Selective Channel

pstrong* Strategy Session: Community actvists respond to current McCarthyism in the radio airwavesbr /br / by Dae-Han Song /strong/p p*..DAVID DAVEY D WAS FIRED!.by Corporate radio moguls Clear Channel Communications from his post as Community Affairs Directorbr / br /by Jeff Chang/p pDIV align="left" TABLE cellpadding="5"TR VALIGN="TOP"TDIMG SRC= "../sites/default/files/arch_img/521/photo_2_supplement.jpg" //td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TD/td/trTR VALIGN="TOP"TDTR VALIGN="TOP"TD pby Staff Writer/p pbSTRATEGY SESSION:Community actvists respond to current McCarthyism in the radio airwaves /bbr /br / by Dae-Han Song/p pOn Saturday October 13th, in a packed room in the Oakland YWCA, representatives from Books not Bars, Let's Get Free, POOR Magazine, Media Alliance and Solid Thoughts met together with other community members to strategize ways to fight against the increasing McCarthyism emerging after the September 11th tragedy that had led to the firing of David D. During this strategizing meeting among community activists, David D made an appearance and stressed the importance of a strategized approach to protesting, warning of short-lived protests that begin and end with picket lines./p pThis coalition not only strategized ways of getting David D rehired, but also saw this as an opportunity for the community to reclaim the radiowaves. The resolution statement, in addition to demanding that David D be rehired, demanded local play for local artists and community access to corporate dominated radiowaves, by means of community shows. To meet these goals, those present planned to launch a massive publicity campaign that would include bumperstickers, flyers, and most importantly the strength in word of mouth. /p pb**.DAVID DAVEY D WAS FIRED**/bbr / br /By Jeff Chang/p pMost of you may know his work as a committed young progressive activist ofbr / color and one of the most articulate, sensitive voices for young people outbr / there today. He's developed a national reputation in over 15 years of beingbr / on the radio, and his show and his activism have given voice to the unheardbr / at some of the most important junctures in this generation's recent memory:br / the LA rebellion and its aftermath, the deaths of Tupac and Biggie, and nowbr / the war. He's spoken honestly and forthrightly for peace and forbr / consciousness./p pIt's really ironic that Clear Channel would fire him now. This is thebr / company that, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks out of its west coastbr / division, assembled a list of songs that whose lyrics were deemedbr / "sensitive"--songs which reportedly included John Lennon's "Imagine", Catbr / Stevens/Yusuf Islam's "Peace Train" and the entire Rage Against the Machinebr / catalog. /p pIn its efforts to counter-spin media outrage about this alleged blacklist,br / Clear Channel helped coordinate a Relief Fund that has raised millions ofbr / dollars to go toward relief efforts and the families of those who are nowbr / jobless because of the attacks./p pClear Channel is now eliminating the Community Affairs Director position atbr / KMEL, despite a requirement by the FCC that commercial stations havebr / community affairs programming. The future of such programming is in doubt./p pMake no mistake. While most commercial stations have treated communitybr / affairs as a stepchild in the early hours of the weekend, making itbr / impossible for folks to reach an audience, Davey D set a high standard bybr / making his show an open talk-oriented show geared towards young persons ofbr / color./p pHe took on controversial topics, hosted controversial guests (most recentlybr / Barbara Lee and Boots Riley of The Coup), even had folks like Hillarybr / Clinton come and pay respect. It was a program people talked about on Mondaybr / morning, and many other urban stations modeled their community affairsbr / programs after his./p pImagine a Rush Limbaugh type show, but geared towards a progressive, youngbr / set. Don't progressives always moan and groan about how we wish we had this?br / Well, Davey's been doing it, for over 15 years, around a decade at KMEL. Inbr / recent years, honest, reliable, truthful community radio outlets have beenbr / harder and harder to come by as media monopolization and community radiobr / in-fighting has intensified./p pIf you're as outraged as I am about the decimation of forward-thinking,br / challenging, truthful, youth-of-color-focused radio, here's what you can do!/p p*Call KMEL's General Manager Joe Cunningham at b415.538.1061/bbr /br / *or send an email to:bjoecunningham@clearchannel.com/bbr /br / * If you do send an email, send a hard copy ofbr / the letter to:br /br / Joe Cunningham, KMEL General Managerbr /br / 340 Townsend Stbr /br / San Francisco, CAbr /br / 94107/p pPeace.br / /p/td/tr/td/tr/table/div/p