John Carlson speaks up on big media

  The FCC's hearing on media consolidation Friday night in Town Hall was ill-advertised and pulled off at the last minute; but it was packed with a spirited crowd of loud and motivated citizens; and a mighty collection of politicians, media moguls, and media minis like us. Governor Gregoire, Attorney General Mckenna, State Auditor Sonntag, UW Prez Emert, Seattle Times Crocodile Frank Blethen, all spoke as did Rep. Jay Inslee, and Sen. Maria Cantwell from Washington. About a hundred citizen s got up and said their not so peaceful sometimes peace.

KVI talk host John Carlson, (m-f, 3-6p) a damn Republican and free marketer gave an eloquent argument that brought the most rabid of us liberals to our feet. Here it is:

I was the Republican nominee for governor in 2000, founder and former president of the Washington Policy Center, a free market think tank here in Seattle, and for more than a dozen years I’ve been a news commentator at KOMO radio and a talk show host at KVI radio, both owned by Fisher Broadcasting. I’m speaking today as a citizen, not a representative of the company.

I want to thank Chairman Martin and the rest of the commissioners for convening this last hearing here in Seattle.   

Your being here gives me the chance to explain why the effects of expanded consolidation by national media companies in local markets looks very different on the ground in this Washington than it might appear from a distance in “the other” Washington.

I think when deregulation leads to competition, everybody wins. Consolidation is going to be part of that – doesn’t matter what industry.  But it CAN be carried too far in this particular industry.

Here’s where consolidation has taken us in Seattle.

Of the 30 largest radio stations in Seattle, 80% are owned by national media companies. Of the six locally owned stations, two are Christian radio, one is a classical music station owned by a Trust, and three are commercial stations, owned by my employer, Fisher Broadcasting.

There is not a single major radio station with a single owner left in this town. Every major stick is owned by a chain.

Now, there are lots of businesses with chains these days, banks, retail stores, restaurants… But a competitor can start a local bank or restaurant. Not so with radio or TV. You can’t just start a radio station. The number of signals is finite. You not only need a seller, you need permission from the FCC to buy from the seller because those signals belong to the public. There must be a referee to protect the ability of smaller, locally owned media companies to compete. Because at a certain point, consolidation doesn’t lead to competition, it inhibits it. It prevents it.

Let me illustrate.  Several years ago, KOMO and KIRO competed head to head for the rights to broadcast the Seattle Mariners baseball games. KOMO (Fisher Broadcasting) won the bidding war. That’s competition.

The chain that owns KIRO decided to strike back by targeting the Rush Limbaugh show, which ran on KVI, another Fisher station. It was a good business move, and everyone anticipated another spirited bidding war. It never happened. Entercom has stations throughout the country and used that leverage with the firm syndicating Rush’s show to get the show moved from one company’s station to another with no bidding whatsoever. Do I blame David Field for undercutting competition in the name of competition?  No, he’s just playing his strengths.

But should YOU be concerned when local competition is undermined? I hope so.

I think we have to judge a policy by its impact, not its intentions. Expanded consolidation by national companies will mean less local ownership, less competition at the local level, and less local content. How does smothering those things serve the public interest you are pledged to protect?

Now, the rebuttal to this is that today there are more sources of news and entertainment for people than ever before, thanks to the Internet, Cable TV, and satellite radio.

And that’s true.

But the FCC dismisses that argument when the issue of fierce language or nudity arises on the public airwaves. The Commission says IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT’S ON HBO, MTV OR ANY OTHER CABLE OUTLET. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT’S ON THE INTERNET or SATELITE RADIO…

THE FCC’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC INTEREST ON THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES because the public owns them.

Exactly.

That is why the five of you should apply that SAME STANDARD when considering how much national consolidation is too much.  If you believe that further national consolidation endangers local ownership, local content and local competition, that question answers itself. 

Thank you for being here tonight.

Comments

[Duffman]

Very eloquent, to the point and hopefully 'heard' words of wisdom from Mr Carlson.

[joanie]

Geez, I've had a love-hate relationship with Carlson for years and years. I really liked him twenty, thirty or more (maybe longer - one loses track of time at a certain point!)

In those days, he seemed outspoken as well as well-spokan and I thought he had some fresh ideas.

With time and added wisdom, I veered further and further away from his politics and even further away from his radio content and style.

But, the above proves that he can still be fair-minded and speak in thoughtful declarative sentences. Thanks, John.

Does anybody know when the results of all this will become public?

[sparky]

It probably won't Joanie. CW says they have made up their minds and are doing this to appear to be listening. Who knows?

[FREMONT]

My guess is that the consolidated "mind" has made the decision. The Senate announced a plan Friday to halt such action by the FCC. Let's see how far that gets...

[kate]

Can't say I've had a love hate relationship with John...more a hate hate. But I did listen to him when he was on in the afternoons. Will probably try him again (except I like Rachel's program). I do have to give kuddos to John for a thoughtful, insightful commentary regarding the consolidation issue.

I'm not holding my breath for the Senate to do ANYTHING worthwile about ANYTHING.

[Rev]

Several things were notable about Friday's FCC hearing in Seattle. Out of more than two hundred speakers (that was the count when I gave up around midnight), the only people who spoke in support of multiple ownership were people who owned or worked for stations: the manager of the cluster of radio stations in the Tri-Cities, the head of the Washington Assn of Broadcasters, Ursula Roitin (KIRO radio's news director), and a tiny handful of others.

Many of the speakers were community and low-power radio folks, community-access TV people and others who did not specifically address the question of commonly-owned newspapers and broadcast stations, but many more were on-point. And it was clear that the amount of public suport for the existing level of regulation (let alone allowing even more media consolidation) was very close to zero.

The question, of course, is whether it will make any difference. How many times do the lobbyists for Clear Channel, Tribune, Belo and Hearst have to take the commissioners to lunch at the Broadcasters' Club to compensate for the very clear public will in this issue?

I have been to the Broadcasters' Club. They serve a really nice lunch there. But somehow, that should not be enough to make a difference to the way the FCC commisioners vote on this kind of policy issue.

[joanie]

Hmm, Rev, I think there's more to be had than lunch at the Broadcasters' Club. Don't you? Really?

Seats on boards . . . consultant positions . . . others?

Inform me. What the hell is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act all about anyway?

[rev]

Oh, absolutely. But it starts at the bar of the Broadcaters'Club. After a complicit commissioner leaves office, then they join the boards -- Michael Powell (previous FCC chair) is not on the board of Cisco, and runs an effective consultancy.

But those offers would be grounds for removal from the commission if they happened while someone is still in office. That's not how the game is played.

And it's not limited to the bad guys. After Kenneth Cox left the FCC, he became in-house counsel to MCI and was on the board of NPR. And Ken was one of the most enlightened FCC commisioners ever.

[rev]

Oops. I should havre said "Michael Powell is on the board of Cisco..."

[JustinAtheropinion]

Damn, he's good!

And soundly based on fact.

Well done, Mr. Carlson, Boo-yah!

[Bill Wippel]

My name is Bill Wippel, former News Director of KIRO Radio. I have 58 years experience

The arguments to further relax media ownership are built on 3 fables perpetrated by mega media lobbyists

Fable 1: There are twice as many radio stations on air since 1970. Therefore concentrated ownership is bringing us more outlets for entertainment and information.

Fact: A majority of those new stations are automated. Walk through most multi-station operations and you will not see an announcer, not one live body on air. Those are not radio stations they are hi-tech juke boxes.

Fable 2: Local radio stations in Seattle produce local news reflecting the cultural richness through a variety of locally produced programs.

Fact: 2 commercial stations do any consistent news coverage; with few exceptions most stations could care less about the community’s culture. They are cash cows operated from a distant corporate office;

Fable 3: Every year broadcasters join with their counterparts to raise millions of dollars for thousands of charities.

Fact: Out of the thousands of non profits that ask for free coverage on local radio and TV, most are not even given the time of day. The charities that receive publicity have PR staffs that make the little guy look like a pauper.

"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823. Are you saying that the writer of our Declaration of Independence was wrong?

[joanie]

Good post, Bill. Looks like Martin had his mind made up all along. We'll see what happens next. I am proud of the Seattle turn out even though when the message was delivered apparently no one was home.