[grc] Questions about network radio and disinformation

[Katie Thornton]

*Hi GRC folks! *

My name is Katie Thornton, and I'm a
longtime-community-radio-person-turned-independent-reporter out of
Minneapolis. (Recent work has been run on/in the BBC, 99% Invisible,
Washington Post, Minnesota Public Radio, NPR, WNYC, National Geographic,
Atlas Obscura, KFAI, etc.). I started volunteering at KFAI in my home city
of Minneapolis as a teenager, interned at Prometheus back in 2013 (during
the LPFM window!), and went on to work at and with multiple different
community, college, and LPFM stations (and had the joy of attending at
least one GRC!) before transitioning over to freelance journalism and
writing work.

I'm posting here because I'm currently working on a part-investigative,
part-narrative mini-series about disinformation on network terrestrial
radio. The series seeks to uncover how the profitability of disinformation
and ideological motivations -- paired with the FCC’s ongoing deregulation
of the airwaves’ content and ownership -- have made the radio dial fertile
ground for the spread of disinformation. To do this, the series will look
at examples of how these large-scale issues play out for individuals; it
will share the intersecting personal stories of Americans on all sides of
the radio dial: a citizen (or group of citizens!) trying to stop the spread
of on-air conspiracies, executives and hosts from a large national radio
network rife with disinformation, and listeners who consume and are
occasionally driven to action by untruths heard over the airwaves. I've
been fortunate enough to get some support from an organization that helps
independent investigative journalists, as well as an NPR affiliate station
who will ultimately distribute the series.

I've been incredibly grateful that folks have been eager to share their
experiences and expertise with me thus far. However, I know that there are
many people doing work in this field, directly or indirectly, with whom I
have not yet been in touch. Given that LPFMs and NCEs have been a major way
that communities have been able to retain a degree of local control over
media as more and more of us lose local outlets, I wanted to turn to you
all with some questions. If you know of anyone who might be able to shed
some light on some of these questions -- or if you personally would like to
talk more -- I would love to speak with you. I'd love to hear from folks in
cities, small towns, or rural areas; however, given the prominence of
network stations in non-coastal regions and smaller markets (as well as my
own experience as a lifelong Midwesterner), I am especially hoping to hear
from folks in middle America and areas outside of major coastal cities.
Here are some of the questions I am hoping to hear from folks about right
now:

   - Do you hear information you know to be false on the airwaves
   (especially on network stations)? Specifically, have you heard
   disinformation about COVID-19 spread on the airwaves? How has talk radio
   influenced people's response to COVID where you live?
   - Have you heard speech that you would describe as hate speech over the
   airwaves?
   - Do you know of anyone (individuals or groups) -- or have you
   personally -- been trying to fight disinformation or hate speech you hear
   on the airwaves? How have you/they gone about this? Have you/they had any
   luck? For example, I recently spoke with someone in Montana who has been
   personally petitioning the FCC to try to stop the spread of
   disinformation on the airwaves. But I have a feeling she is not the only
   one out there.
   - Is your radio station doing any explicit work to combat the
   disinformation that may spread on other radio stations?
   - Has anyone in your life been driven to extreme ideological beliefs
   and/or action thanks to the influence of talk radio?
   - There are a few networks about which I'm particularly curious. Do you
   have any stations in your town/city/area that are run by Salem Media
   Network? Alternatively, are any stations in your town/city/area run by the
   Bott Radio Network, CSN (Christian Satellite Network), or American Family
   Radio?
   - Has your community had a locally-run station bought out and replaced
   by a station run by a large media network (such as one of those listed
   above)? If so, I'd love to ask you more about that change.

Thank you all so much. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you.
Please feel free to send me an email if you'd like to talk further -- or if
you'd like to ask me any questions about the project, my background, etc.

Thank you all again. I'm looking forward to talking. Take good care,

Katie

*Katie Thornton*
*Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow*
*www.itskatiethornton.com* <http://www.itskatiethornton.com>

*IG: @itskatiethornton <https://www.instagram.com/itskatiethornton/>*