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The airwaves belong to the public and on Wednesday, the proprietors got their say.
A hearing to gauge public opinion on how well the public is served by those who use the airwaves was thick with valentines and harpoons.
Shock jocks, payola and public service were chief among the topics.
Bicyclists repeatedly criticized a Clear Channel station in the Research Triangle, WDCG-FM ("G105") for airing a morning show that jokingly encouraged motorists to run down bicyclists. Other stations owned by the company did similar stunts, cyclists complained.
"The fact that Clear Channel has promoted violence against bicyclists on four separate radio stations demonstrates a pattern of behavior that clearly warrants FCC scrutiny," said Steven Waters, representing the League of American Bicyclists.
Waters was one of about three dozen people addressing three of the five members of the Federal Communications Commission, who came to Charlotte to hold the commission's first hearing in a yearlong study of localism in broadcasting.
After a wave of civic protest following the commission's vote in June to raise ownership limits for major media companies, FCC Chairman Michael Powell formed the Localism Task Force to cross the country and hear opinions on how broadcasters meet the needs of the public.
Signaling a shift from the FCC's automatic licensing routine of recent years, Powell said the inquiry would focus on media performance in the Carolinas and elsewhere "including potentially not renewing a broadcast license for not serving the public interest."
Some musical artists complained about being frozen off the air by corporate radio stations.
"If you've never heard of me, it's because I'm never on the radio," Tift Merritt told the commissioners.
The Chapel Hill singer and songwriter noted that Billboard magazine had described her as "a major new artist," and that she had appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman" and gotten other national coverage.
But she said that radio stations in the Triangle area would not play her music because it wasn't on their playlists.
When Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein reminded her that "payola" is illegal, Merritt responded: "It's absolutely naive to assume that pay-for-play doesn't go on."
During a public comment period, broadcasters were hailed by charity groups. Among them were Shrine Bowl executives thanking Rock Hill's WRHI-AM (1340) and its partners for building a network for the annual game, which raises money for hospital burn units.
The Children's Miracle Network saluted WLYT-FM ("Lite" 102.9) for raising nearly $1 million over the last three years and Make-a-Wish Foundation said WWMG-FM ("Magic" 96.1) has been instrumental in underwriting their campaigns.
Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., asked the FCC to take steps to reverse the shrinkage of the numbers of minorities owning stations.
And the Charlotte congressman questioned why the agency voted in June to allow major media companies to own a higher percentage of the nation's radio and TV stations. "If the system wasn't broke, why did the FCC try to fix it?" he said.
Broadcasting's role in the democratic process was also a focus.
"We are concerned that business concerns have taken precedence over the public interest," said Mary Klenz, co-president of the N.C. League of Women Voters, who said commercial stations in Charlotte used to give the organization time to answer voter questions at election time.
Only one commercial Charlotte TV station currently airs a local public affairs program -- a 30-minute roundtable Sunday nights on WJZY (Channel 46), owned by Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting.
"All politics is local, but you wouldn't know it by watching local TV," Meredith McGehee, president of Alliance for Better Campaigns, said in a report released at the meeting.
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The verbal testimony I gave that day follows:
Good evening. My name is Steven Waters and I've traveled several hours to represent the League of American Bicyclists and its 300,000 affiliated members across the country.
I'm also going to cut out some of [my testimony] because you've heard about this from others already.
As you heard, Clear Channel Communications radio stations in three cities recently broadcasted talk show hosts and listeners encouraging violence against bicyclists. This also happened on a Clear Channel station in San Jose, California in 2001. What WDGC G105 did is advocate what amounts to assault with a deadly weapon or felony assault against bicyclists.
This reckless promotion of violence against bicyclists is reprehensible, and shows that Clear Channel stations are not operating in the public interest. Indeed, when one of the DJs in Cleveland was asked by the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper whether his show helped the public, he said in a recording of the show, "Well, quite frankly, I'm not here to serve the interests of the community. I'm serving my interests by being here."
The fact that Clear Channel has promoted violence against bicyclists on four separate radio stations demonstrates a pattern of behavior that clearly warrants FCC scrutiny. As the broadcasts promoted criminal behavior and the causing of physical harm to bicyclists, this matter goes beyond free speech issues to the heart of whether or not it is in the public interest to allow stations owned by this company to continue broadcasting.
The League of American Bicyclists urges the FCC to heed its own mandate and follow the lead of Commissioner Copps in ensuring that licenses are not renewed without examining how stations are serving their local communities.
Thank you very much for this opportunity for input.
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As quoted in a Reuters article published the same day, during the hearing FCC Chairman Powell said in response to bicyclists, "Our enforcement bureau did receive complaints at the end of September and is looking at that matter."