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Smyth: 'Why Doesn't Washington Like Free Radio?'
BRAINTREE, MA -- June 30, 2008: In his "Corner Office" column on the Greater Media website, company President/CEO Peter Smyth asks in the headline, "Why Doesn't Washington Like Free Radio?"
Smyth says he's been calling on members of Congress to explain why -- despite the conditional backing of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin -- an approval of the XM-Sirius merger would be "devastating both to terrestrial radio and to the public interest." He says merger approval would "stand in opposition to everything free radio stands for."
Smyth continues, "Our political leaders obviously understand the breadth of our reach and the depth of our impact on our audience in a given day. Why else would they buy time on our stations to get elected to office?"
But despite that, he says, "instead of working with us, some members of Congress and the FCC continue to challenge the radio industry to prove that we are 'worthy' of keeping our licenses." He goes on, "I find it absurd. I challenge them to leave the Beltway for a day and go into the heartland. I invite them to visit Iowa and New Orleans and see firsthand where our listeners live and the beneficial role radio serves in providing a lifeline to the people."
Smyth says he's been "heartened" by the FCC commissioners and lawmakers who have met with him, but adds, "I am weary from listening to the many politicians and bureaucrats in Washington, DC, who do not appreciate the contributions our industry makes to our communities or the problems we face in this challenging economy."
He points out that local, free radio represents "every demographic and every community in the nation," employs hundreds of thousands of people, delivers local news and information every day, and raises hundreds of millions for charities every year and asks, "How in the world did we become the bad guys?"
Read the whole column here.
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