Media Blackout Shattered: Clearchannel's KFI Los Angeles Breaks Reagan Death Threat Story, Mocking And Laughing
By Martin Hill
Inland Empire 911 Truth
June 16, 2008
http://9-11.meetup.com/380/messages/boards/thread/4901707
I called KFI this morning at 5:42 and talked with Bill Handel's screener about the death threats Michael Reagan made to anti-war activist Mark Dice. After 9 minutes on the line, she came back and told me they will cover it on the 8:30AM news.
Attorney Bill Handel's program aired the story at 8:46AM in a mocking manner, with Handel calling Mark Dice a "crackpot" and announcing that his friend Michael Reagan was being investigated by the FBI. They continued playing the death threat audio clip from 8:54 to 9AM, Yucking it up. Here is KFI's podcast page. http://www.kfi640.com/pages/podcasting/ If the audio isn't posted on their site I will try to post it on our youtube account tomorrow.
E-mail Bill Handel in order to demand fair coverage of this important story on tomorrow's show. If he gets a lot of feedback on this issue, he will air it, forcing Clearchannel to cover the story. KFI's news tip line is (323) 225-5534. Bill Handel's show airs 5:00AM- 9:00AM Pacific Time Monday through Friday; his call in number is (800) 520-1534. E-mail Bill at bill@kfi640.com
Members of INLAND EMPIRE 911 TRUTH and WE ARE CHANGE L.A. protested Michael Reagan's syndicator AMERICA RADIO this afternoon in Los Angeles at 3PM. (Video to be posted tommorow).
Stay tuned for developments and watch for this important story to appear on other Clearchannel stations. Also, be sure to call your local radio station to tell them to air the story.
CORRECTION 6/17/08:
In my article i had implied that Mitt Romney's Bain Capital owned Clearchannel. Although this has been reported (see links below) and even referenced by Mike Huckabee during his presidential campaign race, (watch video below) it is not true,. Thanks very much to Dennis for the correction.
Dennis wrote:
Martin,
I notice that you have been saying that Clear Channel is owned by "Mitt Romney's Bain Capital." Romney left Bain Capital years ago and the sale of Clear Channel to a consortium that included Bain Capital has yet to go through. The following is from yesterday's Media Daily News:
Second Time Round: Clear Channel Schedules Shareholder Vote
by Erik Sass, Monday, Jun 16, 2008 7:30 AM ET
Clear Channel Communications has scheduled a special shareholder meeting for July 24--when its shareholders will vote to accept or reject a revised, $17.9 billion buyout offer from two private-equity firms, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners.
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CONTACT KFI
http://kfi640.com/pages/Station.html?feed=128007&article=447631
KFI AM 640
3400 W Olive Ave Ste 550
Burbank CA 91505
Business Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:30PM
Main: (818) 559-2252
Programming: (818) 566-6476
KFI Newsroom: (323) CALL-KFI (225-5534)
Listener Line: (800) 520-1KFI (1534)
To contact KFI about a news story or event, please email KFI NEWS.
To communicate a show idea, topic or guest, please email each show directly.
Note regarding submitting comments to KFI AM 640:
Emails and letters sent to KFI AM 640 directly will generally be placed in the station's public inspection file, available for public review at the station during business hours. Posting a message to a chat room, bulletin board or other general user forum is not a good way to communicate directly with the station and the station does not include these postings in its public inspection file.
FAQ
How do I call KFI to be on the air? For live, local shows, call (800) 520-1KFI (1534). If you get through, you will talk to a screener. A screener filters calls to find those most appropriate for the show at that moment. The screener may or may not transfer you to the host and put you on the air.
KFI AM 640 Sales
Phone: (818) 566-6178
Email: Darren McMillan, General Sales Manager, KFI AM 640 darrenmcmillan@clearchannel.com
My company would like to advertise on KFIAM640.com. Who should I contact?
CCLA Integrated Media
Phone: (818) 566-6324
Email: Michele Laven, Director of Integrated Media, Clear Channel Los Angeles michelelaven@clearchannel.com
I want to send a press release or news item to the station. Who should I contact?
KFI NEWS
Phone: (818) 566-6397
Fax: (818) 729-2514
Email: Chris Little, KFI NEWS Director, KFI AM 640 kfinewsdirector@kfi640.com
How can I register a formal complaint about a show?
KFI AM 640 Programming
Write: 3400 W Olive Ave Ste 550, Burbank CA 91505
Email: Robin Bertolucci, Program Director, KFI AM 640 programming@kfi640.com
KFI Info:
From Wikipedia:
KFI is a talk radio station owned by Clear Channel Communications, the largest U.S. radio owner. ...KFI also has an extensive news department, and produces news updates for other Clear Channel stations in the Los Angeles market. KFI employs 20 broadcast journalists. [3] KFI's newscasts air at :59 and :29 past the hour, with brief headlines approximately halfway between the fuller newscasts during local programming. The newscasts primarily focus on local news with relevant national and international stories included. KFI also has traffic reports four times an hour. ... KFI is a member of the Fox News Radio network and Fox News reporters appear on the station (but not its commentators, who have shows on competing stations in the market). However, the entire Fox News Radio newscast is not aired. For its efforts, KFI was named the Radio & Records News & Talk Radio Station of the Year in 2004.
In the Spring 2006 quarter Arbitron rating, KFI was the most listened to radio station in Los Angeles, averaging approximately 1.5 million listeners during any given weekday. In the Los Angeles market, this is extremely rare for an AM station, and more rare for an English-language station. The station is now the most listened to AM radio station as well as the most listened to news/talk radio station in the country, beating out WABC in New York City.
Huckabee video: "Some suggest that the fact that Bain Capital owns a major stake in Clear Channel is on Sean's network, maybe there's a correlation. I don't know." from http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/11/16/134450/66 "Clearchannel just recently went up for auction. Mitt Romney's Bain Capital bought it along with Thomas H Lee Partners, but I'm not sure who owns them. The rumor on the Street was that there might be regulatory problems because the firms own positions in other media companies, but I'm not sure which ones." http://rochesterturning.com/2006/11/16/your-liberal-media/
