Chafee Talk Radio Ban is Much More Than Blah, Blah, Blah
Friday, January 14, 2011
So there are all kinds of bans. Some more serious than others. There’s the assault weapons ban, smoking bans, and of course this week, we had tons of parking bans in Rhode Island. But, this archaic decision by Governor Chafee to “ban” talk radio appearances for his staff, himself and all state workers really makes you shake your head and say “what the hell is going on over on Smith Hill.”
And now we hear that Governor feels it's also up to the advertisers on talk radio to also do their part. He says advertisers should shut down the hosts who he says fill the airwaves with divisive talk and negativity. Chafee cited one example against him saying in 2006 one columnist wrote "they shot the wrong Lincoln." Granted that was a tad bit over the line – but an all-out ban on talk radio?
Because of all this chatter - Little Rhody has now gone national. A Goggle search confirms it. Type in “Rhode Island Governor Talk Radio Ban” and faster than you can say “let’s go to the callers” you are slammed with stories from all across the country. Here’s just a short list:
• ABC News
• Politics Daily
• Drudge Report
• National Review
• TheDailyConservative.NET
• USATODAY.COM
On the left and the right, the story is making big headlines and it makes this state look so amateur. The Governor says the reason for the ban is that in the early days of his administration he doesn’t want his staff distracted by going from one talk radio show to the next. Oh, like there are so many live local shows that would constantly be wanting to hear from these government types. Let’s see, lets count them. DePetro, Yorke, Cianci, Allen, and Glover. That would 5 talk show hosts. Not 55. Governor Chafee also seemed to back-peddle a bit as well. First it was an all-out ban, now, it may only be temporary and certain state leaders can go on shows during emergencies or to get out public information.
Chafee says talk radio is nothing more than ratings-driven babbling that only promotes negativity. Yes they are all ratings driven but it is the one place where he and others can go and talk directly to the people in one of the most unfiltered forms of media we have. Will he like the questions all the time? No, he won’t but he didn’t run for church bazaar director – he ran for GOVERNOR and now more than ever we need to hear from elected officials about the state of our state. Plus, you would think he would welcome the opportunity to go on different shows to get his agenda out and spin it his way. Our former Governor was a big advocate for talk radio. Did he have his friends there – some who went harder on him than others – for sure, but, again at the end of the day it’s about access for you and listening to what the CEO of this state is doing for you.
ACLU IS WATCHING
Steve Brown, head of the RI chapter of the ACLU tells GoLocalProv he'll wait to see the Governor's policy officially in writing but if it goes too far there could be an anti-First Amendment issue. "The Governor has the right to say what employees do on work time - not calling in - but if the policy extends past work time and say lunch breaks then that certainly raises a first amendment issue," said Brown.
Governor Chafee says he will continue to talk to the news departments of WPRO and WHJJ, and other news organizations in town. But one has to wonder is there any conflict with his decision to talk so freely with the Providence Journal. You may remember a GoLocalProv investigation on October 25, 2010 which highlighted Chafee’s family stake in the Providence Journal. A 2007 disclosure form (for the 2006 Congressional year) showed that Chafee’s immediate family had a minimum of $3-million dollars in ownership of Belo stock, the Dallas media company that owns the Providence Journal.
The point here is that it makes the Governor look petty by not agreeing to appear on these shows and also makes it seem like he picks and chooses what media he talks to and it all depends on the day or the headline.
And if he doesn't like talk radio because he sees them as an adversary and always against him, perhaps he should consider the old line that's been uttered by more than politician around here many times...keep your friends close - and your enemies closer. Meaning embrace the talk show hosts - don't run from them. Because they are just like dogs sometimes - the more you try to run - the more they want to chase.
Jeff Derderian is a former television news reporter and anchor both in Providence and Boston. He is one of the founders of the Station Education Fund. He can be reached at [email protected]
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