The Enoch Project

PROJECT ENOCH

format became widely implemented since the 1987 abolishment of the Fairness Doctrine, and now has become the most widely listened to form of political talk radio. Conservative talk radio schedules had developed the most listener loyalty (Highest Ratings) and because conservativ e talk radio gives listeners an alternative to the predominantly left wing liberal leaning mainstream media. As of 2007, conservative or libertarian talk show hosts have maintained the top eleven spots (more than eleven hosts) in ratings. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which regulates the airwaves during the Bush administration created a new policy called "localism." Radio and television stations are required to serve the interests of their local community as a condition of keeping their broadc ast licenses. In 2007, the Center for American Progress issued a report, The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio . This report complained that there was too much conservative talk on the radio because of "the absence of localism in American radio markets" and urged the FCC to "ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing. An FCC license is required for any radio or television station to legally operate in the United States. A single complaint from anyone can significantly hinder a station's license renewal process or even cost the station its FCC license entirely.

"Our conclusion is that the gap between conservative and progressive talk radio is the result of multiple structural problems in the U.S. regulatory system," the report reads, "particularly the complete breakdown of the public trustee concept of broadcast, the elimination of clear public

interest requirements for broadcasting, and the relaxation of ownership rules including the requirement of local participatio n in management." 95

Bowing to this pressure, the FCC proposed on January 24, 2008, the creation of permanent station advisory boards comprised of local officials and other community leaders, to periodically advise them of local needs and issues to ensure content diversity o n the air. Any station that fails to placate these “local community leaders” would then be subject to license revocation by the FCC with an accelerated license review every two years as opposed to the current eight years.

This would allow each station license in America to be attacked twice during just one Obama term.

The Obama transition team knows all about the potential of localism as a means of silencing conservative dissent. The head of the Obama transition team is John Podesta who is President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. Obama needs only three votes from the five -member FCC to define localism in such a way that no radio station would dare air any syndicated conservative programming. To accomplish the strategy, the report recommends leg islating local and national caps on ownership of commercial radio stations and demanding radio stations regularly prove to the FCC that they are "operating on behalf of the public interest" to maintain their broadcasting license. And if stations are unwilling to abide by the FCC's new regulatory standards, the report recommends, they should pay spectrum-use fees directly to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting "with clear mandates to support local news and public affairs programming and to cover controve rsial and political issues in a fair and balanced manner."

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PROJECT ENOCH

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