America Needs the Democratic Presidential Candidates to LEAD by Stepping Up to Fight for KLSD

As Clear Channel Signals a Flip to Sports, Only One Presidential Candidate Has Stepped up to Support Balance on the People's Airwaves in the Nation's 6th Largest City...

In a letter sent to station management, as The BRAD BLOG reported in August, former Democratic Senator from Alaska, Mike Gravel, correctly wrote: "The increasing monopolization of the mainstream media today demands that we stand up for independent-minded, progressive voices out there like KLSD AM 1360 in San Diego."

He was the only Presidential Candidate, to our knowledge, to utter a word about it.

As reports emerge that progressive radio talker Ed Schultz' audience now matches Bill O'Reilly's, one has to wonder what the hell the Democrats -- specifically the rest of the Democratic Presidential candidates -- are thinking, as Clear Channel prepares to flip the only progressive talk station in the nation's sixth largest city over to an all-sports format any day now.

The busy Internet rumors suggest it could happen as early as this week. Station insiders have told The BRAD BLOG it's more likely to happen on November 1st "at the earliest", as the corporate bosses at Clear Channel get ducks in a row for what is currently seen as an "inevitable" flip.

It'll be one less major market for Big Ed, one of the Democratic party's biggest and most effective supporters. Though O'Reilly will, no doubt, remain on the air in San Diego, despite the damage and shame his irresponsible "reporting" brings to our Republic.

In late August, we detailed the first indications that corporate media behemoth, Clear Channel, was preparing to dump the progressive talk format at AM 1360 KLSD in San Diego. Citizens were outraged, signed petitions, wrote letters to station management, created websites and showed up at rallies to protest the imminent shut down of the station.

At the time, we suggested to both organizers of the protests and station personnel that they join with Air America (who has several shows airing on the station) to invite the Democratic Presidential candidates out to San Diego for an Emergency Debate focusing on one of the very reasons our country is in the mess that it is: Corporate Consolidation of the Public Airwaves.

It seems quite clear that such consolidation has not been in the best interest of the people who own the airwaves. And further, it seems clear that the corporate interests who lease access to that spectrum, from the people, don't give a damn about such interests.

And yet, to our knowledge, in the nearly two months since Clear Channel indicated they were preparing to flip the station format, only one Democratic Presidential candidate, Gravel, has understood the importance about speaking out against this outrage.

Marjorie Cohn, president of the National Lawyers Guild told us in August of her concerns about what this move may signal. "I suspect they'll be starting in San Diego and moving around the U.S. to shut down the progressives," she predicted.

There are already four other stations devoted to sports in San Diego. There are no other stations devoted to progressive politics.

Moreover, as Aldous Tyler spokesperson for NonStopRadio.com, an Internet site fighting to support the progressive talk format around the country, pointed out in a letter to KLSD management, of the 25 stations, in major markets around the country, to flip from progressive talk in the past 18 months, "not a single one has performed as well in their market as progressive talk did on that same signal."

If Democratic politicians wish to complain that they do not get a fair shake in the media (and they don't), they'd be well-advised to ban together and fight for the continued existence of those very few stations which do not tow the conservative corporate talk radio line twenty-four hours a day -- particularly in a Presidential Election Year. (Hello, people?)

A new rally is planned for this Friday in San Diego. (NonStopRadio has more details on additional efforts.) If the people of San Diego show up Friday -- at the ungodly hour of 6:30am -- in the same numbers they did last time, it'll be yet another important testament to the importance of such a station in such a large city, thought to be Republican-leaning. In a Presidential Election year. (Did we mention that?)

So where are those who wish to sell themselves as leaders to the American people? And when will any of those Presidential Candidates join Gravel by speaking out, standing up, and fighting to preserve balance on even the tiniest band of the people's airwaves on behalf of the people -- not the corporations -- who actually own them?

You want our vote, Hillary, Barrack, John, Joe, Bill, Chris or Dennis? Please start acting like it, and lead for a change, instead of posturing. San Diego -- and America -- need you now more than ever. Step up and fight for San Diego. We're quite certain the people will thank you for it.

Cross-posted to The BRAD BLOG...

===

Brad Friedman is an investigative reporter, broadcaster, and publisher of The BRAD BLOG.

Follow Brad Friedman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheBradBlog

Comments

[pixie]

It's all about ownership. Conseratives own and control the airwaves. Has NOTHING to do with ratings or revenue. KLSD could be the top radio station in San Diego if Clear Channel wanted it to be.

I'm disgusted. Clear Channel stacks the deck right before a major election. Progressives MUST fight this!!

On a related note, they even stack their sports radio announcers. Fox Sports fired veteran Pittsburgh sports broadcaster Stan Savaran, and replaced him with the truly terrible Tim Benz. Benz is a young punk -- he's not even from Pittsburgh and doesn't care about their sports teams. Why the replacement? I truly believe it was because Stan Savaran was a Democrat and once or twice mentioned his opposition to the Iraq War. Tim Benz on the other hand is a loyal rightie, and gets in his digs about "socialized medicine" and other issues while he is doing sports talk.

[BG23]

impeach Pelosi

[OrangeSam]

The real loss will be their morning guy, Stacy Taylor, a very bright, articulate and rational presenter. I make it a point to listen to him when travelling through San Diego and occasionally in the office when I'm not there.

I'll be curious to see where he ends up if the format changes.

[luziannagirl]

I'm so tired of hearing about the virtue of the "free market". There's no such thing.

Is it legal to sell your daughter into slavery? She'd bring at least $20K (or more, if she's a natural blond) in a totally free market.

How about body parts? I mean ya got two of a lot of 'em.

And we don't hear much from the right wing nut jobs about the onerous burden of government regulations on the killing of wild game, do we? Native wild ducks were almost gone, all shot by market hunters, until BIG BAD GOVERNMENT stepped in & joined with the Commie Pinko Liberal conservationists to set seasons and bag limits and reserve habitat and pay biologists to study them.

If the free market COULD manage these "commons" adequately, then we wouldn't need any government. All we'd need is sellers and buyers. So, to those who argue that divvying up use of the public's airwaves should be the sole purview of "free market" forces guided solely supply & demand, I got a message:

I am the public, and those are MY airwaves. I want them back.

Oh, and if I catch you sniffing around my daughter, my duck pond, OR my kidneys, you're also going to find out first hand how I feel about the Second Amendment.

[zigzag1]

The radio station that carried Air America in the Phoenix area was bought out by a Christian radio chain over a year ago ending all but the right wing facists who are on all day. Air America was doing well
and making money. The facists are buying up all the stations to silence any progressive talk.

[Kansas Evans]

Democrat presidential candidates leading...what a novel concept!

Best wishes with the rally. The flip sounds like mess.

[nancytheragingliberal]

ok......Two years ago they booted AAR off of our radio in Boston....BOSTON, can you believe? Now we have the pleasure of listening to Spanish music instead of Rachel Maddow. It is an outrage. Sure, you can hear hideous Rush or Laura Ingram, Hannity, just like they are talking 1/2 an inch from your ear. Do I want to listen to these mean fools? No....and I won't. I am one of the lucky ones because I have my XM Satellite radio and it serves its purpose. How about getting liberal/progressive talk back in Boston? The powers that be are determined to make our country into a white face, white hair, red cheeks, thin lips, beady eyes, loud voice...presto. Why, it's repub.'s taking over the world. JUST WE DON'T WANT!

[califlefty]

This is a business decision by Clear Channel and if they want to lose money by a format change, let them. The proper response for progressives that wish to hear more of liberal radio in San Diego is buy your own station and pay the bills. The fairness doctrine is dead and we don't need politicians sticking their noses into the free market place of ideas.
And by the way the only "report" that Ed Schultz's numbers match Oreilly's are from a biased source that totally skews the numbers - it's laughable. If his niumbers were so good in the San Diego market wouldn't another station want to pick up such a "cash cow"? Don't see them lining up though.

[Devorah]

You're joking, right? The "biased" source is Talkers magazine, a RIGHTIE publication. Its editor gave Ed an award for being in the top 5 most influential talk hosts, the first time a progressive ever won such recognition. So, when even the righties admit that Ed is an important voice, why do you find that hard to accept?

[ebbtide]

I am disappointed by the Democratic party. Pelosi and Reid and the blue dog Democrats have been disappointing to say the least. They seem to be part of some elitist cabal that we the little people have no part in.

The system stinks and is broken. Pelosi with her botoxed grinning and her expensive suits, is just another part of the elitist cabal.

And we the people are on the fringe.

There are no heroes in DC. NONE.