May government agency stop using radio station asofficial channelfor emergency information beca

Wed Jun 13 16:54:35 PDT 2007

The problem apparently is that some local stations were cutting away from local government announcements to cover announcements from Tallahasee or Miami, and other local stations did not want to interrupt their regular programming to carry local announcements (often long press conference kinds of things, I think) in their entirety. So the local govt contracted with the station for the station to carry the announcements in their entirety no matter how much that might interrupt the station's regular programming.

Mark Scarberry
Pepperdine

________________________________

From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu on behalf of Paul Finkelman
Sent: Wed 6/13/2007 2:02 PM
To: guayiya at bellsouth.net; randy-bezanson at uiowa.edu
Cc: VOLOKH at law.ucla.edu; CONLAWPROF at lists.ucla.edu
Subject: Re: May government agency stop using radio station asofficial channelfor emergency information beca

I do not understand why Rush would want to be involved with a station
that either takes government money (more big government) or worse yet,
asks for free time from the radio station for its public service
announcements (even Bigger government) or even worse still, compels the
station to run the ad (really BAD BIG Government).  Rush should not have
his speech corrupted by an intrusive big government interfering with his
program and interrupting his free speech with government propaganda. 

On, a perhaps more serious note, shouldn't the govt. put these
announcements on ALL stations?

Paul Finkelman

Paul Finkelman
President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law
     and Public Policy
Albany Law School
80 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, New York   12208-3494

518-445-3386
pfink at albanylaw.edu
>>> guayiya <guayiya at bellsouth.net> 06/13/07 4:06 PM >>>
A practical point, which may have constitutional implications:
Radio markets are of course extremely fragmented.  There are quite a few

people who will not be listening or want to listen to a station that
broadcasts Rush Limbaugh.  To say that I must stay tuned to this station

in order to receive vital emergency information seems highly repugnant
and could violate my right not to listen to his political messages.
Public service announcements need to reach as widely as possible, and it

seems deeply irrational to choose a single station that many or most
people predictably will not hear.  The rational solution is a public
channel dedicated to emergency warnings, with a signal that can advise
those listening to all other stations to tune into that channel.
Daniel Hoffman

Bezanson, Randall P wrote:

>My instinct is that unless to airing of Limbaugh somehow affects the
government's speech (credibility, for example), the government may not
do what Eugene describes.  While as speak the government can state its
own view to the exclusion of others, it can't act unreasonably to use
it's speech authority to censor or to influence specific content aired
by a private broadcaster.
>
>Randy Bezanson
>
>________________________________
>
>From: conlawprof-bounces at lists.ucla.edu on behalf of Volokh, Eugene
>Sent: Wed 6/13/2007 12:18 PM
>To: CONLAWPROF at lists.ucla.edu
>Subject: May government agency stop using radio station as official
channelfor emergency information because the station broadcasts
RushLibmaugh?
>
>
>
>May a government agency stop using radio station as official channel
for
>emergency information because the station broadcasts Rush Libmaugh?  Is
>this unconstitutional under Board of County Comm'rs v. Umbehr, because
>it's discrimination in contracting based on the contractor's political
>speech?
>
>Or is this different because the case involves government speech, and
>the government as speaker is entitled to choose which publication it
>uses for its speech even based on the publication's other speech?  I
>think a couple of cases have held such discrimination in placement of
>official notices in newspapers is unconstitutional, but are they
>correct?
>
>Eugene
>
>http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-churricane13jun13,0,4
>183214.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
>
> Rush Limbaugh has long been a thorn in the side of liberals, but now,
>because of him, some Democratic politicians don't even want to join
with
>a local radio station to broadcast hurricane information.
>
>Radio station WIOD, AM 610, has been the official channel for emergency
>information from Broward County government for the past year. The
County
>Commission, all Democrats, balked at renewing the deal Tuesday, unable
>to stomach the station also being home to Limbaugh's talk show.
>
>Commissioner Stacy Ritter said she did not want to support a station
>that's out of step with area politics. Ritter, a Democratic stalwart in
>the state Legislature before being elected to county office, cited talk
>shows hosted by Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and WIOD's partnership with
>Fox News.
>
>"They have every right to speak, but we don't have to do business with
>them," she said.
>
>Limbaugh has long been a fixture on WIOD, but no county official raised
>an issue about him or the other shows when the deal was approved for
the
>first time a year ago.
>
>The deal with WIOD would ensure that news conferences are broadcast
>start to finish live from the county Emergency Operations Center in
>Plantation. Emergency managers became concerned during hurricanes in
>2004 and 2005 that radio and television stations preempted their
>announcements in favor of news out of Miami.
>
>Limbaugh, who lives in Palm Beach, could not be reached for comment.
Ken
>Charles, WIOD's director of AM programming, said the station's talk
show
>lineup has no relationship with its news coverage and that the county
>should focus on the benefits of teaming with the station.
>
>"It's a shame that people would let politics get in the way of saving
>lives in a hurricane," Charles said.
>
>The contract with WIOD was on the verge of being rejected when
>commissioners instead delayed a decision until next week. They told
>their communications staff they want more information on why WIOD was
>recommended and what their options are.
>
>Ritter's concerns were echoed by Commissioners Ken Keechl, a former
>president of the Dolphins gay Democratic club, and Suzanne Gunzburger,
>who served on the vote-tallying board that recounted the 2000
>presidential election.
>
>But Commissioner John Rodstrom, a one-time young Republican leader who
>later became a Democrat, said the county should not politicize
emergency
>management.
>
>"If we are going to start censoring what people write in the paper or
>speak on the radio or television, that's a slippery slope," Rodstrom
>said. "This is necessary. It's something we need to do for emergency
>response."
>
>A county task force that looked into the response to Hurricane Wilma
>listed finding a radio partner among its recommendations last year.
>
>Judy Sarver, the county's public communications director, said WFTL and
>WLRN also offered to take on the role, but that she and other emergency
>planners preferred WIOD because of its signal strength, numerous FM
>sister stations and willingness to give Broward top play.
>_______________________________________________
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