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KSFO and Disney/ABC try to censor blogger to protect profits for hate talk
KSFO and Disney/ABC are trying to censor http://www.spockosbrain.com/ for publishing clips of hate talk and then notifying advertisers of the hate talk they were supporting with their ad dollars. He used quotes that recommended a protester be "stomped to death right there," one saying of Pelosi, "We've got a bull's-eye painted on her big laughing eyes," and another that asked, "Why don't you right now say Allah is a whore." Spockos's campaign is working. Bank of America, Mastercard, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp have all pulled adverstising and now KSFO/Disney/ABC are hopping mad and have had their lawyers send Spocko's ISP a letter asking that his site be pulled down so that he could no longer post clips from their hateful and violence-inciting broadcasts. Fortunately, someone else has taken those clips and posted them across the internet (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw5Ga6nC7nY and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCcY5LrCMSA&NR). Today at noon, in a big freak-out response (or a cynical ratings ploy), KSFO will pre-empt regular programming to allow the KSFO personalities cited in Spocko's e-mails to answer questions on-air about the controversy from the public.
more:
Trying to censor blogger
Owner of conservative radio station KSFO demands liberal critic quit using audio clips
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A series of events involving a local liberal blogger, a San Francisco conservative radio station and the reaction of two of the larger corporate advertisers in the country -- Bank of America and MasterCard -- is revealing how slippery freedom of speech has become in the digital age.
The tale of Spocko, a self-described "fifth-tier" blogger who lives in San Francisco, exemplifies how one person with a computer and an Internet hookup can challenge the views of a major media corporation -- and what a media corporation will do to stop him.
For the past year, Spocko has been e-mailing advertisers of KSFO-AM with audio clips from its shows and asking sponsors to examine what they're supporting. Some sponsors have pulled their ads, after hearing clips like one of KSFO's Lee Rodgers suggesting that a protester be "stomped to death right there. Just stomp their bleeping guts out."
Now, bloggers and media freedom advocates are concerned about the legal reaction from Disney/ABC-owned KSFO. Shortly before Christmas, an ABC lawyer demanded that Spocko remove audio clips from his blog on the grounds that Spocko's posting of KSFO content was illegal. Digital freedom advocates counter that the clips constitute fair use and worry that critical voices could be silenced by corporations threatening legal action for violation of copyright law.
...
Spocko said it would be dangerous to dismiss the comments he's heard on KSFO as the sort of ratings-boosting hyperbole endemic to talk radio, even if it's uttered in the name of entertainment.
"It's entertainment until somebody is attacked," Spocko said. "Until it crosses the line, which I think this does."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/11/MNGHLNGH2N1.DTL&type=printable
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even more:
KSFO reacts to blogger's actions
TALK-SHOW RECORDINGS SENT TO ADVERTISERS
Brad Kava
Mercury News
The local hosts of talk radio station KSFO-AM (560) will take phone calls and answer questions today from noon to 3 p.m. in an extraordinary response to a lone blogger who has been recording their at-times offensive and violent diatribes and sending them to advertisers.
Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, Officer Vic and Brian Sussman will participate in the "no-holds barred broadcast.''
The anonymous blogger, who goes by "Spocko'' and hosts a site at http://www.spockosbrain.com, has been picked up by liberal political sites across the country and has had more of an effect on the station than years of protests.
...
Trying to censor blogger
Owner of conservative radio station KSFO demands liberal critic quit using audio clips
Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A series of events involving a local liberal blogger, a San Francisco conservative radio station and the reaction of two of the larger corporate advertisers in the country -- Bank of America and MasterCard -- is revealing how slippery freedom of speech has become in the digital age.
The tale of Spocko, a self-described "fifth-tier" blogger who lives in San Francisco, exemplifies how one person with a computer and an Internet hookup can challenge the views of a major media corporation -- and what a media corporation will do to stop him.
For the past year, Spocko has been e-mailing advertisers of KSFO-AM with audio clips from its shows and asking sponsors to examine what they're supporting. Some sponsors have pulled their ads, after hearing clips like one of KSFO's Lee Rodgers suggesting that a protester be "stomped to death right there. Just stomp their bleeping guts out."
Now, bloggers and media freedom advocates are concerned about the legal reaction from Disney/ABC-owned KSFO. Shortly before Christmas, an ABC lawyer demanded that Spocko remove audio clips from his blog on the grounds that Spocko's posting of KSFO content was illegal. Digital freedom advocates counter that the clips constitute fair use and worry that critical voices could be silenced by corporations threatening legal action for violation of copyright law.
...
Spocko said it would be dangerous to dismiss the comments he's heard on KSFO as the sort of ratings-boosting hyperbole endemic to talk radio, even if it's uttered in the name of entertainment.
"It's entertainment until somebody is attacked," Spocko said. "Until it crosses the line, which I think this does."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/11/MNGHLNGH2N1.DTL&type=printable
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
even more:
KSFO reacts to blogger's actions
TALK-SHOW RECORDINGS SENT TO ADVERTISERS
Brad Kava
Mercury News
The local hosts of talk radio station KSFO-AM (560) will take phone calls and answer questions today from noon to 3 p.m. in an extraordinary response to a lone blogger who has been recording their at-times offensive and violent diatribes and sending them to advertisers.
Lee Rodgers, Melanie Morgan, Officer Vic and Brian Sussman will participate in the "no-holds barred broadcast.''
The anonymous blogger, who goes by "Spocko'' and hosts a site at http://www.spockosbrain.com, has been picked up by liberal political sites across the country and has had more of an effect on the station than years of protests.
...
For more information:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews...
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