ACTION DIARY: How to Hold Hate Radio Accountable

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/20/1028490/-ACTION-DIARY:-How-to-Hold-Hate-Radio-Accountable?via=sidebyuserrec



Many radio stations start early in the day with Rush, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham and continue on into the middle of the night. But this diary is not a report on something awful said by one of these hate mongers. It's not a rant about the non stop conservative vitriol heard on talk radio. Instead this diary sheds light on a little known section of FCC rulemaking that encourages the public to monitor, and then hold accountable, these stations as they operate on the public airwaves. This diary outlines a simple action that costs you nothing and that you can do today after about 5 minutes of research.

There's something most radio stations really don't want you to know; they operate on public property. The airwaves belong to all of us. Part of the FCC's mission is to regulate their use of our public space. The FCC's Media Bureau publishes "The Public And Broadcasting: How To Get The Most Service From Your Local Station" This 31 page manual describes the FCC's Regulatory Authority, Licensing of Stations, Programming Law and Policy, Business Practices and some other topics. Most of these sections are technically dense and of little interest to the general public. However, on page 25, the FCC lays out the requirement for a Public Inspection File,

"Our rules require that all...stations maintain a file for public inspection."

:snippage of good stuff:

"Each broadcast licensee, permittee, and applicant must make its station public inspection file available to members of the public at any time during regular business hours."

:snip:

Here's the part where we hold hate radio accountable. If the station refuses you on the spot access to the file, they are in violation of their license. The FCC lays out your options for response.

More at the link --

[northoftheborder]

1. What is supposed to be in the Public Inspection File?

[Donnachaidh]

2. there is a link in the article as to what the FCC requires to be kept. n/t

[former9thward]

3. Not sure what you think you will find there.

Any radio station will happily show you the public inspection file. There is nothing secret in it. Just banal legal documents.

[Donnachaidh]

5. read the article - it explains it. n/t

[PhoenixAbove]

4. Thanks for the info

I never knew any of this before. It makes me feel stupid. Ignorance is not bliss.

[Donnachaidh]

6. I'm debating doing this, just because we have that idjit Boortz to deal with here

I'd truly love to see him get smacked down on a technicality.

[KT2000]

7. Have alwasy thought this

was the way to go. I would thibnk that inciting people to murder, racist comments and general tone of hate should have gotten these idiots off the air. Unfortunately it does not apply to cable tv stations but it does to tv channels that are received over the public airways.