[grc] Questions about network radio and disinformation
Katie Thornton
itskatiethornton at gmail.com
Wed Oct 20 13:16:08 PDT 2021
Thank you all for the responses. It looks like I am not receiving replies
unless I was directly CC'd -- but I am replying now to those I received.
Thank you and take care,
Katie
*Katie Thornton*
*Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow*
*www.itskatiethornton.com* <http://www.itskatiethornton.com>
*IG: @itskatiethornton <https://www.instagram.com/itskatiethornton/>*
On Wed, Oct 20, 2021 at 1:15 PM Spencer Graves <
spencer.graves at effectivedefense.org> wrote:
> 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/>*
> > _______________________________________________
> > grc mailing list
> > grc at maillist.peak.org
> > http://maillist.peak.org/mailman/listinfo/grc
> >
>
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