Spocko fights the good fight:
KSFO morning Radio Host Lee Rodgers thinks that supporters of Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul should be hunted down and killed.Spocko has the story with links at his website: Spocko's Brain.
KSFO management supports this violent rhetoric. When I attempted to alert advertisers to what they are paying for when they advertised on KSFO, ABC Radio/Disney had my entire blog shut down using a meritless copyright claim. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/techn ology/15radio.html)
The station management threatened to sue me "for everything I've got".
The Electronic Frontier Foundation defended me and pointed out my use of audio clips to alert the advertisers to what the hosts were saying was fair use.
As Matt Zimmerman from the EFF said, "While such radio personalities certainly have a right to air their views, the First Amendment says nothing about a right to advertiser-subsidized speech."
The courts have since ruled in favor of bloggers' fair use of audio clips in this fashion. Sadly, I now expect privacy invasion and more character assassination from KSFO. This is their preferred method rather than addressing their own hosts' attacks on companies, groups or individuals.
By January 2007 28 advertisers, including Bank of American, Fed Ex, Master Card, The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, pulled their ads when they decided that they didn't want to be associated with these hosts. Many companies own internal advertising policies don't support this kind of violent rhetoric.
If you are one of the people that Rodgers suggested be hunted down and killed, don't bother to contact management, their support of Rodgers is clear. Don't bother to contact the FCC, this is not something they care about. You may want to politely contact the advertisers and ask they to listen to the program to see if they want to be associated with the people who wanted you killed.
Spocko
www.spockosbrain.com. The blog that is sweeping the nation! Now with 19 readers!
