The State of Talk Radio in New England
Monday, December 16, 2013
A talk radio host in New England is once again under scrutiny for comments made on air, this time facing political backlash in Rhode Island, and now opposition to that response as well.
"Doing conservative talk radio in New England is like being an American tourist in North Korea. You're surrounded by people who have no interest in free speech, no desire for diverse opinions and who will scrutinize every statement you make for a chance to shut you down," said conservative talk show host Michael Graham with the New England Talk Network.
DePetro, who had been fired from 2006 from WRKO for comments made about Massachusetts Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross, faced mounting pressure last week in Rhode Island as a growing number of elected officials, candidates, and even the RI GOP stepped forth to say they would boycott DePetro and WPRO over his comments made on air about female union activists.
While DePetro's remarks prompted the formation of the "For Our Daughters" campaign asking sponsor Alex and Ani to stop advertising on the show -- and DePetro offered an apology -- the opposition has grown in numbers and in scope.
"The rule of thumb in these cases is as follows: Usually when a talk show host gets in trouble, the degree of support they get from their company is in ratio to the value they have for the company," said Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of Talkers Magazine, the self-proclaimed "bible of talk radio and new talk media," summed up his thoughts on the the ultimate outcome of the DePetro trial-by-fire.
While the saga is the latest in a number of controversies for DePetro, it is hardly the first in the realm of local and national controversies in talk radio, which has seen drastic changes -- and according to Harrison, major challenges regionally.
See Infamous Talk Radio Controversies BELOW
The notion of freedom of speech -- vs. "combatting misogyny" is at the core of the current talk radio controversy in New England
"The recent decline in the number of talk stations and local talk hosts in New England - particularly Boston which was once considered to be one of the nation's leading talk radio markets - is disturbing. Talk radio faces a number of challenges - the most daunting being what we are discussing, political pressure on advertisers to deny support to controversial political talk. The others are basically the same problems facing all of radio, not to mention a range of 20th century based advertising media... and that is, competition from exotic new digital-era media and huge generational divides that make it difficult to attract younger audiences," said Harrison.
While Harrison addressed the nature of the boycott taking place currently in Rhode island, the issue of talk show hosts coming under fired for comments made is hardly a new issue in New England. In 2006, Jay Severin was released by Greater Media while a host at WTKK for comments he'd made regarding sleeping with female employees; WEEI's Dennis and Callahan came under fire in 2003 for racially-charged comments made about an escaped zoo guerilla being a "Metco" guerilla, referencing a program that bused inner-city students.
Earlier this year, WTKK changed from its rare FM all-talk format to music programming, which Graham addressed as being a major game-changer.
"It's no surprise that, when WTKK flipped from talk to hip-hop, the only hosts approached by government radio (NPR) were the two liberal ones. New England liberals trumpet the value of diversity, but they have no interest in practicing it," quipped Graham.
Graham continued, "John DePetro has given liberal politicians the excuse they want to avoid the tough questions they'll get from hosts and callers on talk radio. Why appear on a talk radio forum where you're going to be asked difficult questions when you can just show up on public radio and have a liberal host tell you how terrific you are?"
"In Boston, the end of WTKK meant one of the biggest markets in America went from three full-time talk stations to one. The fact that there is no FM talk (other than liberal, government radio) is an barometer of the power of political pressure to silence dissent," said Graham.
A Change.org petition has been formed by a group, RI Citizens for Free Speech, stating DePetro is "under attack by a paid organized union smear campaign designed to silence his vocal criticism." It writes, "Do not allow politicians and unions to suppress free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment! We will not tolerate the censorship of the callers or the host of The John DePetro Show."
Boycotts, Free Speech, and Radio
What does the future of talk radio hold for New England listeners?
"The difference between the DePetro case and earlier high-profile ones involving national hosts is DePetro is actually being attacked by elected officials (as opposed to "just" political action groups). Any elected official who aggressively tries to shut down a media commentator as opposed to simply reacting by expressing disagreement is, in my opinion, more dangerous than the host, regardless of how nasty or disgusting the host might be. The reason - the First Amendment is the most important principle we have in America that makes us a free country," said Harrison.
"There can be no freedom without free speech - meaning speech uncensored by government repression, control, influence or edict. Elected officials should not use their power or influence to put an opposing or disagreeable voice out of business. That is a terrible thing and should be repudiated by anyone who understands the Constitution and the importance of the First Amendment. I do not know what the outcome will be."
The For our Daughters campaign which was formed following DePetro's latest remarks bills itself as a "grassroots advocacy organization committed to promoting gender equity and combating misogyny in public speech and debate."
"John DePetro's reputation as an abrasive misogynist is widely known, but his latest attack on women can't go unanswered. His recent labeling of women protesters outside at a political event as "whores" is offensive, unacceptable and un-American," writes the group on its homepage.
Graham acknowledged that DePetro's remarks gave put a target on his back. "I'm offended by DePetro calling women union activists "hags" and "whores." I'm offended because, in addition to being rude and insulting, it's incredibly stupid," said Graham, of the position DePetro now finds himself.
Predictions for the Fate of Talk Radio?
"New England has some of the best sports talk radio in America. There are two reasons: One, it has one of the most dedicated, passionate and loyal fan bases in the nation; and two, it now has two very good broadcasting companies competing in an all out radio "war" - CBS and Entercom - which ultimately is great for the listener as well as advertisers," said Talkers' Harrison.
Harrison continued, "The Boston Herald has recently launched an internet radio station - "Boston Herald Radio" - which should be watched closely. The idea of a talk radio station emanating from the platform of a major daily big city newspaper has extraordinary potential to be a future powerhouse with the tremendous resources of a large news organization, something the average radio station no longer can afford -- and THAT brings up another problem being faced by radio these day: smothering debt accrued during the consolidation run up of the past 15 years. Most radio stations owned by major corporations and financed by venture capital and answerable to Wall Street cannot afford to "do radio" properly."
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