----- Original Message ----- From: "The Fool" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 8:42 AM Subject: Channels of Influence
> http://archive.nytimes.com/2003/03/25/opinion/25KRUG.html > > Channels of Influence > By PAUL KRUGMAN > > > By and large, recent pro-war rallies haven't drawn nearly as many people > as antiwar rallies, but they have certainly been vehement. One of the > most striking took place after Natalie Maines, lead singer for the Dixie > Chicks, criticized President Bush: a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch > a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and > other paraphernalia. To those familiar with 20th-century European history > it seemed eerily reminiscent of. . . . But as Sinclair Lewis said, it > can't happen here. > > Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, > is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry � > with close links to the Bush administration. > > The CD-smashing rally was organized by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, a > radio chain that has banned the Dixie Chicks from its playlists. Most of > the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been > organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth > based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and > increasingly dominates the airwaves. > > The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally > for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is > unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles > about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious � and widely hated > � for its iron-fisted centralized control. Most of the individual facts in this article may be true, but the part about Clear Channel being the organizing force behind the pro-war rallies is pure crap. Those rallies were organized live on the air in great part, and I happened to be listening during some crucial conversations when the idea was cooked up. For the most part it started with the syndicated host Glenn Beck, and I heard the rant that was the genesis of rallies. Later that day I heard the conversations with other hosts (from the local stations where his show is aired). I also heard both of the hosts of local shows start to organize the local rally, and asking the public for help to do so. There was one quite humorous period on Becks show in which Cleveland and Columbus Ohio got into a "flame" war over which city Beck would visit since their rallies were on the same day. In any case Clear Channel is not the only radio company with conservative talk shows or with hosts pushing pro-America rallies. xponent Jumped Gun Maru rob Along the drifting cloud the eagle searching down on the land Catching the swirling wind the sailor sees the rim of the land The eagles dancing wings create as weather spins out of hand _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
