Knowledge is power, and it always has been.  The flip side of that is that ignorance is weakness.  KPOJ was an oasis of knowledge in a desert of corporatist and right wing propaganda, and its switch to sports has left us all weaker.   Interestingly, though, the licenses for all Oregon radio stations expire in 2014, meaning KPOJ is currently up for renewal.  We think this is an ideal opportunity to point out that broadcasters are licensed to “act in the public interest”, so we created a petition to deny their renewal.  It’s such a good idea that it’s catching on, and in some surprising places…

As we said in last month’s article, KPOJ will have their license renewed.  It’s a forgone conclusion.  No matter what we, the public, say or want, it will happen.  The FCC has blatantly failed to enforce the mandate of stations to “serve the public interest”, and it shows no sign of starting.  ClearChannel, owner of KPOJ, is an 800-pound gorilla in the media world and they’re guaranteed to get what they want when it comes to licenses.  And yet, we still feel that the public should be heard.

There are two ways to protest a license.  The first is to file a “petition to deny”, a formal legal objection to the renewal.  This can get quite involved and expensive, but there is a less formal way.  Anyone can file informal objections prior to staff action on the application, so we created a petition that anyone can sign.  It says…

“Thomas Jefferson called information “the currency of democracy”, but today’s data blizzard doesn’t equate to information. Bias, unreliability, and outright deception are pervasive. Political talk radio notoriously presents just one side of a many-sided discussion, and KPOJ once served to counterbalance that monolith.

Radio stations only exist because the public sets rules for scarce broadcast spectrum, creating the value that translates into ad revenue. In return they are obligated to act in the public interest by serving the informational needs of that public. By switching to Sports (the third such station in Portland) and dropping its Progressive talk format (the only one in Portland) KPOJ abrogated its responsibility to serve the public. They manifestly failed to act in the most basic public interest, and should have no right to reap the rewards of a society they do not contribute to. 

We, the undersigned, ask the FCC not to renew KPOJ’s broadcast license.”

If this sounds like something you can get behind, you can sign it by clicking here, and please forward the link to your friends! We’ll collect signatures until December 31, 2013, and then send the petition to the FCC.  We’ll all see what reaction, if any, they have.

As we said, the idea of protesting the renewal is spreading in some interesting ways.  If you’re a longtime listener of Thom Hartmann, Progressive radio icon, then you’ve probably heard this story about his encounter with comedian and activist Dick Gregory… “In the middle of our discussion about the United States and its unfortunate military adventures abroad, Dick dropped on me the most profound comment I’ve ever heard about foreign policy and human nature: “I don’t know why America always thinks she has to run all around the world forcing people to take our way of governance at the barrel of a gun,” he said. He paused, then added with a sly grin, “When you’ve got something really good, you don’t have to force it on people… they will steal it!””

Our petition may not be as good as democracy, but it has been good enough to inspire an imitator.  A couple weeks after we started ours, the folks at BlueOregon posted this one…

“In November 2012, Clear Channel dropped Portland’s only commercial progressive talk radio format and switched to sports, making KPOJ the third sports station in the Portland market. In doing so, Clear Channel failed in its obligation to air programming that is responsive to the needs and problems of our community. Clear Channel has not managed KPOJ in the public interest as required by law.  We ask that the FCC not renew Clear Channel’s license for KPOJ.”

This is why Dick Gregory’s insight is so important… a good idea is a good idea, so the more people who participate in it the better off we’ll all be.  The FCC needs to hear from as many people as possible, and it doesn’t matter where those voices come from.  Sign ours first, but we encourage you to go to BlueOregon’s site and sign theirs as well.

If you’d like to send your own thoughts separately from either petition, that’s pretty easy too.  Your comment should identify the station’s call sign (KPOJ), city and state (Portland, OR), the station’s facility ID number (53069), and the license renewal application file number (BR20130930BBC).  Mail an original and one copy of your comments to:

Office of the Secretary

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street SW

Room TW-A325

Washington, D.C. 20554

Attention: Audio department

And from all of us, thank you for your support!