MORE GOOD PROGRAMMING ON AM WILL GENERATE FAIRNESS

AM RADIO AND THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE

A REASONABLE SOLUTION, WITHOUT ENFORCED FAIRNESS.
A court that considers the doctrine today will note that whereas in 1980 there were fewer than 100 talk radio programs, today there are more than 1,500 news or talk radio stations. BUT IN ANY PARTICULAR CITY, THE NUMBER IS LESS THAN FIVE OR SIX. FAIRNESS WOULD BE ACHIEVED BY SPREADING THESE 1,500 SHOWS AROUND.

IN LOS ANGELES THERE ARE THREE TALK RADIO STATIONS. AND UP TO THIRTY PERCENT OF THEIR RADIO TIME IS ADVERTISEMENTS. THAT SHOULD BE EVALUATED AS RUNAWAY FREE MARKET PRODUCT DETERIORATION AND PARED DOWN.

TWO RGHT WING, ONE LEFT WING, AND THE LEFT STATION HAS SPORTS COVERAGE MANY EVENINGS, STARTING DURING DRIVE TIME.

CONSUMERS ARE GETTNG A VERY THIN OUTPUT, AND THAT IS A CHALLENGE THAT SHOULD BE MET, BUT IS NERVER DISDCUSSED. IF THERE WERE TWENTY OR THIRTY TALK RADIO STATIIONS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, THAT WOULD GUARANTEE FAIRNESS. THERE WOULD BE, ONE WOULD HOPE, A GOOD VARIETY. OBVIOUSLY THE STATE AS IT IS TODAY, AND HAS BEEN FOR SOME YEARS, DOES LITTLE TO BROADEN THE SPECTRUM, WITH ONLY THREE OR FOUR STATIONS DOING A TALK VENUE.

BUT WHAT WE HEAR IS THERE ARE FIFTEEN HUNDRED NEWS OR TALK RADIO STATIONS. THATS NATIONWIDE. THAT FIFTEEN HUNDRED DEVOLVES TO FOUR OR FIVE IN ANY GIVEN AREA. THAT IS OBVIOUSLY MARKET DRIVEN AND ANTI CONSUMER. IT HAPPENS A LOT. . without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control . AND IT HAS IN RADIO. COMMERCIALS EVERY SEVEN OR EIGHT MINUTES. FOUR MINUTE OR LONGER BANKS OF ADVERTISEMENTS. AND ONLY A MODEST NUMBER OF TALK SHOWS COMPETITING, MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE CONSERVATIVES TO RULE THE ROOST. THEY DO HAVE MORE APPEAL. THEY ARE BRASH AND ENTERTAINING,


WHILE PROGRESSIVE RADIO TODAY HAS LESS ENTERTAINMENT TO OFFER. BUT PLENTY OF TRUTH AND CONTROVERSY. THE ANSWER IS TO BRING MORE PRPFESSIONAL RADIO PUNDITS TO LOCAL VENUES.
HOPEFULLY THAT WILL INCREASE FAIRNESS. CURTIS SLEEWA, BILL ORIELY (HAS A SHOW BUT NOT PLAYED IN LOS ANGELES, FOR NO GOOD REASON, AND A HUGE NUMBER OF PROFESSIONAL RADIO HOSTS NEED TO FIND PLACES IN ALL THE MAJOR CITIES.

FOR DECADES TALK RADIO HAS BEEN SCANTY. TIME TO CHANGE THAT. AND SKIRT THE FAIRNESS ISSUE. JUST GIVE US A LOT MORE PROGRAMS. DON IMUS SHOULD BE AT DRIVE TIME, NOT AT THREE A.M. THAT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE, AND THERE ARE PLENTY OF STATIONS TO SUPPORT PRIME TIME APPEARANCES OF SEASONED PROFESSIONALS, CONTROVERSIAL AND TALENTED MAN. RALPH NADIR NEEDS A SHOW. BILL CLINTON, GERRY BROWN, WHO HAD A SHOW ON FM FOR SEVERAL YEARS AT THE AFTERNOON DRIVE TIME. AND THERE IS ENOUGH ROOM IN THE AM BAND, THOUGH MANY OF THE STATIONS ARE RELIGIOUS, FOREIGN LANGUAGE, FOREIGN MUSIC SHOWS AND WOULD BE RELEGATED TO LATE NIGHT. OR JUST GO. DODD AND OLBERMAN, GERALDO AND JOHN STEWART, PAT BUCHANIN...FAIRNESS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE AN ISSUE. JUST MUCH GREATER DEPTH, MORE PLAYERS AND HOPEFULLY FEWER COMMERCIALS.




THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CONSUMER SIDE SOLUTIONS BEING OFFERED.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS SUGGESTION, AND IT CERTAINLY WORKS BETTER THAN A FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, TELLING PROGRAM PRODUCERS WHO THEY CAN AND CANNOT HAVE ON THEIR PROGRAMS. THAT DOESN'T APPEAL. NO. MORE STATIONS, AND MORE TOP OF THE LINE PROFESSIIONAL PUNDITS WITH DAILY OR WEEKLY SHOWS. ESPECIALLY AT DRIVE TIME INTO EARLY EVENING. AND IT COULD BE FUNDED BY THE SAME INTERNET HELP THAT GAVE OBAMA SUCH A BOOST.


A court that considers the doctrine today will note that whereas in 1980 there were fewer than 100 talk radio programs, today there are more than 1,500 news or talk radio stations.

IN LOS ANGELES THERE ARE THREE TALK RADIO STATIONS. AND THIRTY PERCENT OF THEIR RADIO TIME IS ADVERTISEMENTS. THAT SHOULD BE EVALUATED AS RUNAWAY FREE MARKET PRODUCT DETERIORATION.

TWO RGHT WING, ONE LEFT WING, AND THE LEFT STATION HAS SPORTS COVERAGE MANY EVENINGS, STARTING DURING DRIVE TIME. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF SYNDICATED RADIO SHOWS, YET ONLY TEN OR FIFTEEN OF THEM ARE IN THE L.A. AREA. FOR FAIRNESS, THAT SHOULD BE EXTENDED. CONSUMERS ARE GETTNG A VERY THIN OUTPUT, AND THAT IS A CHALLENGE THAT SHOULD BE MET, BUT IS NERVER DISDCUSSED.


IF THERE WERE TWENTY OR THIRTY TALK RADIO STATIIONS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA, THAT WOULD GUARANTEE FAIRNESS. BUCHANIN, SLEEWA, BUCHANIN, NADIR, JOE BIDEN AND BOBBY JINDAL, WOULD ADD FAIRNESS BY THEIR SHEER NUMBER. A DOZEN MORE NAMES, CATERINE COULTER KARL ROVE, MICHAEL KINSLEY, GEORGE WILL, PEGGY NOONAN. TWENTY OR THIRTY MORE HOSTS ADDED TO CITY RADIO VENUES. EVEN NOAM CHOMPSKY.


THERE WOULD BE, ONE WOULD HOPE, A GOOD VARIETY. OBVIOUSLY THE STATE AS IT IS TODAY, AND HAS BEEN FOR SOME YEARS, DOES LITTLE TO BROADEN THE SPECTRUM, WITH ONLY THREE OR FOUR STATIONS DOING A TALK VENUE.

BUT WHAT WE HEAR IS THERE ARE FIFTEEN HUNDRED NEWS OR TALK RADIO STATIONS. THATS NATIONWIDE. THAT FIFTEEN HUNDRED DEVOLVES TO FOUR OR FIVE IN ANY GIVEN AREA. THAT IS OBVIOUSLY MARKET DRIVEN AND ANTI CONSUMER. IT HAPPENS A LOT. . t without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control . AND IT HAS IN RADIO. COMMERCIALS EVERY SEVEN OR EIGHT MINUTES. FOUR MINUTE OR LONGER BANKS OF ADVERTISEMENTS. AND ONLY A MODEST NUMBER OF TALK SHOWS COMPETITING, MAKING IT EASIER FOR THE CONSERVATIVES TO RULE THE ROOST. THEY DO HAVE MORE APPEAL. THEY ARE BRASH AND ENTERTAINING, WHILE PROGRESSIVE RADIO HAS LESS ENTERTAINMENT TO OFFER. BUT PLENTY OF TRUTY AND CONTROVERSY. I THINK THAT POINT IS FAIRLY CLEAR. IF YOU WOULD AGREE AND SUPPORT MY POSITION, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CLOSE THE SUBJECT FAIRLY SOON WITH AN AGENDA, TO WORK TOWARD NOT FAIRNESS, BUT TOWARD MORE TALK RADIO STATIONS COMPETING. HOPEFULLY, AND I AM REPEATING MYSELF, HOPEFULLY THAT WILL INCREASE FAIRNESS. CURTIS SLEEWA, BILL ORIELY (HAS A SHOW BUT NOT PLAYED IN LOS ANGELES, FOR NO GOOD REASON, AND A HUGE NUMBER OF PROFESSIONAL RADIO HOSTS NEED TO FIND PLACES IN ALL THE MAJOR CITIES. FOR DECADES TALK RADIO HAS BEEN SCANTY. TIME TO CHANGE THAT. AND SKIRT THE FAIRNESS ISSUE. JUST GIVE US A LOT MORE PROGRAMS. DON IMUS IS ON THE RADIO, AT THREE A.M. THAT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE, BUT THERE JUST ARENT ENOUGH STATIONS TO SUPPORT A PRIME TIME APPEARANCE OF THIS VERY CONTROVERSIAL AND TALENTED MAN. Curtis_Sliwa, DON IMUS RALPH NADIR NEEDS A SHOW. BILL CLINTON, THEY COULD CONDUCT A HOUR A WEEK WITH CALL INS. BUT THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM IN THE AM BAND, WITH FEWER, HIGHER PRICED COMMERCIALS. SO MANY OF THE STATIONS ARE RELIGIOUS, FOREIGN LANGUAGE, FOREIGN MUSIC SHOWS. THOSE COULD BE REPLACED.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS SUGGESTION, AND IT CERTAINLY WORKS BETTER THAN A FAIRNESS DOCTRINE, TELLING PROGRAM PRODUCERS WHO THEY CAN AND CANNOT HAVE ON THEIR PROGRAMS. THAT DOESN'T APPEAL TO ME, AND IN GENERAL, LACKS APPEAL. NO. MORE STATIONS, AND MORE TOP OF THER LINE PROFESSIIONAL PUNDITS WITH DAILY OR WEEKLY SHOWS.WILL COME CLOSE TO FIXING THE PROBLEM WITHOUT THE DRACONIAN MEASURES OF A SUBJECTIVE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE.