More Assaults on Cyclists

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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous

"For those who don't know, Clear Channel is the corporate monster of the entertainment industry. And now this...

http://www.experienceplus.com/about/nl/200310-news.html"

Anonymous's picture
linda (not verified)
That article is infuriating..

"After having read that I am filing a complaint with the FCC. If enough people do that, perhaps they will intervene. Freedom of speech is one thing...this is quite another.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints.html


"

Anonymous's picture
Basil (not verified)
Info on this topic from www.RoadBikeRider.com

"The Clear Channel controversy is not clearing up for that
irresponsible company.

Cleveland was bad. Houston was worse. And Raleigh could be
Clear Channel's undoing. Let's hope.

We've told you how Clear Channel radio stations in each city
incited drivers to force cyclists off the road, hit us with open
doors, throw bottles at us or even run us over. The outcry from
the cycling community and other outraged citizens has been
tremendous.

And effective. The Raleigh station lost at least one large
local advertiser, a Ford dealership. The offending shock
jocks were taken off the air. Cyclists picketed, which
focused reporters on the station's transgression.

The LA Times published an article this week, ""Mikes vs. Bikes.""
It put Clear Channel in the negative light it so richly deserves.

Good Morning America contacted the League of American
Bicyclists, the country's primary cycling advocacy
organization. There's a chance that LAB communications
director Patrick McCormick will appear on the show.

It gets better.

The Federal Communications Commission has announced
a series of public hearings around the country. These sessions
will help determine whether radio stations are serving the public
interest, as required, and therefore deserve to have their
license renewed.

That isn't in response to the current Clear Channel controversy,
but it ensures that complaints about harm-cyclists programming
will be heard by the right people.

The license of the offending station in Raleigh expires on Dec. 1.
Cyclists there have done a great job mobilizing. You can bet
they won't miss the chance to give the FCC a reason why that
station should be off the air.

Here's an article about the FCC hearings:
www.newsobserver.com/business/story/2920154p-2683810c.html

Here's a chronology of the episode at Clear Channel station
G105 in Raleigh:
www.trianglemtb.com/pages/projects/g105.html
_________________________________________

Even if you're not in a town that's suffered Clear Channel's
""hate crime"" programming, you might want to express your
feelings about that company to the FCC. Here, courtesy of
RBR subscriber Anthony D., are the key e-mail addresses:

Chairman Michael K. Powell: [email protected]
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy: [email protected]
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: [email protected]
Commissioner Kevin J. Martin: [email protected]
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: [email protected]

Anthony cautions: ""Letters that contain inappropriate
language or threats will likely backfire, suggesting to the
commissioners that cyclists are just fruitcakes who deserve
no more consideration than the broadcasters who incite
motorists to attack them.""

Amen.
_______________________________________

Lots of roadies who've written to RBR have posed this
question:

If a driver injures or kills a cyclist after encouragement
by Clear Channel's shock jocks, is Clear Channel culpable
or protected by freedom of speech?

Attorney Bob Mionske addresses this question in his ""Legally
Speaking"" column for VeloNews.

Mionske (the fourth-place finisher in the '88 Olympic road race)
discusses a case in which a man shot three people after
learning a technique in certain books. The victims' family sued
the publisher for encouraging and aiding a killer in his crime.

Here's the key: An appeals court determined that freedom
of speech is not an issue in cases where a media outlet
aids or abets in a crime.

Writes Mionske, ""I think that a strong argument could be
made that activities of the type carried on at the Raleigh,
Houston and Cleveland radio stations could meet this
[criterion], especially considering that one company owns
the stations in all three markets.""

Here's Mionske's full article:"

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