Clear Channel Communications

:This article is about the company. Radio stations owned by Clear Channel should not be confused with clear channel radio stations, which are AM radio stations with certain technical parameters.

Controversy

As a large company operating in many different states, with numerous employees, Clear Channel has been involved in a number of highly visible controversies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Market share

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the company became an object of persistent criticism. Critics claim that it has abused its market position and has operated in an unethical manner. FCC regulations were relaxed following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, allowing companies to own far more radio signals than before. After spending about $30 billion, Clear Channel owned over 1200 stations nationwide, including as many as 7 stations in certain markets. Competitors and listeners complained, but so far the company has been able to hold on to all of its stations after divesting a few following the acquisition of AMFM.

Related Topics:
1990s - 2000s - Telecommunications Act of 1996

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

September 11, 2001

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., a list of songs apparently recommended to be removed from airplay as inappropriate during a time of national mourning was generated and circulated (See List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks). A small list was initially generated by the Clear Channel office, though individual program directors added many of their own songs. A list containing about 150 songs was soon circulating on the Internet. The criteria for choosing the songs seemed to be unreasonable to many. A number of songs were apparently placed on the list because they had specific words such as "plane", "fly", and "falling" in their titles. Many people found it particularly ludicrous that John Lennon's "Imagine" was one of the songs listed. Clear Channel denies that this was a list of "banned" songs, claiming it was a list of titles that should be played only after great thought. Many individual stations did play songs from the list.

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - New York - Washington, D.C. - List of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks - Program director - Internet - John Lennon's - Imagine

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pro War Rallies

In the build up to the second Iraq War Clear Channel organised and paid for a counterpoint to anti-war demonstrations, supporters of war in Iraq have descended on cities from Fort Wayne to Cleveland, and Atlanta to Philadelphia. Waving flags, messages of support for the troops - and also banners attacking liberals, excoriating the UN, and in one case, advising: "Bomb France Now."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clear Channel paid for the advertising costs and for the hire of musicians for the rallies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Clear Channel, said the rallies were "patriotic", not "pro-war".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Banning music and political ramifications

After the country music band The Dixie Chicks criticized US President George W. Bush at a show in England, upsetting some music fans and politicians, all of the country music stations owned by Cumulus Media banned their music. Clear Channel was also accused of doing so, but the company claims this was solely the work of local station managers, DJ?s, and angry fans. Some critics of Clear Channel, including the editors of Rock and Rap Confidential, claim otherwise. They claim that Clear Channel executives, in a bid to gain support for various policies they were pushing in Washington, instigated the boycott among its country music stations themselves to send a message to other musicians that criticizing President George Bush's administration could hurt your career (through reduced airplay, etc.) Clear Channel denies these accusations. Clear Channel stations were not the only radio stations to ban their music; another large media company, Atlanta-based Cox Radio, did the same. See Dixie Chicks.

Related Topics:
Country music - Dixie Chicks - US President - George W. Bush - England - Cumulus Media - Rock and Rap Confidential - Atlanta - Cox Radio

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tim Robbins received a phonecall from an middle age rockstar saying 'Clear Channel promote my music on the radio and promote my Tours, I can't come out against this war'.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Live music recordings

In 2004, Clear Channel acquired a key patent in the process of producing "instant live recordings", in which a live performance is recorded directly from the sound engineer's console during the show, and then rapidly burned on CD so that audience members can buy copies of the show as they are leaving the venue. This is intended to provide additional revenue to the artist, venue, and promoter, as well as stifle the demand for unauthorized bootleg concert recordings made by audience members for profit. However, some media critics, as well as smaller business rivals, believe that Clear Channel is using the patent (on the process of adding cues to the beginning and ending of tracks during recording, so that the concert is not burned as a single enormous track) to drive competitors out of business or force them to pay licensing fees, even if they do not use precisely the same process. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/rnd/1085518316199/pageid/rs.Home/has-player/true/pageregion/single1/id/6066617?rnd=1102422965968&has-player=true&version=6.0.11.847

Related Topics:
2004 - CD - Bootleg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Indecency zero tolerance

During the nationwide crackdown on indecent material following the 2004 Super Bowl, Clear Channel launched a "self-policing" effort, and declared that there would be no "indecent" material allowed on the air. This led to the company's dismissal of several of their own employees, including popular and high-profile hosts in a number of cities. Free-speech advocates cried foul. During this same period, Howard Stern was dropped from six Clear Channel owned stations in Florida, California, Pennsylvania, New York and Kentucky. By mid-year, rival Viacom brought Stern's show back to those six markets. In June, 2004, Viacom/Infinity Broadcasting Inc./One Twelve Inc. filed a $10 million lawsuit against Clear Channel for breaking of contracts and non-payment of licensing fees due to the dropping of Stern's show. Viacom is Howard Stern's employer. In the following July, Clear Channel filed a countersuit of $3 million.

Related Topics:
2004 - Super Bowl - Viacom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Concerts and promotions

Clear Channel has settled a lawsuit with a Denver, Colorado concert promoter, Nobody In Particular Presents (NIPP). In the lawsuit, NIPP alleged that Clear Channel halted airplay on its local stations for NIPP clients, and that Clear Channel would not allow NIPP to publicize its concerts on the air. The lawsuit was settled in 2004 with no monetary consideration, but Clear Channel has new rules regarding local concert promotion in Denver.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2002, Clear Channel was sued by the US Justice Department for not allowing people with diabetes to bring medically necessary supplies, including syringes used for insulin, into concert venues. Clear Channel changed their policy shortly afterward.

Related Topics:
Justice Department - Diabetes - Syringe - Insulin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2004, Clear Channel was sued by a San Francisco, California man for charging a mandatory parking fee on every ticket sold for a venue, whether the person purchasing the ticket was driving alone, car-pooling, or using public transportation. This is still unresolved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Stations on "Auto-pilot"

Clear Channel, like other broadcasters both large and small, utilizes technology (known as Prophet) that allows a DJ from anywhere in the country to sound as if he or she is broadcasting from anywhere else in the country, on any other station. A technological outgrowth of earlier, tape-based automation systems dating back to the nineteen-sixties, this is called voice-tracking, and some smaller market stations are partially staffed by these "cyber-jocks", who may have never visited the town they are broadcasting in.

Related Topics:
Prophet - Voice-tracking

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A side-effect of this trend to automate radio stations, as opposed to signing off overnight, is that no one is there to warn people when disaster strikes. Clear Channel was criticized for an incident that occurred in Minot, North Dakota, when a Canadian Pacific Railway train filled with toxic anhydrous ammonia derailed early on the morning of January 18, 2002. City officials had improperly programmed the EAS (Emergency Alert System) equipment that was supposed to allow them to automatically broadcast information over local radio stations, including the six stations (of nine in Minot) owned by Clear Channel. No personnel answered the phone during the overnight hours when city officials attempted to reach the stations by telephone.

Related Topics:
Minot - North Dakota - Canadian Pacific Railway - Ammonia - January 18 - 2002 - Emergency Alert System

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The incident has been cited repeatedly in subsequent years by opponents of media consolidation. Clear Channel maintains that the issue was a failure of the EAS system and says it has subsequently worked to improve emergency contact procedures at its stations.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rejection of anti-war billboard

In 2004, Project Billboard, a non-profit Democratic political advocacy group, filed a breach of contract suit against Clear Channel for the rejection by its outdoor advertising division of a billboard ad against the war in Iraq. The ad, intended for a 40-foot billboard Clear Channel manages in Times Square, was to have the slogan, "Democracy is best taught by example, not by war," along with a red, white and blue cartoon image of a bomb. Clear Channel's contract with Project Billboard only allowed the company to reject ads that were illegal or contrary to public morals; Clear Channel claimed that the image of the bomb was insensitive in New York City, the site of the most devastating of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Project Billboard claimed that Clear Channel's rejection was instead for purely political reasons. Clear Channel settled the suit by agreeing to an alternative featuring an image of a peace dove instead of a bomb.

Related Topics:
Project Billboard - Democratic - War in Iraq - Times Square - New York City - 9/11

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Censorship

Clear Channel has been criticized for censoring opinions critical of George W. Bush and other Republicans. Clear-Channel-owned KTVX was the only local television station which refused to air the paid political message of Cindy Sheehan against the war in Iraq http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2960205?rss. Some Utahns consider this to be another act of censorship of grass-roots free speech.

Related Topics:
George W. Bush - KTVX

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ClearChannelSucks.net and musician boycotts

As well as the website http://www.ClearChannelSucks.net spawned from RadioAid's battle for the ownership of the ClearChannelSucks domain http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-04-01/pols_feature6.html, there are a notable amount of bands, and radio hosts, including Howard Stern that actively boycott Clear Channel. The most widely known of these are The Locust, as well as Conor Oberst, the leading figure behind Bright Eyes, who openly and continuously advocate the boycotting of all Clear Channel events, venues, advertising area and radio stations. The Locust are so attached to this boycotting that it is affecting their April 2005 tour with the Mike Patton side project Fantômas.

Related Topics:
RadioAid - Howard Stern - The Locust - Mike Patton - Fantômas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another outspoken detractor of Clear Channel is veteran rocker Neil Young, who has criticized the company in numerous interviews. After having refused to perform in Clear Channel-owned venues for several years, Young was finally forced to do so on his 2000 "CSNY2K" tour with Crosby, Stills and Nash. In 2003, on an even more extensive tour showcasing his Greendale song-story, Young turned his shows into theatrical productions in which images lampooning Clear Channel were prominently displayed.

Related Topics:
Neil Young - 2000 - Crosby, Stills and Nash - 2003

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official Response to Controversy

Clear Channel officially denies most of these allegations. An article, 'Know the Facts' on its corporate website addresses many of these concerns.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~