Fox News - Faux News from the Dark Side

It's time for us to tell Fox News to stuff it. And to tell all of their advertisers that we're tired of the one-sided, pro-Bush, pro-hate propaganda that passes for real news on Fox. Bill O'Reilly called progressive bloggers Nazis in a recent hysterical rant against the Internet and blogging. We all know about his "Osama Obama" remarks; his attempts to smear every Democrat in office; and, his attacks on Black- and Hispanic-Americans. And this guy has the nerve to call bloggers Nazi's. Desperate rhetoric, from a desperate stupid white man. Let's be clear. Old, rich white males in America are feeling like they're losing the reins of control. Talk about entitlement. And they're getting hysterical around the whole thing. Get a life. And one more thing. When you pick a fight with the progressive blogosphere, you get it. Let's have this battle.

So please consider joining with me and fighting back. I've joined 5,000 other NetRoots nationwide and become a Fox Attacker, and I urge you to do something yourself to put and end to the bull sh*t. I've signed up at Brave New Films to call Fox advertisers in my local market. A bunch of other, like-minded progressives are going to be tuning-in to collect data on local businesses that support Fox News through advertising on their programs. Then folks like me are going to call each of the advertisers personally to educate them regarding the content they are supporting and its negative affects on the community. Check out this video for more information or to sign-up yourself. I heard today that Loews has pulled their ads. Now we have to go after Home Depot, a regular Fox sponsor. Call your local Home Depot today and ask why they are supporting hateful propaganda on the airwaves.



Just one caveat: This is just a side battle with an hostile foe that's picked a fight. So please don't take your eyes off the prize and let this effort consume you. After all, Fox News is just a mouthpiece. We've got bigger scoundrels to expose and hold accountable.

Hate Radio Hacks

Since the U.S. election, conservative talk-show hosts have found themselves with diminishing audiences. Hey, the country is turning blue and progressive Democrats (the opposite of neo-conservative Republicans) swept both houses of the Congress and many state houses as well.

It seems, as a result, some hosts are seeking to hold their already questionable, fringe audiences by ratcheting-up the rhetoric. At least that's the case in southern Oregon where I live. In a Friday morning talk-show program, local hosts called some of my personal associates "bottom-feeders," and suggested they should be taken out and hung. Uh huh. That's right. As hard to believe as it is.

So while my colleagues were taking care of business, at work, at home, tending to their children in some cases, these hosts were slamming them on the air in really despicable language. Now that's brave, don't you think? Publicly picking on folks from a safe distance, without their knowledge and with little or no chance to respond. That's the American Way, according to this "entertainment" model.

Naturally, I took umbrage at the comments and did an extensive search on "talk radio"+incitement+negligence. I learned a lot. Read about the really egregious case of KSFO in San Francisco (ironically an ABC/Disney station) that resulted in a lot of very bad publicity, some firings and a lawsuit. In one of KSFO's many episodes, a drunk talk-show listener who had been angered by comments he heard called a state senator five times with death threats.

According to the Missouri Bar: "Negligence" is a well-known ground for lawsuits. More and more, courts are subjecting the media to negligence suits, making the media pay when they expose others to risk of bodily harm."

In other words, journalists and talk-show hosts encounter a measure of predictable financial harm to themselves if they fail to observe the doctrine of negligence as it applies to their broadcasts. Short of actual financial or tort liability, radio stations that feature hate-filled talk radio shows risk (1) bad publicity; (2) loss of advertising revenue; (3) reprimand and unwanted attention from parent corporations; (4) FCC Complaints; (5) local efforts to interfere with regular station licensing; and, (6) potential time- and resource-draining lawsuits. I am working on a draft strategic campaign plan that will make these real, meaurable risks.

To make matters even better for those of us with complaints in this area, Radio is suffering from a significant loss of listenership and market. That makes sense with the advent of satellite and IP radio. One can receive streaming broadcasts from sources worldwide. That gives us more leverage, because it amplifies the effects of our efforts. And, we've got allies like Media Matters for America. Here in Jackson County, we're evaluating our alternatives. Local Station management is not unresponsive to the community and we'll see just what happens. More later. Leave me a comment if you've had a similar experience.