Battered by criticism, Broward may keep deal with Rush Limbaugh radio station

[jefferson_dem]

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Battered by criticism, Broward may keep deal with Rush Limbaugh radio station

By Scott Wyman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted June 14 2007

Radio station WIOD likely will remain Broward County's official channel for emergency information despite concerns it is also home to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

County commissioners said they were deluged with complaints from throughout the country Wednesday after they questioned whether to cut their ties with the station because of their dislike for Limbaugh. By the end of the day, a majority of commissioners vowed to renew WIOD's agreement next week.

The deal with WIOD, AM 610, would ensure news conferences and other critical announcements are broadcast live during hurricanes and other emergencies.

Kristin Jacobs and Ilene Lieberman, commissioners who served as mayor during hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, came to the defense of WIOD. They were absent from Tuesday's meeting because they were in Tallahassee talking to state lawmakers about tax reform legislation.

"If your roof gets blown off, do you really care if the radio station that is giving you the information that you need also carries Rush Limbaugh?" Jacobs asked. "I don't think so. I don't agree with that man's philosophy and I don't listen to him, but I'm not going to not choose WIOD because of it."

<SNIP>

Read more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-ccane14jun14,0,3927815.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

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Right move. We all know Limpball's is a pig but content-based censorship is *even* worse...

[babylonsister]

1. 'Deluged by criticism'; I just wonder what Rush had to say on his program

yesterday; he probably put the call out to his freeple to jam the phones, and they willingly complied.

[spotbird]

NONE of those who called

would vote for a Democratic comissioner anyway. Will there ever come a point that Democrats don't fall for these tactics?

[NashVegas]

2. The Hysterical Irony of Rush

So many people on the right love to go around praising Ayn Rand's work. If Rush isn't an Ellsworth Touhey, I don't know what is.

Here's where the BULLSHIT is: the only difference between an "Official" hurricane information radio station and every other radio station in town is that the "Official" station can pitch itself to advertisers using that designation, and it can create a perception of authority to listeners. They will not have access to any governmental information that other radio stations don't. They will only have access to business and promotional opportunities the others don't.

[Mend]

3. after all, Mussolini had the trains run on time. eom

[Mike Daniels]

4. Bingo...I'm glad the commissioners came to their senses

This station has apparently served as the "go to" location for this information over the years.

Who the hell cares if the station airs a program the commissioners don't like if the station is doing the other things well?

[geomon666]

5. You know I've got to say this...

After 27 years of living down here, before, during, and after a hurricane, it doesn't matter what station you're listening to. You're going to get the info. I forget who said it in another thread but whoever said that the whole Official Hurricane Station tag is exactly that, an advertising tag. It means nothing.

For those of you thinking this is a good idea, here's a little thought for you. Imagine listening to this pig during Katrina while it was happening. People are dying all around you and this scumbag is saying it's theirs and your fault.

Yeah, I don't blame Broward County one bit for not wanting to do business with that piece of crap.

[Mike Daniels]

6. However, people are conditioned to tune into this station for those warnings

Even if the frequency change were done tomorrow and advertised for a month or two how many people are actually going to pay close enough attention to that information at this time?

Once a hurricane hits chances are you're not going to want to be scanning the radio trying to find where your information updates are located.

Plain and simple there is no valid compelling reason for changing the station that airs the updates in this particular instance. A dislike for one of the programs aired on the station doesn't cut it as a compelling reason.

[jefferson_dem]

7. You are correct. There are also particular legal/constitutional problems since

the only reason given for discontinuing the service was because of the political nature of the programming.

[geomon666]

8. Even if that was the case (and I don't think it is)...

What difference does it make? You're still going to get all the info you need on the station it's just not going to have the voice saying, "This is the official Broward County Hurricane Station".

I remember back during Wilma and the power was long gone, I was listening to the sports station and they were giving away info on where you can get water and food and ice and gas. Do you know what was playing on WIOD? That's right, pig man and occasionally some county blowhard lying to us about when the electricity was going to be back up.

[Mike Daniels]

9. Again, there's no legitimate reason to change the frequency

The only complaint is that some of the commissioners don't like that the station plays Rush.

Sorry, that doesn't count as legitimate.

[geomon666]

10. Why does there need to be a legitimate reason?

It's not a legal issue. There's nothing that says they must be affiliated with the station. They can pick any station they want for any reason they want.

[jefferson_dem]

11. But it is a legal issue when the government penalizes a station because of the nature of their

political programming. "Content-based" scrutiny is unconstitutional. Rightfully so.

[geomon666]

12. What are the penalties?

Not being able to say, "Your official Broward County Hurricane Station"?

Content-based scrutiny is not unconstitutional. Just look at how many advertisers pull their support from shows with questionable content and rightfully so. Nobody wants to be associated with a racist bigot like Rush.

[John Kerry VonErich]

13. Tell that to the FCC

Emergency broadcasting should not have political bounds. Federal, state and local.

[geomon666]

14. Nobody is being denied emergency broadcasting. n/t

[HuffleClaw]

15. the 'official' channel for emergencies? WTF ?

locally, the authorities break through on EVERY channel, TV and radio, in the event of an emergency.

[Patsy Stone]

17. It's like

"The official overnight delivery service of the NFL." Or "The offical candy bar of NASCAR." :eyes:

It means nothing.

[Patsy Stone]

16. During and after a hurricane

several stations broadcast emergency information (AM & FM). Several TV stations also broadcast over the radio, on various stations. If the TV station has power, they broadcast on TV too. If you have power, you can watch all of the hurricane coverage you want.

The issue, I guess, is that it gives WIOD ratings, which they can use for advertising, and this benefits a station which doesn't reflect the views of the majority of the area. However, there are alternatives and you may choose from several. Just because WIOD calls itself "official" doesn't mean anything. And they don't play Rush in between the announcements of where to find ice, water, gas and food.

The fact that this was an issue the commission thought it had to fight kind of makes me laugh, and kind of makes me sad.