Radio Station’s Willful harm FCC ignores: Sue Wilson acts
Excerpt, editing by Carolyn Bennett
Inordinate power corrupts; unchecked power kills ─ often
with impunity (domestic broadcasting to drone warfare: they get away with
murder)
The medium of broadcasting “is unique because the airwaves
belong to the people; radio and TV stations are licensed by the FCC only if
they ‘serve the public interest.’ What does that really mean, and how do ‘We
the People’ ensure that broadcasters and their regulators hold up their end of
the bargain?”
A Case of Willful Harm
 |
| Sue Wilson Founder of Media Action Center |
Entercom Sacramento’s KDND radio station in 2007 sponsored a
water drinking contest called ‘Hold Your Wee for a Wii.’ The idea was to
compete to see who could drink the most water without peeing; ‘last man
standing’ would win a Nintendo Wii! But
the stunt turned deadly: a contestant ─ 28-year-old mother of three, Jennifer
Strange ─ died.
Learning of Jennifer Strange’s death, Entercom Sacramento market
manager John Geary “instructed his staff NOT to call the other contestants to
warn them of possible health risks; he asked his station manager to get on the
phone - and start calling lawyers.”
When sued and found guilty of negligence, Entercom
Sacramento’s KDND radio station insurance company paid millions; “the station
itself never paid any price as you or I would have [had] we killed someone, even
accidentally.” The death of Jennifer Strange, however, can barely be called an
accident, as the jury discovered.
Six years after the incident, the Federal agency tasked with
protecting the public interest in broadcasting has done nothing about the
request to strip Entercom of its license.
Instead, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has granted Entercom
several more radio licenses across the United States.”
A couple of weeks ago, through her non-profit project, the
Media Action Center, Sue Wilson, also director of “Broadcast Blues”, filed a
Petition to Deny the renewal of the broadcast license of a Entercom Sacramento’s
KDND radio station “because, simply put, they killed a woman.”
Responsibility, accountability
Common, societal good
Wilson says it is “now up to the FCC as to whether they
force real accountability in this matter by denying renewal of the station’s
license to broadcast over our public airwaves.”
 |
| Broadcast Blues Directed by Sue Wilson |
A motorist who drives recklessly and kills someone pays through the required auto insurance and personally loses the license to drive. [So too] “If a radio station
broadcasts recklessly and kills someone,” it too should “lose the free license
it’s been granted by the people to use our public airwaves?”
Wilson concludes, “Broadcasting is a public privilege
entrusted to precious few private entities.
Radio and TV stations privately own their equipment; the public owns the
air frequencies over which signals are broadcast. The frequencies, called public airwaves, are
like public highways: just as [the
people, the public] own the highways and receive licenses to drive, we own our
public airwaves and stations are issued licenses by the Federal Communication
Commission (FCC) to broadcast. The
licenses are free, but stations are only granted lucrative and scarce licenses
IF they agree, in exchange, to ‘serve the public interest’. When stations do not
keep that bargain, the FCC should rescind their licenses.”
Tomorrow (November 16) in four countries people will March against the Mainstream Media, a coordinated protest involving 64 events. Activists are hoping to draw attention to lack of alternative sources for news and information.
Protests will be held outside locations owned by major media networks and will be coordinated with online protests of the companies’ social media outlets. The March against the Mainstream Media is the latest in a string of multi-location demonstrations organized via social media networks.
Sources and notes
“Who’s Accountable for Reckless Broadcasting?” November 12,
2013, http://www.suewilsonreports.com/2013/11/whos-accountable-for-reckless.html#more
Sue Wilson’s film “Broadcast Blues” was screened at the New
America Foundation in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 2013; and a panel
discussion with Free Press, Common Cause, and the National Hispanic Media
Coalition focused on “ways to hold not only broadcasters, but the FCC itself
accountable to the public interest. A petition has also been circulated to tell
the FCC that “enough is enough: radio stations cannot just kill people and
expect to continue to broadcast on our publicly owned airwaves.”
Putting the Public Back into the Public Interest
Strategies for Broadcast Media Reform
The medium of broadcasting “is unique because the airwaves
belong to the people; radio and TV stations are licensed by the FCC only if
they ‘serve the public interest.’ What does that really mean, and how do ‘We
the People’ ensure that broadcasters and their regulators hold up their end of
the bargain?”
Sue Wilson’s Media Action Center: “Putting the Public Back
into Broadcasters’ Public Interest Obligations,” http://www.mediaactioncenter.net/
Broadcast Blues Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MrNvYVb-jw
Sue Wilson reports, http://www.suewilsonreports.com/
November 15 on “Breaking the Set” with Abby Martin: “Sue
Wilson of Media Action Center, single-handedly taking on media conglomerates
and the FCC to demand that public airwaves be put back in the hands of the
people.” Also on the program “a call to action for a March Against the
Mainstream Media on November 16, discussing the abysmal failure of the Fourth
Estate and the lack of public knowledge about important issues.…” November 15,
2013 04:30
http://rt.com/shows/breaking-set-summary/operation-pillar-of-defense-757/
Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW,
Washington, DC 20554
Phone: 1-888-225-5322; TTY: 1-888-835-5322; Fax: 1-866-418-0232
http://www.fcc.gov/
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