MEDIA NEWS:

Major Broadcasting Company Sponsors ‘Patriotic Rallies’

Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation’s largest owner of radio stations, has sponsored some of the biggest ‘patriotic rallies’ in the cities of Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio, and Cincinnati, a move that is being questioned by journalists and legal experts alike.

The San Antonio-based broadcaster, which owns more than 1,200 stations in 50 states and the District of Columbia, stands out for its willingness to involve itself so heavily in such a campaign.

“I think this is pretty extraordinary,” former Federal Communications Commissioner Glen Robinson, who teaches law at the University of Virginia, told the Chicago Tribune. “I can’t say that this violates any of a broadcaster’s obligations, but it sounds like borderline manufacturing of the news.”

A spokeswoman for Clear Channel said the rallies, called “Rally for America,” are the idea of Glenn Beck, a Philadelphia talk show host whose program is syndicated by Premier Radio Networks, a Clear Channel subsidiary.

“They’re not intended to be pro-military. It’s more of a thank you to the troops. They’re just patriotic rallies,” said Clear Channel spokeswoman Lisa Dollinger to the Tribune.

Despite Clear Channel’s promotion of recent rallies on its web site, Dollinger said, there has been no corporate order to stations to hold rallies. She also added that most rallies being held are a result of the individual stations’ decisions to respond to listener concerns and suggestions.

Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota, told the Tribune the company’s support of the Bush administration’s policy toward Iraq makes it “hard to escape the concern that this may in part be motivated by issues that Clear Channel has before the FCC and Congress.”