Thread: Say Hello to the Diversity Czar

Say Hello to the Diversity Czar

Posted by Bobby Eberle
August 18, 2009 at 7:26 am


Ever since the Democrats took control of Congress, they have sought to take control of talk radio... or to be more precise, conservative talk radio. You see... on radio, the market place (yes, left-wingers hate the "market place") has spoken, and people love conservative talk radio. Not only that, but they hate liberal talk radio.

There have been multiple attempts to revive the so-called "fairness doctrine" by the Democrats which would force radio stations to carry left-wing talk shows whether the listening audience wanted them or not. These attempts were met with enough resistance, that the Democrats stopped trying to overtly bring back the "fairness doctrine." However, that simply means they are trying covert methods instead... thus, the creation of America's new "diversity czar" at the FCC... and this guy is a real doozy.


Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter yesterday to Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In it, Grassley expressed his concerns over the appointment of Mark Lloyd as the commission's associate general counsel and chief diversity officer. The senator "is concerned with the appointment due to Lloyd's writings on political talk radio and the Fairness Doctrine."

"The appointment of Mark Lloyd to be the Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer is at odds with assurances that the FCC would not reinstate the Fairness Doctrine that Mr. Genachowski made prior to his U.S. Senate confirmation," Grassley said. "I hope Mr. Genachowski stands by his word and reaffirms his commitment to me that the FCC won't be considering anything that accomplishes the goals of the Fairness Doctrine."

So, what is Mark Lloyd all about? As Grassley notes in his letter to the FCC chairman, Lloyd served as a Senior Fellow at the left-wing Center for American Progress. During his tenure, he helped author a paper titled The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio.

Lloyd and co-authors note, "Our analysis in the spring of 2007 of the 257 news/talk stations owned by the top five commercial station owners reveals that 91 percent of the total weekday talk radio programming is conservative, and 9 percent is progressive." Progressive? Give me a break. Even they are too afraid to use the word "liberal." Here are a few more notes by Lloyd and company:

* Each weekday, 2,570 hours and 15 minutes of conservative talk are broadcast on these stations compared to 254 hours of progressive talk—10 times as much conservative talk as progressive talk.

* A separate analysis of all of the news/talk stations in the top 10 radio markets reveals that 76 percent of the programming in these markets is conservative and 24 percent is progressive, although programming is more balanced in markets such as New York and Chicago.

Liberal (or progressive) talk radio has tried to gain an audience time and time again. People don't like it. They won't listen to it. And these radio stations can't make money during those time slots. So, the shows get canceled. Seems like a pretty simple formula, right?

Just look at the "remedy" for fixing the ills of conservative talk radio as proposed by Lloyd:

* Restore local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations.

* Ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing.

* Require commercial owners who fail to abide by enforceable public interest obligations to pay a fee to support public broadcasting.

Pay a fee to support public broadcasting? This is absolutely crazy, but it shows the liberal mind in action. If the American public won't support left-wing ideas through the market place, then the American public will "support" them through government radio. Forcing radio owners to pay fines to support public radio if they don't abide by "public interest obligations" is scary. Doesn't the public decide what's in the public interest?

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=1845

What the hell so sad!!! I cant believe how diversity is now a weapon against free speech!
BTW this is what I found last week on this

Here we go there going to try and shut down free speech!!! I guess if you can't beat em you shut em down!!

FCC's New Hire Targeted Conservative Radio Stations in Writings
Mark Lloyd, the FCC's new chief diversity officer, laid out a "battle plan" for liberal activists to target conservative talk radio stations in 2007.

The FCC's new chief diversity officer laid out a battle plan two years ago for liberal activists to target conservative talk radio stations, and critics say they are concerned that he now will want to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine."

Mark Lloyd, who was named the associate general counsel and chief diversity officer at the Federal Communications Commission last month, is under attack for authoring a June 2007 report entitled "The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio" and a subsequent essay, "Forget the Fairness Doctrine."

Adopted in 1949, the Fairness Doctrine held that broadcasters were obligated to provide opposing points of views on controversial issues of national importance. The policy was halted under the Reagan administration

Lloyd insists he does not support reinstatement of the doctrine, but critics suspect he has a hidden agenda to curtail conservative talk radio. They say Lloyd is the wrong person for his new post.

Seton Motley, director of communications for the Media Research Center, said Lloyd instructed liberals to file complaints against conservative stations in "Forget the Fairness Doctrine."

"What he lays out is a battle plan to use the FCC to threaten stations' licenses with whom they do not agree with politically, and now he's at the FCC waiting to take their calls," Motley told FOXNews.com. "This is not about serving the local interest, it's about political opposition."

Lloyd, who wrote the essay during his tenure at the Center for American Progress, said the rise and influence of Rush Limbaugh and other conservative radio hosts were traced to "relaxed ownership rules" and other pro-business regulation that destroyed localism.

While he said he was not interested in reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, he called for "equal opportunity employment practices," "local engagement" and "license challenges" to rectify the that perceived imbalance. "Nothing in there about the Fairness Doctrine," he wrote.

"The other part of our proposal that gets the 'dittoheads' upset is our suggestion that the commercial radio station owners either play by the rules or pay. In other words, if they don't want to be subject to local criticism of how they are meeting their license obligations, they should pay to support public broadcasters who will operate on behalf of the local community."

In February, a report in the American Spectator said aides to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., met with FCC staff to discuss ways to re-enact Fairness Doctrine policies and to apply them to the Internet as well. Both the FCC and Waxman's office denied the report.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said at the time that President Obama opposed any move to bring back the policy. He reiterated that position to FOXNews.com on Monday.

While Obama continues to oppose the Fairness Doctrine publicly, Lloyd's appointment has some critics worried. Motley said the not-so-subtle move is "frightening."

"You read his essay and he's incessantly attacked Rush Limbaugh," Motley said. "He doesn't like conservative talk -- and now he's an official at the weapon to shut down conservative talk radio."

Lloyd, who declined to be interviewed at length for this story, told FOXNews.com there are "no plans or interest" in reinstating the policy.

The FCC confirmed that stance but refused to address Lloyd's prior statements.

In a statement, the commission said: "The FCC agenda does not include reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine or in any way censoring speech based on political views and opinions. ...

"The FCC's interest in promoting diversity goes back to core principles underlying the First Amendment. Our nation benefits from a vibrant marketplace of ideas representing different points of view. [Lloyd] will help ensure that the communications field is competitive and generates widespread opportunities."

Representatives from media watchdog groups Free Press and Media Matters declined to comment for this story. Officials at the Center for American Progress, the liberal think tank where Lloyd previously worked, also declined repeated requests for comment.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi announced Lloyd's hiring late last month along with two other senior staffers in its Office of Communications Business Opportunities.

"The FCC must ensure that the communications field is competitive, generates widespread opportunities, and is open to new ideas from all sources," Genachowksi said in a statement announcing the hires on July 29. "This exceptionally talented team will collaborate on the policies and legal framework necessary to expand opportunities for women, minorities, and small businesses to participate in the communications marketplace."

Prior to joining the FCC, Lloyd most recently served as vice president for strategic initiatives at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights/Education Fund, where he specialized in media and telecommunications. Lloyd has also served as an adjunct professor of public policy at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute and taught communications policy as a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lloyd, who worked at NBC and CNN as a broadcast journalist prior to becoming a communications attorney, has also worked as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and as general counsel at the Benton Foundation, a nonprofit organization aiming to ensure that media serve the public interest and enhance democracy.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08 ... -stations/
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The insanity continues!!!!

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