Gary look closely at the part about the Dixie Chicks, and see what
their manager told Congress (Clear Channel got a bad rap for the
boycott of Dixie Chicks rumor).
Clear Channel Facts
MYTH: Clear Channel radio stations banned air-play of Madonna after
political comments.
FACT: According to statistics from Mediabase, Clear Channel radio
stations have played Madonna songs 18,290 times accounting for 26%
of all radio airplay of her new CD, "Confessions On A Dancefloor."
This percentage is in line with the average percentage of airplay
(26.9%) that she has received on Clear Channel stations for previous
releases.
MYTH: Clear Channel radio stations banned air-play of the Dixie
Chicks after political comments.
FACT: The radio company that banned the Dixie Chicks was Cumulus
Media, not Clear Channel. That company also hosted the CD-smashing
ceremony outside its Atlanta, Ga. headquarters, during which
bulldozers crushed the group's CDs. Simon Renshaw, the Dixie Chicks'
manager, told the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee in July that Clear
Channel Communications did not ban the group's music and had
received a "bad rap."
In reality, and in response to forceful and overwhelming demands
from local listeners, some Clear Channel radio stations increased
airplay of the group's music in the weeks after Natalie Maines made
her comments; other Clear Channel radio stations temporarily
suspended airplay.
In fact, according to Mediabase's Airplay Monitor service, Clear
Channel Radio played Dixie Chicks songs more often - a full 10,069
times - than any other major radio broadcaster in the two weeks
following the statement by Natalie Maines.
Clear Channel Radio stations are programmed, operated and managed
locally based on extensive audience research. Local managers make
their own decisions about programming and community events.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio banned The Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty's The
Last DJ, Rage Against the Machine and John Lennon's Imagine.
FACT: Clear Channel Radio does not issue mandates with regard to
individual artists or songs. Clear Channel Radio stations are
managed and programmed locally based on extensive audience research.
In all four cases, Clear Channel radio stations play these songs or
artists more times than any other radio company.
Corporate Facts
MYTH: Clear Channel endangered the public in Minot, N.D. because it
didn't have anyone at its stations in the overnight hours.
FACT: The public-notification failures connected with the Minot
train derailment were a direct result of the local authorities'
failure to install their Emergency Alert System equipment. Clear
Channel absolutely had staff working that night and Clear Channel
employees went above and beyond their professional responsibilities
in responding to this serious situation, during and after the
incident occurred.
Clear Channel Sets the Record Straight About Aftermath of Minot,
North Dakota Train Derailment.
Radio Facts
MYTH: Consolidation in the radio industry is at dangerous levels.
FACT: Radio is the least consolidated segment of the media industry -
- by far according to The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, the metric
often cited by the Department of Justice. Specifically, the top-5
music companies account for 85% of that industry's market share; the
top-8 film companies account for 84%; the top-10 cable companies
account for 67%; the top 6 ad agencies companies account for 65%;
and the top-10 radio companies account for 43%.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio dominates radio in the United States.
FACT: There are more than 13,000 radio stations in the United States
and 3,800 station owners. Clear Channel Communications owns just 9%
of U.S. radio stations and represents only 18% of the industry's
revenue.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio stations are used as a platform for senior
management's political agendas and ideologies.
FACT: Clear Channel Radio is not operated according to any political
agenda or ideology. Local managers make their own decisions about
programming and community events. Clear Channel Radio employs
approximately 250 local General Managers, 750 local Sales Managers,
and 900 local Program Directors. Managers are measured on their
ability to drive listenership by intimately understanding what
audiences want to hear and delivering that.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio restricts airplay of new artists and new
music.
FACT: Clear Channel Radio has steadily increased the number of
unique songs and unique artists played on its radio stations,
according to airplay monitoring service Mediabase. Between 2001 and
2005, Clear Channel Radio increased the number of unique songs by
29,330 and the number of unique artists by 5,478.
Clear Channel Radio stations are programmed locally using extensive
audience research -- our genres and playlists reflect the changing
tastes and demands of those listeners. Clear Channel Radio currently
has more than 35 different programming genres across the U.S., and
each is further tailored for the local market.
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Unique songs per year 41478 44190 48435 58197 70808
Unique artists per year 8641 9176 9933 12085 14119
Source: Mediabase Airplay Monitoring Service
MYTH: Clear Channel is not committed to local news.
FACT: Clear Channel Radio is committed to providing communities with
the highest quality local news. Specifically, Clear Channel Radio
has 110 news bureaus employing approximately 500 local news
reporters focused on the gathering, support, and production of local
news throughout the country. In addition, the Clear Channel News
Network and Clear Channel News Wire service are focused on providing
small, medium and large size markets with locally focused news.
Clear Channel Radio also partners with other local and national
media outlets to bring its communities the highest quality local
news, including local television stations, newspapers, as well as
major Television Networks such as ABC and NBC news.
Due to Clear Channel Radio's extensive news operations and large
number of in-market reporters in middle and small-sized markets
throughout the U.S., Clear Channel Radio's news correspondents are
often the first to report major local news developments that gain
national attention. For example, the local Clear Channel Radio news
reports and feeds were picked up by both CNN and ABC News for the
first three hours after the Columbia Shuttle disaster -- from
Houston, Cape Canaveral and Nacogdoches, Texas -- until the national
networks could get correspondents to those sites. Clear Channel
Radio also had an embedded reporter in Iraq.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio restricts playlists and issues corporate
mandates.
FACT: Clear Channel does not issue mandates with regard to
individual artists, songs or playlists. Clear Channel Radio stations
are managed and programmed locally based on extensive audience
research.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio beams homogenized programming from central
locations.
FACT: Radio is a local business and Clear Channel radio stations are
managed and programmed locally based on extensive audience research.
It's why we employ 900 local Program Directors.
MYTH: Clear Channel Radio programming relies on air talent imported
from outside local markets.
FACT: Clear Channel focuses on local personalities and local
information. Air talent importations constitute less than 9% of our
total programming using popular personalities with broad appeal. The
majority of voice tracking relies on on-air personalities within the
local market, broadcast in the overnight hours.
MYTH: Clear Channel organized pro-war rallies.
FACT: Clear Channel Radio local managers make their own decisions
about programming and community events including rallies to thank
and support those in their communities who serve in the armed
forces. At the urging of their listeners, a few (approximately 1%)
of these local managers chose to have their stations participate in
pro-troop rallies. The corporate offices of Clear Channel
Communications were not directly involved. Other radio groups with
stations who sponsored Rallies for America include: Infinity
Broadcasting (owned by Viacom), Cox Radio, Federated Media and
Susquehanna Media.
Outdoor Facts
MYTH: Clear Channel Outdoor rejected ad copy from Project Billboard
because it didn't agree with its political message.
FACT: Politics plays absolutely no role in reviewing ad copy. In
fact, Clear Channel Outdoor actively work with groups across the
political spectrum to help them reach their target audiences. That
said, we reserve the right to reject any copy that would be
offensive to a local community.
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