The Washington State Supreme Court on April 26th held that radio commentary during regular broadcast time is protected free speech. Concurring opinion by justice James Johnson admonishes prosecutors for attempting to silence political opponents.
The communications of today’s talk radio in my mind is very much akin to that of America’s Pamphleteers. While some give this distinction almost exclusively to bloggers, not everyone has access to the Internet and as such it is still largely a community of the privileged.
Talk radio requires only a second hand a.m. radio and a phone line to participate. It is modern street corner political rant, biased without any pretense to “journalistic integrity” and to the point.
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The difference is that Pamphleteers can produce as many pamphlets as they want, but the radio waves are limited: only so many frequencies exist.
Prago, I'm not sure I understand your distinction. Are you suggesting that the limited number of frequencies limits the number of viewpoints that can be aired?
That it does to a certain extent. It is possible, with radio, for certain forces to monopolize the medium, whereas with Paphleteers, anyone with access to a printing press could joint the frey.
I guess I would have to disagree with you then. Since there are usually no more than 3 or 4 different viewpoints on any subject, there are more than enough radio stations to cover all viewpoints. Plus my experience with talk radio is that hosts invite various opinions just to make the shows interesting. I also would disagree that "certain forces" could monopolize the airwaves. Sometimes capitalism is a good thing! Radio exists to make money which only happens through advertising. Advertisers are most interested in stations with large audiences. Large audiences only happen when listeners feel that a host is representing their viewpoint. Therefore, public viewpoints drive talk radio content through the ratings system. It would be impossible to force an unpopular viewpoint to be prominent if listeners didn't want to listen to it. The ratings would be poor, and advertisers would be few, and with no money....no talk show. Conservatives are usually accused of dominating talk radio, but that's because they actually connect with more American's viewpoints than do Liberals. Scary, but true. After all, if it was possible to force a medium to represent a "certain" viewpoint, wouldn't the liberals have done it by now?
Rupert Murdoch may soon buy the WSJ.
And then, having access to a printing press, he should be allowed to print as many as he wants. Just like all the other pamphleteers.
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