Media Critiques
Clear Channel Monopoly Coverage
By Nathan Nix
Apr 10, 2004, 09:35

Musicians around the nation won a major victory April 2 when a federal judge in Denver chose to proceed with a case that accuses media giant Clear Channel Communications of monopolistic behavior violating anti-trust laws.

In the case, an independent Denver concert promoter claims Clear Channel threatened to pull airplay from artists who booked concerts through him rather than Clear Channel.

The case will go to trial August 2 and is one of many accusations leveled at the media conglomerate. Clear Channel has grown to control approximately 1200 of the nation’s radio stations, 780,000 billboards and 35 TV stations since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 basically lifted the ban governing radio station ownership caps.

When it comes to keeping the public informed of the threat of burgeoning monopolies and homogenized media content, alternative websites put corporately funded news sources to shame (especially Clear Channel owned sources).

Houston’s news radio leader 740 KTRH had zero stories on archive concerning Clear Channel-related news. Not too surprising for a Clear Channel owned station, but disappointing considering it is only one of three news radio stations in Houston, including KPFT.

The Boston Herald website, which is owned by the Massachusetts based Herald Media Inc., returned 23 stories regarding Clear Channel, but only two dealt with controversy surrounding the company.

Those two were recent stories about a FCC crackdown on supposed lewd content by talk show host Howard Stern. Clear Channel is being fined $495,000 for allowing Stern’s overtly sexual dialogue.

Stern news also made up one of two Clear Channel-related stories on Christian World News. CWN is the news segment of the Christian Broadcasting Network’s 700 Club, which airs on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

The other story had to do with yet another FCC decision to rein in content by declaring U2 singer Bono’s use of the “f-word” on the Golden Globes awards presentation profane and offensive.

Apparently, Christian World News is more concerned with what is put on airwaves than the business ethics that govern the industry behind the broadcasts.

Fortunately, alternative web sites such as www.indymedia.org exist to keep the nation abreast of under-covered stories such as Clear Channel’s devious business techniques.

The web site had three articles that reported the details concerning the Denver case’s progress in addition to a link to the Center for Public Integrity database. There the public can type in their zip code to see exactly what companies own the media outlets in their areas or around the country. They can also find information such as Clear Channel CEO’s salaries and bonuses.

The outlet with the most comprehensive coverage is www.fair.org. FAIR boasts in providing fair and impartial news coverage of world events.

The web site had more than 100 links in its media views section to stories from around the world that covered Clear Channel-related stories ranging from the Denver case to the Howard Stern fiasco to other stories regarding the trouble brought on by the lifting of ownership caps.

By providing links to major new services, big-city papers and independent sources in addition to their own reporting, FAIR truly is living up to their boasts of objectivity and comprehensiveness in supplying under-covered news to the masses.

Print