Tbc, my point is that always are plenty of people subscribing to Substacks like Weiss's. Just not subscribing won't rein them in. And don't forget that Substack is making more money from those than from the gold nuggets we are reading.
FWIW it's basically the elderly still watching Fox. Younger people don't watch news programs at all and rely on TikTok, etc. They may check the corporate media from time to time thinking that "liberal" media would be outraged of there was something really nasty was going on…
It's time to bankrupt NYT, CNN and the likes. They are destroying US democracy. MSNBC is slightly better, real journalists now have a Substack.
As of ~2012, those airwaves WERE being used. Traveling for work outside of my blue dot from around 2009 through 2012, I flipped the rental car dial. There were 2-3 AM channels and 1-2 FM channels broadcasting right-wing crazy infomercials. No ads, obviously scripted and on a loop anti-Obama rhetoric. And no notable channels on the other side.
People spend a lot of time in their vehicles - on the commute to work, in their trade vehicles. Radio is also easily accessible in your kitchen, work break-room, work shop.
And in the afternoon, those radio stations re-played the previous night's Fox prime-time beauts. Giving everyone the opportunity to listen, regardless of whether you had cable.
I realized why the country was so divided and so many crazy politicians had been filling up elected positions (starting with Newt Gingrich). The Right had bought up local media, starting no later than the 90's. Radio and TV (Sinclair, etc). Repurposing it to amplify conservative political narratives, disguised as local programming.
The electorate was already so highly divided by all of this by 2009 that, January 20th, Congressional Republicans ALL took an oath to fight Obama whatever he tried to do. Even though what Obama had to do was fix the massive problems the departing Republican administration had let develop or wholly created: economy losing 850,000 jobs per month; two aimless, costly occupations; opioid and methamphetamine epidemics, and regulatory agencies disfunctional (giving us oil spills and plane crashes). And the Republicans were AWARDED for obstructionism in subsequent elections.
By 2016, conservative media had already opened Pandora's box. Trump was just the most effective demon to emerge. And Trump's first administration famously leveraged local radio frequently to spread disinformation.
Fast forward: Trump officials were caught advertising that Trump spent the year prior to the 2024 election quietly going on local conservative radio in addition to podcasts. So radio is still
I think it is a mistake to assume that the conservative media industry's foundation of local broadcast is no longer relevant. The Right has focused on every striation of media - local broadcast and print; cable/satellite; online publishing; social media, and podcasts. They all re-enforce each other's messages, and collectively cover the squares needed to stay within cheating distance at election time. Since their policies and behavior are garbage, they need this layered media approach to stay competitive.
So, it's not time to forget about fairness rules. Rather, it's time to re-implement, and expand their scope to cover cable news, online journalism and social media.
No doubt that fairness rules are needed. I would never deny that. It's just that media has changed extremely which means that you need a new approach if you want to be successful. Sources mostly are visual now and available over internet. That certainly does not include programs over radio, AM or other frequencies. There you certainly can redistribute licenses and you probably should.
Is that really the answer? Even Fox has a smaller audience than the likes of Rogan. Maybe not reaching 50+ but Fox audience is dying. Streaming is the future. And that means further fragmentation, even less common audiences.
And, of course, the Fox folks talk about is Fox News Network, which is cable and is NOT subject to FCC oversight.
Fox needs to just plain go away. Finish them off with multibillion dollar lawsuits for all the damage they have done and people who died because of their lies
I've been thinking along these same lines - we don't just need our own Fox, we need a whole vertical media pipeline to match the alt-Russian-Fox-Rogan machine. That will definitely require a billionaire or two.
A slight note on the Fairness Doctrine. While it was a part, it was not the biggest part. What happened of much greater importance was consolidation of ownership of stations. Before there were significant limits on how many stations and how many in each mark could be owned by a single owner. Absent that, right wing ownership groups like Sinclair and then Clear Channel were able to own not only many, but also multiple stations in each market. This is especially important in smaller markets that are in many red areas. Owners are no longer connected to the audiences that they serve. At least when I was in broadcast in the 70s, the Fairness Doctrine wasn't the protection folks imagine it was today. I attribute that to 1) news was a public service, not a profit center and, 2) ownership - even at the O&O station I worked for - was more connected to the community.
Also to note, the Fairness Doctrine applied ONLY to broadcast, on the understanding that since broadcast uses the public airwaves the public has a right to put some restrictions on their use. So it would never apply to Fox News Network, which is cable and over which FCC has no control over any content. It could have changed the nature of right wing talk *radio*. TV not so much. And streaming is also not under any FCC control for content (as long as Net Neutrality exists).
Reminds me of the heyday of pirate radio broadcasts of Wolfman Jack. If he was before your time, see his Wikipedia page. He modeled what our brave hero proposes. Do it!
I agree completely! My suggestion is to use Wolfman Jack’s pirate radio station as a model, not what to do now. Streaming is definitely a better option today. If you have the wherewithal and the time, go for it! We need as many new, powerful, positive voices on as many platforms as possible to counter faux news. Podcasts, Substack, you name it. Just do it!
We have an even better mode today - streaming. Anybody can do it, and there are A LOT more folks listening to streaming than to AM broadcast radio (pirate radio works only with high powered AM).
I call this sort of thing, "The Yop Factor". Do you remember "Horton Hears A Who"?
All the Whos in the dust mote are making nose so that the outside world will hear them, and not destroy them and their world.
The noise doesn't break out until the last silent Who is found. Their "yop" is the word that breaks the barrier, and the outside world not only hears the Whos, ignoring them and their right to exist becomes impossible.
I'll be doing my best to pump up the volume on my yop, and helping others to raise their volume as well.
Oh, I needed this tonight. I'd also like to recommend that people read Don Moynihan's essay today from his Substack, Can We Still Govern. Today's essay was a "well duh" moment for me but I think it's powerful and goes along with what we just read. One subheading reads: The Media Refuses to Recognize the Right Engaging in Identity Politics. "Identity politics is sometimes about establishing empathy and respect for less powerful groups, people who are different from you....Part of the appeal of Trump's identity politics is the promise of control over others. In the aftermath of Trump's victory, messaging celebrating the expected control over women exploded on social media. In America, identity politics can only be identity politics if it comes from the left, and if it centers on historically marginalized groups. Right wing politics that emphasize male, Christian and white identity is not defined as identity politics. As the perceived natural order of things, it is seen simply as politics." This is a powerful counter message because I don't know too many Americans that want to be controlled by others. Yes, it should seem obvious, but it needs to a consistent message.
Thank you! I may hate FB but during the first year of the pandemic I wrote every day…thoughts, experiences, frustrations, etc…with the main goal being that even though we were apart, we are not alone. People really appreciated it. But I did burn out…(I honestly have no idea how you do it AG!!!) So 2 days ago, I wrote another post just dumping my thoughts and hit “post”. I woke up in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack. But the response I have gotten was AMAZING!!! Not a single negative response. So now I’m planning to post more. This time I want to be more organized, and I won’t do it daily. But I want to remind all the people in my life that they are not alone. Our pain and fears are valid. Community is our biggest strength, next to opposable thumbs, as human beings. Thank you, AG!!!!!😘
Sometimes just "dumping thoughts" works. I hope we are all feeling better by next week, and are ready to fight. I too, get anxiety, especially now. What has helped me was to refer to the anxiety as an EPISODE rather than an "attack". For me, just the word attack, made it feel worse. Again, your words are special and important. glad you posted them. Wopila tanka
Yes!!! Just like Ben Folds’ forest analogy, I believe that legacy media is starting to burn, and your voice along with many others are the new flora. I’m here for it! LFG!
I remember the movie, too. I saw it with my teenagers back then. Made a big impression. As an former activist, I applaud what you and others continue to do. I hope something can be done to reach the millions of ignorant voters who did not realize what they were voting for when they inked in the circle for DJT.
Oh how much teenage me loved that film!! I do have a copy as well!!! Yes, it does still hold up. Such a cool soundtrack as well.
My concern is that the far right crazies have been taking the same leaf out of that play book and spreading their bullshit unchecked. Probably not much we can do about that.
The big challenge of today is getting hold of people's attention. Given the results last week, it seems faaaaar too many people were "got to" by the bullshit.
Pirate Radio did it with a boat and a radio tower. I used to listen to it after lights out at school in England. The music was just too too for gentle British ears.
Who actually listens to AM radio (pirate radio won't work on FM) today, much less listens to it. Heck, even though I live in a major market, I can't get any city stations because we're on the fringe, so all my listening to local (NPR) is streaming. Which IS the modern equivalent of pirate radio.
Not enough people talk about the Slater ouevre. Not the normal Heathers or True Romance. Hard shit like Pump Up the Vilume and Kuffs. “Hugs and kisses to all your pink parts…” Classic!
Thank you! This is my first comment here and I'm so angry about this election! Writing helped...a lot! And thank you so much for liking it! (Hoping you liked mine and I'm not getting this wrong lol!)
bring back the Fairness doctrine.
The Fairness doctrine went with licenses for airwaves No one uses those airwaves anymore, so those licenses don't serve any purpose anymore.
The only way I see is to make media accountable for spreading false info. Give people the opportunity to successfully sue media for disinformation.
Stop subscribing, viewing, reading. Take their audience away.
That's the right thing to do, no doubt, but it's not enough. Do you really think - say - Bari Weis cares for me not subscribing to her Substack?
Not specifically, no. I agree. But in the aggregate, yes. Does Bari Weiss sanewash? Or worse. I think the media that does is where we disconnect.
Tbc, my point is that always are plenty of people subscribing to Substacks like Weiss's. Just not subscribing won't rein them in. And don't forget that Substack is making more money from those than from the gold nuggets we are reading.
But that won’t help is over 50% of US still listens to FOX news.
FWIW it's basically the elderly still watching Fox. Younger people don't watch news programs at all and rely on TikTok, etc. They may check the corporate media from time to time thinking that "liberal" media would be outraged of there was something really nasty was going on…
It's time to bankrupt NYT, CNN and the likes. They are destroying US democracy. MSNBC is slightly better, real journalists now have a Substack.
Like the brave Sandy Hook families.
As of ~2012, those airwaves WERE being used. Traveling for work outside of my blue dot from around 2009 through 2012, I flipped the rental car dial. There were 2-3 AM channels and 1-2 FM channels broadcasting right-wing crazy infomercials. No ads, obviously scripted and on a loop anti-Obama rhetoric. And no notable channels on the other side.
People spend a lot of time in their vehicles - on the commute to work, in their trade vehicles. Radio is also easily accessible in your kitchen, work break-room, work shop.
And in the afternoon, those radio stations re-played the previous night's Fox prime-time beauts. Giving everyone the opportunity to listen, regardless of whether you had cable.
I realized why the country was so divided and so many crazy politicians had been filling up elected positions (starting with Newt Gingrich). The Right had bought up local media, starting no later than the 90's. Radio and TV (Sinclair, etc). Repurposing it to amplify conservative political narratives, disguised as local programming.
The electorate was already so highly divided by all of this by 2009 that, January 20th, Congressional Republicans ALL took an oath to fight Obama whatever he tried to do. Even though what Obama had to do was fix the massive problems the departing Republican administration had let develop or wholly created: economy losing 850,000 jobs per month; two aimless, costly occupations; opioid and methamphetamine epidemics, and regulatory agencies disfunctional (giving us oil spills and plane crashes). And the Republicans were AWARDED for obstructionism in subsequent elections.
By 2016, conservative media had already opened Pandora's box. Trump was just the most effective demon to emerge. And Trump's first administration famously leveraged local radio frequently to spread disinformation.
Fast forward: Trump officials were caught advertising that Trump spent the year prior to the 2024 election quietly going on local conservative radio in addition to podcasts. So radio is still
I think it is a mistake to assume that the conservative media industry's foundation of local broadcast is no longer relevant. The Right has focused on every striation of media - local broadcast and print; cable/satellite; online publishing; social media, and podcasts. They all re-enforce each other's messages, and collectively cover the squares needed to stay within cheating distance at election time. Since their policies and behavior are garbage, they need this layered media approach to stay competitive.
So, it's not time to forget about fairness rules. Rather, it's time to re-implement, and expand their scope to cover cable news, online journalism and social media.
No doubt that fairness rules are needed. I would never deny that. It's just that media has changed extremely which means that you need a new approach if you want to be successful. Sources mostly are visual now and available over internet. That certainly does not include programs over radio, AM or other frequencies. There you certainly can redistribute licenses and you probably should.
What wold the Fairness doctrine look like under Trump?
like it does now: sane washing the shit out of him while holding his opponents to much higher standards that he never meets.
We need a left and centrist version of FOX. And a supportive billionaire or two.
Is that really the answer? Even Fox has a smaller audience than the likes of Rogan. Maybe not reaching 50+ but Fox audience is dying. Streaming is the future. And that means further fragmentation, even less common audiences.
And, of course, the Fox folks talk about is Fox News Network, which is cable and is NOT subject to FCC oversight.
Fox needs to just plain go away. Finish them off with multibillion dollar lawsuits for all the damage they have done and people who died because of their lies
freedom of speech needs some serious tweaking
But truly, what billionaire would be on board to bankroll a media universe predicated on taking away their wealth?
Maybe Cuban or gates? Could be a win win for good people.
Exactly this. I thought it was where she was going in this piece, but not so much.
I've been thinking along these same lines - we don't just need our own Fox, we need a whole vertical media pipeline to match the alt-Russian-Fox-Rogan machine. That will definitely require a billionaire or two.
Given that they’ll never bring back the fairness doctrine, I’d say yes, that’s our best bet.
A slight note on the Fairness Doctrine. While it was a part, it was not the biggest part. What happened of much greater importance was consolidation of ownership of stations. Before there were significant limits on how many stations and how many in each mark could be owned by a single owner. Absent that, right wing ownership groups like Sinclair and then Clear Channel were able to own not only many, but also multiple stations in each market. This is especially important in smaller markets that are in many red areas. Owners are no longer connected to the audiences that they serve. At least when I was in broadcast in the 70s, the Fairness Doctrine wasn't the protection folks imagine it was today. I attribute that to 1) news was a public service, not a profit center and, 2) ownership - even at the O&O station I worked for - was more connected to the community.
Also to note, the Fairness Doctrine applied ONLY to broadcast, on the understanding that since broadcast uses the public airwaves the public has a right to put some restrictions on their use. So it would never apply to Fox News Network, which is cable and over which FCC has no control over any content. It could have changed the nature of right wing talk *radio*. TV not so much. And streaming is also not under any FCC control for content (as long as Net Neutrality exists).
Yes, Equal time meant just that. I sure do miss it. Thank you for your comments.
Precisely. And therefore you can't issue licenses in the way they still had them in the 1970s.
Of course Trump doesn't understand this. Wasn't it funny that he wanted to withdraw CBS's license?
That showed his age and ignorance of the nuts and bolts that regulate the industry. Not that it matters.
Reminds me of the heyday of pirate radio broadcasts of Wolfman Jack. If he was before your time, see his Wikipedia page. He modeled what our brave hero proposes. Do it!
I agree completely! My suggestion is to use Wolfman Jack’s pirate radio station as a model, not what to do now. Streaming is definitely a better option today. If you have the wherewithal and the time, go for it! We need as many new, powerful, positive voices on as many platforms as possible to counter faux news. Podcasts, Substack, you name it. Just do it!
We have an even better mode today - streaming. Anybody can do it, and there are A LOT more folks listening to streaming than to AM broadcast radio (pirate radio works only with high powered AM).
Thank you!
I call this sort of thing, "The Yop Factor". Do you remember "Horton Hears A Who"?
All the Whos in the dust mote are making nose so that the outside world will hear them, and not destroy them and their world.
The noise doesn't break out until the last silent Who is found. Their "yop" is the word that breaks the barrier, and the outside world not only hears the Whos, ignoring them and their right to exist becomes impossible.
I'll be doing my best to pump up the volume on my yop, and helping others to raise their volume as well.
P.S. Hat-tip to the Ghostbusters' quote.
Oh, I needed this tonight. I'd also like to recommend that people read Don Moynihan's essay today from his Substack, Can We Still Govern. Today's essay was a "well duh" moment for me but I think it's powerful and goes along with what we just read. One subheading reads: The Media Refuses to Recognize the Right Engaging in Identity Politics. "Identity politics is sometimes about establishing empathy and respect for less powerful groups, people who are different from you....Part of the appeal of Trump's identity politics is the promise of control over others. In the aftermath of Trump's victory, messaging celebrating the expected control over women exploded on social media. In America, identity politics can only be identity politics if it comes from the left, and if it centers on historically marginalized groups. Right wing politics that emphasize male, Christian and white identity is not defined as identity politics. As the perceived natural order of things, it is seen simply as politics." This is a powerful counter message because I don't know too many Americans that want to be controlled by others. Yes, it should seem obvious, but it needs to a consistent message.
Thank you! I may hate FB but during the first year of the pandemic I wrote every day…thoughts, experiences, frustrations, etc…with the main goal being that even though we were apart, we are not alone. People really appreciated it. But I did burn out…(I honestly have no idea how you do it AG!!!) So 2 days ago, I wrote another post just dumping my thoughts and hit “post”. I woke up in the middle of the night with an anxiety attack. But the response I have gotten was AMAZING!!! Not a single negative response. So now I’m planning to post more. This time I want to be more organized, and I won’t do it daily. But I want to remind all the people in my life that they are not alone. Our pain and fears are valid. Community is our biggest strength, next to opposable thumbs, as human beings. Thank you, AG!!!!!😘
Sometimes just "dumping thoughts" works. I hope we are all feeling better by next week, and are ready to fight. I too, get anxiety, especially now. What has helped me was to refer to the anxiety as an EPISODE rather than an "attack". For me, just the word attack, made it feel worse. Again, your words are special and important. glad you posted them. Wopila tanka
Yes!!! Just like Ben Folds’ forest analogy, I believe that legacy media is starting to burn, and your voice along with many others are the new flora. I’m here for it! LFG!
I remember the movie, too. I saw it with my teenagers back then. Made a big impression. As an former activist, I applaud what you and others continue to do. I hope something can be done to reach the millions of ignorant voters who did not realize what they were voting for when they inked in the circle for DJT.
Oh how much teenage me loved that film!! I do have a copy as well!!! Yes, it does still hold up. Such a cool soundtrack as well.
My concern is that the far right crazies have been taking the same leaf out of that play book and spreading their bullshit unchecked. Probably not much we can do about that.
The big challenge of today is getting hold of people's attention. Given the results last week, it seems faaaaar too many people were "got to" by the bullshit.
Civic media in Wisconsin has been making some progress with that. It might have been a factor in Janet Protasiewicz and a step forward. I agree.
Buckley v Valeo
Heritage fund
Federalist society
Rush Limbah
Fox
Cable
Citizens United
Create chaos(WWE meets reality TV )
Behind the scenes in court and in earmarks , deregulation was happening.
Then along came Roy Cohn's boy. The wanna be king.
Pirate Radio did it with a boat and a radio tower. I used to listen to it after lights out at school in England. The music was just too too for gentle British ears.
Who actually listens to AM radio (pirate radio won't work on FM) today, much less listens to it. Heck, even though I live in a major market, I can't get any city stations because we're on the fringe, so all my listening to local (NPR) is streaming. Which IS the modern equivalent of pirate radio.
It was back in the 60s. Anyway, there are a few terrestrial stations left, usually local
and community supported.
AG: Another terrific thought-provoking piece from a great pioneer in this new world of independent media. Thank-you. You are not alone!
Not enough people talk about the Slater ouevre. Not the normal Heathers or True Romance. Hard shit like Pump Up the Vilume and Kuffs. “Hugs and kisses to all your pink parts…” Classic!
You are one of the few voices that I listen to, and trust!
Thank you! This is my first comment here and I'm so angry about this election! Writing helped...a lot! And thank you so much for liking it! (Hoping you liked mine and I'm not getting this wrong lol!)
I LOVE THIS 🩷🩷🩷