speech and respect - College of Social Sciences and International ...
speech and respect - College of Social Sciences and International ...
speech and respect - College of Social Sciences and International ...
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The Poverty <strong>of</strong> Civil Libertarianism<br />
stations even refuse political advertisements. KFI-AM, the fifth largest<br />
radio station in Southern California, has done so because the<br />
FCC requires broadcasters to charge their lowest rate. All-news<br />
station KNX-AM, the third largest in the region, has rejected commercials<br />
for state legislators <strong>and</strong> judges, who cannot otherwise reach<br />
their local constituencies. 81<br />
Although the American media, unlike the British, simulates neutrality,<br />
greed quickly strips away this mask. The Gulf war coincided<br />
with the ratings sweeps, whose audience estimates determine future<br />
advertising revenue. After viewers wrote <strong>and</strong> telephoned KABC-TV<br />
in Los Angeles to denounce its coverage <strong>of</strong> anti-war protests the<br />
station adopted a policy <strong>of</strong> ignoring the demonstrations. Universities<br />
use their subsidy <strong>of</strong> student newspapers to control tone <strong>and</strong> content.<br />
82 The media decide how much attention to devote to c<strong>and</strong>idates.<br />
83 Just as Pravda compared market forces to Czarist repression,<br />
so Jerry Brown Americanised the metaphor when his 1992 campaign<br />
for the Democratic presidential nomination foundered: "We<br />
actually have a media <strong>and</strong> a party hierarchy that wants to shut down<br />
democratic debate. It reminds me <strong>of</strong> the Bolsheviks in Russia ....<br />
[They] would like to have one name on the ballot."<br />
Even if the media impartially reported news <strong>and</strong> accepted political<br />
advertising, electoral competition would reflect differences in market<br />
power. Just as lawyers' clients get as much justice as they can<br />
afford, so politicians get only that much publicity. Unable to pay<br />
network prices, Jerry Brown had to make do with $200 an hour<br />
public-access cable television. Another outsider, Ross Perot, could<br />
threaten to spend "whatever it takes" to win—although his business<br />
instincts convinced him to turn <strong>of</strong>f the spigot in July at $10 million. 84<br />
Three weeks before the November 1990 election Congressional<br />
incumbents had outspent challengers $214.8 million to $60 million<br />
<strong>and</strong> had twenty times as much left for the campaign's crucial last<br />
days. 96 per cent <strong>of</strong> House incumbents were re-elected (having<br />
outspent challengers 9:1) as were all incumbent Senators but one<br />
(having outspent challengers 3:1). California initiative battles displayed<br />
similar disparities that year: industry spent nearly five-times<br />
as much as public interest groups. The liquor lobby alone threw $28<br />
million into a battle against a tax that would finance health research<br />
<strong>and</strong> education. Two years earlier the insurance industry had lavished<br />
$75 million on resisting premium reductions. 85<br />
As audiences for mass entertainment grow, entrepreneurial efforts<br />
to anticipate <strong>and</strong> shape consumer preferences increasingly override<br />
creative independence. Film studios decide which treatments to turn<br />
54
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