies that our stations have been a part of have
been of their own initiative and in response to the expressed
desires of their listeners and communities," Dollinger said.
Clear Channel is by far the largest owner of radio stations in
the nation. The company owned only 43 in 1995, but when Congress
removed many of the ownership limits in 1996, Clear Channel was
quickly on the highway to radio dominance. The company owns and
operates 1,233 radio stations (including six in Chicago) and
claims 100 million listeners. Clear Channel generated about 20
percent of the radio industry's $16 billion in 2001 revenues.
Size sparks criticism
The media giant's size also has generated criticism. Some
recording artists have charged that Clear Channel's dominance in
radio and concert promotions is hurting the recording industry.
Congress is investigating the effects of radio consolidation. And
the FCC is considering ownership rule changes, among them changes
that could allow Clear Channel to expand its reach.
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) has introduced a bill that could
halt further deregulation in the radio industry and limit each
company's audience share and percent of advertising dollars. These
measures could limit Clear Channel's meteoric growth and hinder
its future profitability.
Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the
University of Minnesota, said the company's support of the Bush
administration's policy toward Iraq makes it "hard to escape
the concern that this may in part be motivated by issues that
Clear Channel has before the FCC and Congress."
Dollinger denied there is a connection between the rallies and
the company's pending regulatory matters.
Rick Morris, an associate professor of communications at
Northwestern University, said these actions by Clear Channel
stations are a logical extension of changes in the radio industry
over the last 20 years, including the blurring of lines between
journalism and entertainment.
From a business perspective, Morris said, the rallies are a
natural fit for many stations, especially talk-radio stations
where hosts usually espouse politically conservative views.
"Nobody should be surprised by this," Morris said.
In 1987 the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine, which required
broadcasters to cover controversial issues in their community and
to do so by offering balancing views. With that obligation gone,
Morris said, "radio can behave more like newspapers, with
opinion pages and editorials."
"They've just begun stretching their legs, being more
politically active," Morris said.
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
