NOT....Re: [BC] Clear Channel Wants More?

[Rich Wood]

------ At 11:56 AM 10/5/2005, Mike Gideon wrote: -------

>It's always a big conspiracy.

How is a truly level playing field a conspiracy? If new services have 
to pay for spectrum why shouldn't we? We still have the vast majority 
of listeners and viewers, yet we're not confident enough that we can 
out program the new kids on the block without big daddy slapping them 
down and holding us by the hand..

I was astounded to hear the largest radio company in the industry 
attempt to grab for more because of a cyclical downturn in revenue 
which may not even be related to broadcasting. I don't recall 
Infinity begging for more. ABC was silent. Not a peep from Entercom. 
Gargantua International needs more. Why? To better serve the 
community? You mentioned  being "real" broadcasters during the 
hurricanes. How many fully staffed news departments do you have on 
the Gulf Coast, or, did you take WWL's feed and offer them a studio 
under the condition you get credit under "United Stations of New Orleans?"

Frankly, WWL is the area's crisis station. It's my understanding WWL 
didn't go off the air, just reduced power to save fuel. Yours did. 
You could have stayed off the air and the result would have been the 
same. A voicetracked music station with a minute or two of FOX news 
at the top of the hour isn't my idea of a community asset. It's 
cheap, which leads me to wonder why the company is in financial 
trouble. 9/11 was similar. WINS, WCBS and WOR all did local 
wall-to-wall. Music stations took TV network audio. Are your Gulf 
Coast stations back up and running with their music formats or are 
you providing continuing coverage with real journalists? Lots of 
people still need lots of help. I'm sure a gaggle of voicetracked 
disk jockeys hundreds of miles away are truly qualified to do that, 
especially the shock jocks. Perhaps they're all running Rush Limbaugh 
blaming Bill Clinton.

If Gargantua International can't make it, how are all the small 
groups surviving? Why don't I hear Ed Christian at Saga begging for 
more? Also, no one has answered my question about what constitutes a 
market of 60 stations. Is it 60 receivable signals from anywhere or 
is it 60 stations licensed to the metro? What if the MSA and TSA are the same?

It's going to take a lot more than a cell phone with video to make me 
believe the nation needs hundreds more Clear Channel stations. The 
folks in Minot might feel the same.

Rich