URL watching -- Clear Channel Sucks

Source: The San Diego Reader.

According to the site's homepage, Clear Channel owns over 1200 radio stations and 37 television stations, while Clear Channel Entertainment (under the business name SFX) runs over 200 U.S. concert venues. This monopolization became possible after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was passed, which reduced the limits on how many stations any one broadcast group could own.

"This powerful company has grown unchecked, using their monopoly to control the entire music industry," warns the homepage. "If you find this alarming, ClearChannelSucks.org is the place for you."

Launched in August 2002, much of the site's content comes from newspaper and website articles. An August 2002 piece by Eric Boehlert (first posted at Salon.com) entitled "Radio's Titan Hits the Skids" details the $8 billion company's recent stock problems (Clear Channel's stock lost 25 percent of its value in August after radio division chief Randy Michaels stepped down), as well as the Spanish Broadcasting System lawsuit, which is suing over alleged antitrust violations.

Clint Sharp, the site's operator, wrote to me via e-mail, "I am a Republican, in fact I voted straight down party lines today; however, I am in favor of government overseeing industries which affect what we see and hear."

Sharp says the Arkansas-based site has had over 296,000 hits to date and that the hardest aspect of maintaining the website is keeping up with the latest news. When asked if he is familiar with Clear Channel's recent activities in San Diego, he replied, "Only about their buying of Mexican stations...[which exceeds] the FCC limits."

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) still limits how many U.S. businesses can be owned by one corporation.

"Rumors have it that they are broadcasting outside of their license limits from Mexico, but the Mexican government simply chooses to ignore it. In my opinion, their practices in San Diego are shady and outside the spirit of the law and regulations at best."

Sharp believes there's little chance he'll be sued by Clear Channel.

"We feel there is a good amount of legal precedent now for sites like ours. Sucks500.com has had two domains -- lockheedmartinsucks.com and michaelbloombergsucks.com -- enter into arbitration by people who felt like their trademarks were being infringed upon. They [the sites] were successful on both occasions at keeping their domain. Bally's Fitness sued the owner of ballysfitnesssucks.com in federal court for trademark infringement and lost. We are not making money off this site or attempting to dilute Clear Channel's trademark in any way."

By clicking on "What Can I Do," site visitors are encouraged to "find out which stations in your area are Clear Channel stations. Then stop listening to those stations." Sharp particularly urges support for Senator Russell Feingold's Competition in Radio and Concert Industries Act, which he put forward in June. The act seeks to put a freeze on Clear Channel's monopolization of the radio and concert industries and bans anticompetitive behavior (with the penalty being revocation of radio broadcast licenses).