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Channel’s arrival leaves alternative clearW
alking along the M32 I noticed an interesting change in the billboards that clutter the road into Bristol. Normally I check out the adverts, admiring the work of the subvertisers. But this time there was something new that caught my eye — the Adshel logo under each board had been replaced by the name of the new owner, Clear Channel. The arrival of this company means there’s a storm coming.Most people in the UK won’t know the name, but in the United States Clear Channel is well known, with 1,225 radio stations, 37 television stations and 776,000 billboards. They’re a major player in the music business, where their stations can promote a band and their ticket agencies can sell you tickets to see the band play in venues the company controls.
There’s nothing new about a media empire? But remember the Bond film Tomorrow never dies, where media mogul Elliot Carver decides the best way to get ratings is to make the news rather than simply report it. Now the Department of Life-imitates-art can report that Clear Channel are doing a similar thing. In America, the corporation has been using its 1225 radio stations to promote pro-war rallies by a group called "Rally for AmericaTM". Notice the trade mark? This protest group is owned by Clear Channel
— yup, Clear Channel was making the news it was then reporting. Why? Well, it’s pretty clear (pun): the corporation is about as big as it can get in the US without changes to the rules. Who makes the decision on the rules? Secretary of State Cohn Powell’s son, Michael Powell, who’s head of the Federal Communications Commission, that’s who — and being pro-war ain’t gonna harm their case, is it?What’s this got to do with the UK? Clear Channel have been busy shopping and came home with lots of goodies, including advertising firms Adshel, More and Taxi Media, the billboard arm of Scottish Radio Holdings. Its entertainment division, SFX, also manages live event arenas such as the Edinburgh Playhouse, and also promotes footballers Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and David Beckham. And that’s not all. The government plans to allow overseas companies to own UK media firms. The Clear Channel boss, a man called Mays, has remarked that "nothing would give me more pleasure than to be able to bring one of the leading UK radio groups into the Clear Channel family
..."Remember the furore over comments by the Dixie Chicks, and the backlash against their right to free speech? Well, Clear Channel was the cheerleader of that particular hate campaign (which hasn’t stopped the band from selling out their shows, but has led to allegations of censorship). Remember accusations of bias in reporting the war? In leaked memo on war coverage, the company listed pundits it could interview and at the bottom of its list of the 33 suggestions are "anti-war types".
Yup, if you were against the war then your views rank well below those of terrorism experts, chemical and biological warfare experts, high-ranking local military or exmilitary officials, professors of military history, former G-Men, veterans of Operation Desert Storm or the recent Afghanistan conflict, local families with loved ones serving in the Middle East and so on. So get ready for the next war, ‘cause when the War on TerrorTM Axis of EvilTM round two occurs, the streets might be full of protesters from "Rally for BritainTM" calling for the bombing of Iran, organised by your local radio stations in your name.
But there is an alternative. What local indy media have you got? Do you subscribe to or support radical newspapers and magazines? In Bristol we have a burgeoning indy media scene and it’s fast becoming the only bastion of grassroots democracy. But it needs support, because the only people who benefit from a free and objective media are us. The best way to ensure this happens is to create our own.
Anarchist
606Visit
http://anarchist6O6.blogspot.com— from Freedom, 17 May 2003