22nd Sep 2011 at 19:32 | By Collin Roth
Anti-Talk Radio Crusade Comes To Wisconsin
By Collin Roth
On Wednesday evening in Mequon, before a crowd of perhaps 30 at the Unitarian Church North, documentary filmmaker and media activist Sue Wilson of the Media Action Center presented her movie Broadcast Blues and held a discussion afterwards about how local communities can reclaim the “public airwaves.”
Wilson laments the loss of the Fairness Doctrine, calling conservative talk radio the “cancer eating this country alive.” She went further stating “the country is getting a bit weary of all this hard-right, fascist, hate talk.”
Wilson outlined a set of “tools” for activists who wish to pressure local radio stations. They include filing FCC complaints, boycotting sponsors, and lodging petitions to deny licenses. In fact, she told the audience that she would be making a trip to a Milwaukee radio station on Friday to inspect their public files.
Wilson celebrated the actions of WEA Trust, who just this week threatened legal action against Milwaukee talk show host Mark Belling for “defamation.”When told that Vicki McKenna was “inciting violence against protesters,” Wilson said “get me that audio,” alluding she would love to file an FCC complaint against the Madison radio host.
Wilson also encouraged the creation of local “media action teams” to monitor TV and radio, to ask for meetings with broadcast station’s managers, and to even stage protests. Wilson said she would help local teams with FCC complaints and legal action, boasting “I will even provide you with lawyers.”
Wilson’s entire argument against conservative talk radio rests on the idea that the airwaves are “public” because they are finite. This notion stems from the 1930′s when the FCC began regulating radio, broadly defining that it must “serve the public interest.” Of course for Wilson, the “public interest” seems to be a matter of opinion. By using inflammatory language and calling talk radio “fascist,” her argument for the “public interest” becomes one of another liberal whining about the success of conservative talk radio.
Originally from Sacramento, California, Wilson is on a “Wisconsin Media Reform Tour” that includes nine showings of her movie. She held a booth at the left-wing Fighting Bob Fest last weekend and was featured in the Shepherd Express and ironically enough on John “Sly” Sylvester’s Madison radio show.
Sylvester of course is notorious for his vile comments including mocking the Lieutenant Governor’s battle with cancer and claiming she performs sex acts on Milwaukee radio hosts. Wilson would say this is all in the “public interest” of course.
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Discussion | 10 Comments on "Anti-Talk Radio Crusade Comes To Wisconsin"
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joe e said
Sep 22, 2011 at 9:11 PM
You’ve got to be kidding me! This woman is delusional. Thankfully we have stations that aren’t leftwing communist propaganda machines to give us some truth.
Bill said
Sep 22, 2011 at 10:08 PM
Why do these left wing idiots hate free speech? And why do they lie about people they disagree with? They are so hateful
Tony said
Sep 22, 2011 at 10:21 PM
I’m assuming the same could be done to the left wing radio talkers….oh wait there aren’t any!
Clemster said
Sep 22, 2011 at 11:42 PM
There are no lefty radio talk shows because nobody believes in the values of liberals. Many people will claim to be diverse and inclusive, as long as that diversity is not transferred to their neighborhood. Is it any coincidence that minorities are kept out of the suburbs, by economic means, as well as restricting subsidized housing. Of course not. I worked hard to achieve what I have. A safe neighborhood, free from the invasion of minorities with their high crime rates, promiscuity, drug dealing and moral degradation. Everybody wants what I have. That is why, liberal, diverse, inclusive bullshit is kept in the urban ghettos. Liberals values, if they have any, are not main stream America. Conservative family values are.
Dick Dastardly said
Sep 23, 2011 at 1:27 PM
Since radio talk shows are supported by paid advertising, liberal hosts have as much access as conservatives. But since there are less liberal hosts it would seem that the majority of listeners are listening to conservatives. That’s freedom. I’m all for freedom. So, let the market sort it out and enjoy the reality.
Ann said
Sep 23, 2011 at 2:37 PM
Unlike the state run news sources of the left?
Left Wing Propaganda Machine Daily Koss, Airhead Amerika,The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Bill Moyers PBS, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, Newsweek, Time, Jon Stewart, Rachael Maddow, Bill Mahr,Hollywoods idiots or our favorite news source Saturday Night Live. Not to mention the unbathed, basement-dwelling losers on the left wing blogosphere.
dbaur said
Sep 24, 2011 at 4:20 PM
Who is funding Wison’s efforts to shut down Conservative Talk Radio? Find the money trail and will become much easier to attack her efforts. I will bet George Soros is behind this!
Ed said
Sep 26, 2011 at 5:47 PM
They probably had free food at the church or they would not have had 30 people show up.
Hodden Carter said
Oct 7, 2011 at 5:07 PM
Um, the public DOES own the airwaves. That is the explicit arrangement codified in law. Look it up.
I’m no censor. If advertisers want to make Glenn Back and Rush into millionaires, that is their business. If millions of people want to listen to these guys, that is their business. That there are very few leftie talkers is proof of what the audience wants and advertisers are willing to support.
But come on. The right-wingers on my radio rarely, if ever, pass the sniff test.. The other day Glenn accused the protesters on Wall Street of wanting “only destruction, which leads to death camps, to guillotines, to Mao…. every, single, time.”
I’m a conservative. That guy is nuts. Which is why I rarely listen any more.