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Is Howard Stern really a top advocate for free
speech?
Sidekick George Takei, of Star Trek fame,
sure thinks so. While accepting the New Media Seminar's Freedom of
Speech award on behalf of the King of All Media, Takei argued
passionately that Stern's battle to say what he likes is America's
fight, as well.
An excellent public speaker, Takei advocated
the idea that freedom of speech is about the ability to agitate,
inform and inspire. With an inspiring story filled with memories of
a childhood spent in a Japanese internment camp, he told the group
of talk radio professionals assembled in New York City that despite
losing everything he'd worked for, his father never lost faith in
the belief that America stood for integrity and courage.
Open about his left-wing political beliefs, Takei indicated
that his father's determination to believe in America had led him to
speak out on a number of issues, including advocating President
Nixon's impeachment and opposing Clinton's. In addition, he assailed
what he called "tax cuts for the wealthy during wartime," and what
he considered "a cynical political ploy by President Bush against
gays and lesbians."
Whether one agrees or not with Takei's
beliefs, he argued his points with passion and conviction, keeping
the audience interested. From this point forward, however, the
speech began to derail.
Why? The problem was that he tied
his lifelong struggles, in addition to his father뭩, to Howard Stern.
Frankly, for most people, that's going to be a tough sell.
Not for a moment would I deny Howard's ability to generate
headlines and to entertain a large, dedicated listenership. In
addition, we know he's battled the FCC over the indecency issue.
But frankly, it's been years since Howard Stern was really
out there struggling to do much of anything. Since then, he's often
been coasting, collecting enormous paychecks and thinking up new
ways to create publicity. His attempt to insert himself into the
2004 elections fell flat. Now, Howard is paid an obscene amount of
money to talk to a small number of satellite radio subscribers.
If it's possible to "struggle" while consuming $500 bottles
of champagne with lunch, or whatever it is that he does with his
money, than so be it.
But let's get our feet back on the
ground with this quick reality check: there are talk hosts out there
who will barely reach the six-figure salary level if they're lucky,
much less hope to make hundreds of millions, who stick their necks
out every day for REAL free speech.
Sure, these guys may
also be guilty of trying to generate publicity for themselves, but
it's a career necessity in this business. Overall, however, these
are talk hosts who take controversial and substantive stances on
real issues, every day.
When former WMAL host Michael Graham
was getting sacked for running afoul of an Islamic group, or KFI's
Bill Handel was in trouble for joking about the religion, where were
Stern and Takei, undressing bikini-clad women in the studio?
Let's get real.
Lars Larson was censored,
according to his program director.
When he admitted
outright that regional and national host Lars Larson was overtly
censored for something he'd said on the air, KXL/ Portland's program
director confirmed all of our worst fears about talk radio
management today.
During the seminar's panel discussion on
programming news/talk radio, moderated by Clear Channel VP Gabe
Hobbs, KXL Program Director James Derby stunned many in the audience
by admitting outright that Lars Larson was prohibited from further
criticism of a local hospital's practices, after it complained to
the station.
From the seminar attendees, you could hear
audible gasps. One radio executive later told me he felt bad for
Larson, who wasn뭪 in an immediate position to defend himself.
Making matters far, far worse, Derby admitted that it was
pressure from the sales department that led to Larson's muzzling.
According to him, the hospital in question had finally signed an
advertising contract after a long period of lobbying by the station.
As a result, account executives weren't happy to hear it criticized
on the air.
Instead of indicating support for Larson, who is
nationally syndicated by Westwood One, in addition to his regional,
KXL-based program, Derby sided with sales, calling Larson's words
"personal" in nature.
Buddy, relating to the audience with
stories about "personal" troubles with schools, motor vehicle
departments, the local Wal-Mart and yes, hospitals, is a GREAT way
to do talk radio. Listeners have these hassles every day of their
work-filled lives and find it reassuring to know the host faces them
too.
Because of a flaw in the New Media Seminar's setup,
audience questions were not taken. Too bad, he would have been
grilled.
Memo to KXL and multi-billionaire owner Paul Allen:
the loss of Lars Larson would be FAR more damaging to your station
than whatever that hospital sales contract was worth. That's pocket
change for Allen, while KXL's on-air credibility is priceless.
Should listeners get a whiff of censorship, you'll have an outcry of
epic proportions.
When was the last time you went looking
for an entertaining, engaging, intelligent talk show host? Guess
what: of qualified and available talkers currently seeking work, the
talent pool can be counted on one hand. Even if you found one, it
would take ten years and an awful lot of talent to achieve anywhere
near what Lars has done in Oregon.
As a result, Lars has
every right to tell you to shove it.
Hearing this made me
appreciate several past instances where, under similar
circumstances, programming management stood up for me against sales
department opposition. Except in the rarest of cases, that's what
PD's are supposed to do.
Is "women's talk" this
year's flavor of the month?
That sentiment was a fairly
common one to overhear during the convention. Even female panelists
during the Dr. Laura Schlessinger- moderated "Women and Talk Radio"
seemed resentful of the topic.
Sally Jessy Raphael proved to
be the most entertaining person on stage, ripping to shreds the
entire concept, by pointing the finger at a desperate industry
fishing around for a new gimmick, after so many other concepts have
failed.
Her caustic wit had the audience in stitches, even
if she did seem rather bitter. Her bomb-throwing was a reminder of
just how interesting and engaging talk radio could be, before it was
largely neutered by corporate suits looking to "play it safe" (see
above item).
Speaking of Dr. Laura, by the way, I find
myself warming up to her act these days. What is it that's changed?
Is it time to take a second look at her? One PD recently told me she
was generating solid ratings on his political talk station.
It might be something to consider.
By Brian
Maloney - (Brian@insideradio.com)
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