Here is my fantasy of what I would like Bob Pittman, Clear Channel’s CEO to say at a news conference.
“Hello,
My name is Robert Pittman. I’m President and CEO of Clear Channel media, the parent company that owns Clear Channel Radio, and Clear Channel Outdoors, and Premiere Radio, the subsidiary that syndicates a number of talk programs, including Rush Limbaugh.
One of the reasons that I’m proud to be an American and value being the head of one of the largest communications companies in this country is the value we place on the First Amendment. The clear statement by our Founding Fathers that government must keep its hands away from controlling the press, and the right of people to gather and discuss important issues was a major part of why this country had a Revolution over 230 years ago. The first Amendment is first because without that control over the Federal government, the Founding Fathers knew that in the future, a tyrant could be tempted to seize control of the flow of information and ideas, using the coercive power of the Federal Government to wage war on its own citizens for its own reasons.
As I’m sure you heard by now, Rush Limbaugh made some statements on the air a few weeks that were ill advised and many people found objectionable and for which he has expressed his regrets
There is no asterisk on the First Amendment* that says
*unless you don’t agree with what people are saying.
I personally don’t agree with Mr Limbaugh’s remarks, but a free and open exchange of ideas without fear of retribution is necessary to prevent a government from slipping into tyranny. If people express ideas that are wrong, the listeners can make there own judgments about the person making the statements and challenge their ideas or simply choose not to listen.
It’s been made clear to me through various contacts I have and long term friends and associates that government employees inside the White House are actively involved in promoting the nationwide boycott of Rush Limbaugh and all other controversial news talk shows that air on radio – not only on my stations – but all radio stations in the United States.
The result is that advertising agencies who represent large national corporations are demanding that all ads of their clients be excluded from airing during “controversial” programming. Those companies apparently fail to understand that once the voices of rational discussion are silenced, their company will become the next target for total government control in response to the irrational “discussions” that will begin, usually accompanied by violence and calls for retribution.
My company is very deep in debt – a legacy from the prior management who got carried away with paying much more than necessary to acquire radio stations in the late 1990s. That debt burden leaves my company with a substantial risk of failure if the government continues to pressure advertisers to boycott radio shows because of their political points of view.
If my country becomes a tyranny where the government defines what is “acceptable” thought and uses its coercive power to dictate to what private companies can or can’t do or say – the central principle of fascism – then it really doesn’t matter if Clear Channel survives or not. The 1934 communications act that founded the FCC has a core principle that the United States will not use its control over radio station licensing to coerce radio station owners to carry certain types of programming, unlike most other major countries in the world.
Therefore, my opinion is that any advertisers who cooperates with this government sponsored boycott is behaving in a way that is as unacceptable and repulsive as saying “We won’t advertise on a radio station that plays songs by black people”.
Any advertiser who joins this boycott will not be welcome to advertise on ANY Clear channel radio station – including our “non controversial” music stations. This direction to my sales staff may cost us so much revenue that we will fail as a company. I want to believe there are still enough people and small businesses in this country who understand freedom and liberty and who will fill the void left if national advertisers agree to be puppets of the government and dependent on bailouts.
I would urge Lewis Dickey of Cumulus Media and other Radio Station Executives and the NAB to make a similar stand for the entire radio industry, even if they don’t agree with Mr Limbaugh’s politics.
This directive to my sales staff and management is a huge risk for my company, and I may not survive long in this job as a result. But some things are more important to this country and the future than next quarter’s revenue numbers.
Thank you for coming. Any questions?”