The recent NY Times Op-Ed column "Channels of Influence" raises several interesting questions about recent pro-war rallies given especially-wide radio coverage. I was not surprised to see Clear Channel linked. Check out Eric Boehlert's Clear Channel series on Salon here if you are unfamiliar with them. An excerpt from the NY Times op-ed (requires registration, free) follows:
Who has been organizing those pro-war rallies? The answer, it turns out, is that they are being promoted by key players in the radio industry — with close links to the Bush administration.
The [recent Dixie Chicks] CD-smashing rally was organized by KRMD, part of Cumulus Media, a radio chain that has banned the Dixie Chicks from its playlists. Most of the pro-war demonstrations around the country have, however, been organized by stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, a behemoth based in San Antonio that controls more than 1,200 stations and increasingly dominates the airwaves.
The company claims that the demonstrations, which go under the name Rally for America, reflect the initiative of individual stations. But this is unlikely: according to Eric Boehlert, who has written revelatory articles about Clear Channel in Salon, the company is notorious — and widely hated — for its iron-fisted centralized control.
