[grc] Questions about network radio and disinformation

[Spencer Graves]

Hi, Katie et al.:


KATIE:  What have you done to look for locations with the most 
Conservative, pro-Trump, anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers?  Then just go 
there and go to places where people congregate, and ask friendly 
questions about what they believe and where they get their information? 
  You may want to wait until COVID is much better controlled before you 
do this in person.  However, without physically going there, you you 
might be able to contact community centers, senior centers, etc., via 
phone and email in such areas.  With luck, you can get people to talk 
with you via something like Zoom and record the sessions.


	  The literature I've found credible suggests that Internet companies 
that make money from clicks has driven most of the increase in political 
polarization worldwide since Facebook appeared in 2004.  See, e.g.:


https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/International_Conflict_Observatory#Change_the_incentives_for_internet_and_other_media_companies


	  However, contacting senior centers and community centers and trying 
to arrange virtual meetings with Conservatives should help you 
understand what percent of people are driving by Internet companies vs. 
radio, television, and other sources.


	  Regarding radio, the literature I find most persuasive traces that to 
the rise of Conservative talk radio after the repeal of the FCC fairness 
doctrine:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_fairness_doctrine


	  However, I trace that to the change in the editorial policies of the 
mainstream commercial broadcasters in the US to fire nearly all the 
investigative journalists and replace them with the police blotter: 
People thought that crime was out of control, when there had been no 
substantive change in crime.  They voted in a generation of politicians 
devoted to getting tough on crime, who then increased the incarceration 
rate in the US from 0.1 percent of the population to 0.5 percent:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rate#Editorial_policies_of_major_media


	  Hope this helps.
	  Spencer Graves
	

On 10/20/21 10:35 AM, Katie Thornton via grc wrote:
> *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/>*
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