[Rumori] fwd: Clear Channel and Pirate Radio

[Brian Turner]

I think the most evil aspect of this is that "Radio Free Ohio" had a 
"pledge to support us" page on top of it all!

brian

On Wed, 1 Jun 2005, Jon Nelson wrote:

> Apologies if this has been posted already, I see Stay
> Free is mentioned near the end. Someone at Radio K
> just posted this to their listserv...
> Jon Nelson
> 
> www.PostConsumerProductions.com
> 
> > > Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
> > > New York Times
> > > May 30, 2005
> > >
> > > Clear Channel in a Stealth Promotional Campaign
> > >
> > > By ROBERT LEVINE
> > >
> > > To the average listener, Radio Free Ohio has all
> > the earmarks of pirate
> > > radio. For weeks, it sounded as if amateurs had
> > been bleeding their  
> > > voices
> > > into the broadcasts of stations in Akron, Ohio,
> > owned by Clear  
> > > Channel, the
> > > corporate radio giant. At the Web site
> > www.radiofreeohio.com,  there 
> > > was a
> > > manifesto about "corporate-controlled music
> > playlists" that took  
> > > potshots at
> > > several local Clear Channel stations. But there
> > was no  information 
> > > about who
> > > had posted the screed, or what exactly Radio Free
> > Ohio  was.
> > >
> > > But last week it came out that Radio Free Ohio was
> > not a prank on  
> > > Clear
> > > Channel but in fact a prank by Clear Channel.
> > Tomorrow, an AM station  
> > > the
> > > company owns in Akron will switch formats from
> > sports talk to  
> > > progressive
> > > talk, and Clear Channel would very much like
> > anyone suspicious of  
> > > corporate
> > > media to tune in.
> > >
> > > "Once we determined we were going to  change the
> > format, we tried to 
> > > get into
> > > the mindset of people who would  listen to this
> > new station," said Dan
> > > Lankford, vice president and market  manager for
> > Clear Channel in 
> > > Akron. That
> > > mindset may involve a suspicion of  Clear Channel
> > itself, which has 
> > > used
> > > loosened rules on media ownership to  build a
> > radio empire.
> > >
> > > That Clear Channel owned the www.radiofreeohioorg 
> > Web site was 
> > > revealed on
> > > www.stayfreemagazine.org, a magazine and blog
> > about  advertising and 
> > > popular
> > > culture. Stay Free's editor, Carrie McLaren, said 
> > that she had 
> > > learned the
> > > information from someone who had seen it on an
> > Akron  Web site. "In a 
> > > way
> > > it's the heart of the problem with Clear Channel,"
> > Ms.  McLaren said 
> > > of the
> > > manifesto. " 'We're this huge corporation and we
> > do  everything to 
> > > fake being
> > > local.' "
> > >
> > > Naturally, Clear Channel disagrees.  "Clear
> > Channel, as I see it, is
> > > dedicated to entertaining radio and to  getting
> > results for our 
> > > advertisers,"
> > > Mr. Lankford said, noting that the  company owns
> > both conservative and
> > > progressive talk radio stations. "There's  a hole
> > in the market here 
> > > and
> > > we're going to fill  it."
> > >
> > > Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
> > 
> 
> 
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-- 
Brian Turner
WFMU Music/Program Director
PO Box 5101
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