Wyden, Merkley, and Schrader endorse Save KPOJ campaign; petition hits 13k signatures

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

One week in, the momentum behind the Save KPOJ campaign continues unabated.

The organic growth on the petition drive is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's one thing to push a petition with a giant email list; it's entirely another when the growth is almost entirely organic (other than an initial email push from me on the first day.) The petition continues to grow by more than 1000 signers a day - and as of Sunday evening, had cracked 13,000 signers. (Not signed yet? Save KPOJ here.)

Over the weekend, the Save KPOJ campaign was endorsed by Congressman Kurt Schrader, Senator Jeff Merkley, and Senator Ron Wyden -- which means that the entire Democratic congressional delegation has now joined the movement.

So far, the Oregonian's coverage has been relegated to the entertainment ("living") section. In the O, Kristi Turnquist noted that Clear Channel is refusing comment:

The release quoted Robert Dove, president and market manager of Clear Channel Portland: "Welcoming the Fox Sports Network will set the standard of excellence for sports programming in Portland and I know it will resonate well with our listeners."

Repeated calls to Clear Channel Portland for further information behind the change have not been returned. Portland already has two all-sports radio stations, 750 AM The Game, and 1080 AM The Fan.

Of course, there are substantial matters of policy at stake here. The Fairness Doctrine ain't likely to come back (as would likely be struck down by the Supreme Court), but as both Senators Wyden and Merkley noted in their statements, the airwaves are owned by the public - and according to their FCC licenses, radio broadcasters have a substantial requirement to provide public interest programming.

What makes this very interesting, as it relates to Oregon politics, is that former U.S. Senator Gordon Smith is the president of the National Association of Broadcasters - and Congressman Greg Walden is the Chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, which has direct oversight of the radio broadcasting industry.

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    My firm built the campaign websites for Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, and Kurt Schrader. I speak only for myself.

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    Has Wyden signed on to Merkley's filibuster reform effort? When I called his office last week and asked, they said he had no comment.

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      I don't believe that he has, but I wouldn't assume that means he's opposed. Senator Wyden's usual approach is to withhold public declarations in order to maximize his ability to improve the policy proposals.

      It should be noted that Wyden was the major force on ending secret, anonymous holds - which was a major step forward in this fight for procedural reform. Now, we largely know which Senator is the one blocking forward momentum, even if we can't necessarily unblock things.

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    Don't radio stations already have to set aside time as it is for public service programming or is this an entirely different issue?

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      That's a very low bar. KPOJ's progressive radio counterpart in Seattle - KPTK - set aside an hour on Sunday mornings (wedged between infomercials) for "public affairs" programming. That token programming apparently checked off that particular FCC box.

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    For all of those who have not kept up to date on the issue of radio I would like to inform them that the entities that have ownership on 600 stations delisted themselves from the stock exchange on friday. They had a 77% drop in stock value as a result of the boycott being carried out against stations that carry Limbaugh. So, for everyone who thinks that no body listened to KPOJ please be aware that what is really happening is that right wing fascist radio is losing money. That means we reject Lason and his fellow bigots. In one sense of the word the free market has spoken and we reject fascism.

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    The Washco Dems have posted a support page as well, sharing our support for Carl Wolfson and Progressive Talk Radio, and linking back to SaveKPOJ and the other related sites. Thank you Kari and all the KPOJ fans for your support of Carl and our much needed Klassic KPOJ format. I am confident that there will be a happy solution of one sort or another and Carl will soon return to broadcasting in the Portland area. http://www.washcodems.org/Save_Progressive_Radio

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    It's Tuesday Nov 20, about 2:20PM. http://www.savekpoj.com/ is now at 13,909 signers and still growing. Please sign the petiton if you have not already done so. Thanks!

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