June 11, 2002

12:16 PM

ClearChannelSucks.org has launchedwith the goal of being the "premier source for information about Clear Channel, its corporate mentality, and its practices, on the Internet." Site owern Clint Sharp alleges that Clear Channel strategically uses its monopolistic position as the largest owner of radio stations, the largest concert promoter, and largest outdoorsignage company to stifle competition and set their own tangible price tag on what it takes to have any success as an artist in the music industry.
posted by tomorama (40 comments total)

how long do you think it will take for clearchannel to sue them for libel and drive them into bankruptcy by running up litigation costs?
posted by boltman at 12:47 PM on June 11, 2002

As previously discussed on Metatalk, I believe you're fairly safe from actual legal problems (as opposed to death by litigation costs) if your use of the name is not commercial and you're not a competing radio network/company.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:50 PM on June 11, 2002

Or another option, is that someone at Clear Channel who has read the Cluetrain Manifesto sends in the viral marketers to diffuse the criticism.
posted by mikewas at 1:27 PM on June 11, 2002

how long do you think it will take for clearchannel to sue them for libel and drive them into bankruptcy by running up litigation costs?

Oh, about an hour and half if my "page cannot be displayed" message is any indication. :/
posted by digital_insomnia at 1:31 PM on June 11, 2002

We're sorry, due to an overwhelming demand for the site in its first day, we were unprepared to handle the load. We're having some systems problems we're going to try to work out ASAP, and then we'll be back online. Thanks for your patience.

Screw the viral marketing and go for the DDOS.
posted by skallas at 1:51 PM on June 11, 2002

clear channel is an interesting company..

in a game called GTA3, in-game music consists of fake parody radio stations, at one point the radio announcer says:
"This is HEAD RADIO a LOVE media station, just one 900 radio stations, 300 TV stations, 4 networks, 3 satellites, 10 senators."

An obvious hint at Clear Channel.

At another point the announcer says:
"... on HEAD radio, owned by LOVE media, making sure radio in every town in America sounds exactly the same."
posted by yevge at 2:23 PM on June 11, 2002

yevge: Don't forget "The best commercials -- and pop fluff in between", or "Now, ten minutes of music guaranteed -- as soon as you wait through another nine minutes of messages from our sponsors", from LIPS 106.
posted by zztzed at 2:55 PM on June 11, 2002

At the risk of a complete thread derail, why not let Love Media speak for itself. Also, "Jimjim bit me!" "Well, bite him back honey."
posted by yerfatma at 3:22 PM on June 11, 2002

digital_insomnia wrote:
Oh, about an hour and half if my "page cannot be displayed" message is any indication. :/

Yeah, that's what happens when nancies.org links to something. We've inadvertently slashdotted a whole lot of sites.
posted by waldo at 3:33 PM on June 11, 2002

PostNuke is very susceptible to DDOS attacks. BELIEVE ME, I know this first hand and it almost got me kicked off my hosting service because someone didn't particulary like my content. While I would say a corportation has better things to do than do attacks like this, I wouldn't put it past any corporate entity, or at their very least, their IS department which might have very little oversight.
posted by benjh at 4:25 PM on June 11, 2002

That's just hilarious. Especially considering that Clear Channel owns half the radio stations in my hometown. What's really crappy is that one of the morning shows was cancelled and replaced with a syndicated show. Really. Goes to show the importance of localness in news media. I mean, I don't really care what's going on in Dallas, TX. I would prefer someone here in OKC. But, that's just me....I am allowed to be wrong.
posted by Redgie at 4:32 PM on June 11, 2002

But, that's just me....I am allowed to be wrong.

You're also allowed to change the station.
posted by ljromanoff at 5:04 PM on June 11, 2002

Actually, when you change the station, you get more Clear Channel.

My favorite talk radio person: Jay Diamond, currently on WOR in NYC.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:08 PM on June 11, 2002

You're also allowed to change the station.

To what? Another Clear Channel station same as the station you just left? That argument doesn't work here.
posted by fuq at 5:11 PM on June 11, 2002

Actually, when you change the station, you get more Clear Channel.

Sometimes. But mostly you don't. Radio's a semiobsolete medium anyway.

My favorite talk radio person: Jay Diamond, currently on WOR in NYC.

I loved Jay Diamond back in his late night days on WABC. His WOR signal doesn't really reach this far northeast, though.
posted by ljromanoff at 5:12 PM on June 11, 2002

But mostly you don't.

Mostly you don't. You must live in a happier place than I do.
posted by fuq at 5:29 PM on June 11, 2002

Jay Diamond has fleshed-out his independent, non-ideological political outlook. He's not quite the same person you may remember from WABC.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:34 PM on June 11, 2002

He's not quite the same person you may remember from WABC.

That's what I've heard - or not yet had the opportunity to hear, in fact.
posted by ljromanoff at 5:47 PM on June 11, 2002

Are there really still people who listen to the radio?
posted by troybob at 5:55 PM on June 11, 2002

Diamond is on from 7-9pm on 710am, so it should be audible in New England.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:57 PM on June 11, 2002

Commercial talk radio still has its gems. Commercial music radio sucks.
posted by ParisParamus at 5:59 PM on June 11, 2002

Diamond is on from 7-9pm on 710am, so it should be audible in New England.

There's a sports station locally in Providence that's too close to 710 for WOR to be heard here. When I lived in southern RI I could get 710 after dark, but it's not possible downtown. At least not where I live.

Apparently WOR broadcasts on the Internet, though, so I'll be listening tomorrow.
posted by ljromanoff at 6:07 PM on June 11, 2002

Thank goodness for stations below 92.1 or so on the FM dial. Not to mention shoutcast and other streamers out there. And then there's this whole XM thing which will probably just end up being the for radio what cable is for TV. More options, more crap. I personally decided not to listen to commercial radio after hearing Ja Rule's crappy voice on 5 different station in 5 different songs in about an hour. And to end with a question. Does anybody have a solution for radio consolidation? I don't think it will be much longer before all of this backlash grows and things really start to change.
posted by tru at 6:14 PM on June 11, 2002

Personally, the Web has replaced the role NPR used to play for me for news (including Mefi). I now find NPR's news shows somewhat boring. WABC's Curtis & Kuby are entertaining. Jay Diamond is entertaining. Alan Colmes was entertaining, until ESPN leased the radio station he was on. Michael Savage is entertaining. So basically, it's right-leaning talk radio and NPR's non-news shows for me. Plus the Mets. Then again, my personal life has improved dramatically lately, so less radio.
posted by ParisParamus at 6:23 PM on June 11, 2002

this is awesome, but what i could really get behind is TicketmasterSucks.com
posted by tsarfan at 7:02 PM on June 11, 2002

Slightly off-topic -
I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but PublicRadioFan.com is a great site that lists all of the different streaming feeds from public radio. The best part is that you can sort by genre and type. Also a good find [via mathowie] is Grassy Hill Radio - if you like folk/acoustic music.

Both of these streams are what I listen to constantly. Clearchannel be damned!
posted by plemeljr at 7:18 PM on June 11, 2002

most of the radio frequencies in this town are crap. top 40 r&b/rap, top 40 dance/pop, top 40 country, or top 40 raprock/whateverthey'recallingitnow.

but.

there's this one station, KXCI, that you can get if you lean your head out the car window just right on 3 streets in town. it's studio is located on the 'hip' street near downtown (4th ave). if you listen on friday nights, they play whole grateful dead concerts until 6 saturday morning.

every three hours or so there's a new dj on the air, uhm-ing and ahhhhhhh-ing their way through the music they pick to play. bluegrass. indie rock. old, old country. good music. i even work with one of the dj's at my bookstore; she has an hour on thursday afternoons.

i love this radio station. it makes me happy every time i tune in. i'm planning on applying for a slot as soon as i get some time/experience.

it's a clear channel station. i don't get it.
posted by carsonb at 8:16 PM on June 11, 2002

Streams are great, until your provider starts charging you when you go over 3-5 gigabytes a month.
posted by bobo123 at 8:22 PM on June 11, 2002

Also, plemeljr, note the list on iii--your Publicradio.fan link made me think of him. Sure, he's been nice enough to my show, but, man, some of the other obscure links are pretty cool and amazing. And all the art's, also pretty cool, his--he's Bob Watts, art director at Salon.

And let me recommend Cynthia Doyon's The Swing Years And Beyond, live streaming from 7 to midnight, Pacific time, every Saturday from Seattle's KUOW FM.
posted by y2karl at 9:26 PM on June 11, 2002

You're also allowed to change the station.

If Clear Channel's new purchase here in Charlottesville is approved, they'll control 90% of the radio market in central Virginia. 90%.

(If I say it twice, that makes it more important.)
posted by waldo at 9:28 PM on June 11, 2002

yea, npr is boring, but pacifica is where it's at! and is almost the only reason i listen to the radio.
posted by rhyax at 9:42 PM on June 11, 2002

(If I say it twice, that makes it more important.)

Pardon me for correcting waldo, but I believe that the word frightening is a better fit.
posted by eyeballkid at 11:48 PM on June 11, 2002

And then there's this whole XM [satellite radio] thing

Don't forget that Clear Channel owns 8.5% of XM, which makes it XM's 2nd largest private investor. Smart hedging.

More options, more crap.

It's a good bet that's how it'll turn out, isn't it? There's no reason to think future XM programming will be any less controlled by record companies (oops, I mean "independent promoters) than radio programming is today.
posted by mediareport at 7:21 AM on June 12, 2002

If Clear Channel's new purchase here in Charlottesville is approved, they'll control 90% of the radio market in central Virginia. 90%.

Clearly you have Internet access. It's not like the radio is your only form of mass media.

How do you come up with this 90% number anyway? This web site about central Virginia radio lists 32 FM stations and 16 AM stations. Are you telling me that of 48 radio stations Clear Channel owns 43 of them?
posted by ljromanoff at 8:43 AM on June 12, 2002

i would think that XM could be more easily controlled by single companies, the channel lists i saw were things like CNN-news, and BBC, i'm sure the music channels will soon be MTV-hiphop MTV-alternative, VH1-contemporary etc.
posted by rhyax at 2:17 PM on June 12, 2002

Ljromanoff: No most people do have internet connections.

But not in their car, where most people listen to the radio these days. I don't think anyone sits at home and listens to the radio. Radio is an 'on the go' thing for when you can't be plugged in. Like out for a jog, or in the car.

And clear channel has really made it suck. Radio is much, much worse then before the telecom deregulation in '96 when clear channel took over.

Fortunetly, there's a collage station here, which does play some cool stuff. It's pretty ecclectic, which is good, but Indian pop music is just as bad as the american stuff sometimes. Also, they are sometimes off the air.
posted by delmoi at 12:18 AM on June 13, 2002

But not in their car, where most people listen to the radio these days. I don't think anyone sits at home and listens to the radio. Radio is an 'on the go' thing for when you can't be plugged in. Like out for a jog, or in the car.

I tend to agree. And with the proliferation of MP3 and most cars having CD players, it's losing even this last shred of relevance.

And clear channel has really made it suck. Radio is much, much worse then before the telecom deregulation in '96 when clear channel took over

That's purely an argument about taste. Clearly, pardon the pun, there are plenty of people who still enjoy radio or the business would not be profitable.
posted by ljromanoff at 8:02 AM on June 13, 2002

No. Radio does suck today, ljr. And the bigger the market, the more it sucks. The closest thing to a listenable music radio station in NYC is WLIR--which isn't in NYC.
posted by ParisParamus at 12:16 PM on June 13, 2002

No. Radio does suck today, ljr. And the bigger the market, the more it sucks.

Right. "Back in my day, we had to walk 10 miles to school, uphill each way. But at least the radio was good."

If the general public shared your opinion radio stations would be losing money. Are they?
posted by ljromanoff at 12:22 PM on June 13, 2002

How do you come up with this 90% number anyway? This web site about central Virginia radio lists 32 FM stations and 16 AM stations. Are you telling me that of 48 radio stations Clear Channel owns 43 of them?

From the FCC investigation into their behavior in the Charlottesville market. Clear Channel wants to buy WUMX. It's looking like we'll be the testbed case. The FCC has never challenged a company's right to acquire a new station in the past 30 years, so this is a big deal.

I'd refer you to the story on one of my sites, cvillenews.com, but I'm in the midst of hating Verisign for not updating their DNS records after 6 days of waiting. So we'll pretend that it's 90% until I can get to my site and find out for sure. :)
posted by waldo at 2:21 PM on June 13, 2002