FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday,
May 24, 2013
Contact
Sue Wilson sue@mediaactioncenter.net
Media watchdog charges that Wisconsin radio station legal claim to
FCC that talk radio is 'bonafide news' could lead listener
confusion
MILWAUKEE
– Talk radio is not news – neither Charlie Sykes nor Rush Limbaugh is Walter Cronkite – argues a media watchdog after a talk radio station argued
recently to the Federal Communications Commission that its local political talk
radio shows are the same as "bonafide news."
Attorneys
for Journal Communications' WTMJ-AM radio made that legal argument to the FCC
in answer to a petition to deny the station's broadcast license for violations
of the FCC's quasi-equal opportunity rule, or "Zapple Doctrine," said
Sue Wilson of Media Action Center.
Media
Action Center filed a petition late in 2012 with the FCC to deny the license
because, during the Scott Walker recall campaign, WTMJ's Jeff Wagner and
Charlie Sykes shows were proven to have given as much as a half a
million dollars in free airtime to supporters of Republican Governor Scott
Walker. The station specifically denied comparable time to supporters of his
Democratic opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
The
FCC's quasi-equal opportunities rule (Zapple Doctrine) states that broadcasters
must give supporters of both major party candidates comparable
airtime. Only "bonafide news" programs are exempt so they
can cover candidates' events in real time.
"Bonafide
news programs are specifically not allowed to politic for candidates,"
says Media Action Center Director Sue Wilson. "Now is our one chance
to make a stand for journalism. The FCC has a duty to the public to draw a clear
line between news and opinion.
"If
the FCC does not draw a clear line, radio talkers from Charlie Sykes to Rush Limbaugh will be equated with newsmen like Walter
Cronkite, and listeners will lose any hope of ferreting out fact from
fiction," Wilson added.
Media
Action Center has launched a petition for public support, "Tell the
FCC: Talk Radio is NOT Bonafide News!" Please click here to sign.
Thank you!
Thank you!
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