Feature Archives

On November 8th, Bill O'Reilly went on KNEW-910AM and used the public airwaves to condone a terrorist strike on San Francisco. He suggested that Al Qaeda specifically blow up Coit Tower - which is dedicated as a memorial to fallen firefighters. O'Reilly said, "And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not gonna do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You wanna blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead." These comments were roundly criticized by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors Daly and Peskin, John Hanley (President of the San Francisco Firefighters Union Local 798), local journalists at KRON, the SF Chronicle, CBS-5, and many community activists.

Media activists feel that this is one more reason why people should take action now to deny KNEW's license renewal. This can be done by going to http://www.bethemedia.org to print, sign and mail an Informal Objection to the FCC and the Station Owner before November 30, 2005. These letters can help to make the FCC aware of Clear Channel/KNEW's pattern of broadcasting anti-American hate speech on the public airwaves. The Be the Media Website also has sample letters and background about struggles against Clear Channel.

Read more | Why Bill O'Reilly Hates San Francisco
Osama Bin O'Reilly Issues Fatwa Against San Francisco: Photos | Video

On Friday, October 28th, a month after Bill Bennett aired a racist remark about aborting black babies, Bay Area protesters held a Halloween-themed direct action to revoke the broadcast license of host station 910 am KNEW. Photos | Audio

The protest was organized in direct response to Bennett’s recent statement on his “Morning in America” show, which airs from 3-5AM on Clear Channel-owned 910am, KNEW. Bennett remarked: “If you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Audio | Article Bennett is not the only KNEW talk show host to make hateful comments- Michael Savage routinely calls immigrants “vermin” who are “raping, stealing, murdering and defecating on our lawns”. Protesters say this content is grounds for revoking KNEW’s broadcast license. “We’ve petitioned the FCC to revoke KNEW’s license because Clear Channel should not be given a license to hate,” says Taishi Duchicela, an organizer for the Youth Media Council.
Bill Bennett On Crime And Race | Southern Poverty Law Center | Savage Anti-Semitism

The direct action against KNEW took place on Friday from 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Clear Channel Headquarters, at 340 Townsend Street between 4th and 5th Streets in San Francisco. Protesters wore Halloween masks, performed a street theater piece to expose the hateful content on 910AM KNEW, and took direct action to deliver a legal petition to deny Clear Channel’s license to broadcast KNEW as well as 106.1 KMEL, WILD 94.9, and 92.3 KSJO in San Jose. The public comment period for or against California radio stations, which are all applying for renewal through the FCC, lasts through November 1st. Or visit Youth Media Council's Media Action Center under "Take Action" to file a public comment.

Event organizers: Code Pink | Media Alliance | Youth Media Council | Acción Latina | Youth Movement Records | East Side Arts Alliance | La Peña Cultural Center. Color of Change's Bennett Page

PROTESTERS LAUNCH LEGAL CHALLENGE TO REVOKE CLEAR CHANNEL LICENSES Radio listeners stage Halloween Action to Unmask hateful talk radio of Bill Bennett and Michael Savage On Friday, October 28th a month after Bill Bennett aired a racist remark about aborting black babies, Bay Area protestors will conduct a Halloween-themed direct action to revoke the broadcast license of host station 910 am KNEW. The protest is in direct response to Bennett’s statement on his “Morning in America” show, which airs from 3-5AM on Clear Channel-owned 910am, KNEW. Bennett remarked: “If you wanted to reduce crime, you could – if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” Audio Bennett is not the only KNEW talk show host to make hateful comments- Michael Savage, who was fired from MSNBC for telling a caller to “get AIDS and die” but who was promptly hired by Clear Channel, routinely calls immigrants “vermin” who are “raping, stealing, murdering and defecating on our lawns”. Protesters say this content is grounds for revoking KNEW’s broadcast license. “KNEW violates the public interest by broadcasting inflammatory content that incites fear and violence. We’ve petitioned the FCC to revoke KNEW’s license because Clear Channel should not be given a license to hate,” says has a responsibility to regulate the airwaves in the public interest,” says Taishi Duchicela, an organizer for the Youth Media Council

The direct action against KNEW will take place on Friday from 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Clear Channel Headquarters, at 340 Townsend Street between 4th and 5th Streets, San Francisco. Protestors will be wearing Halloween masks, doing a street theater piece to expose the hateful content on 910AM KNEW, and taking direct action to deliver a legal petition to deny Clear Channel’s license to broadcast KNEW and 106.1 KMEL, WILD 94.9, and 92.3 KSJO in San Jose. The public can make comments, in favor or against, any California radio stations, which are all applying for renewal through the FCC through November 1st. Visit , or Youth Media Council's Media Action Center under "Take Action" to file a public comment.

Coalition partners: Code Pink, Media Alliance, Youth Media Council, Acción Latina, Youth Movement Records, East Side Arts Alliance, and La Peña Cultural Center. Color of Change's Bennett Page

On October 16th, the National Radio Project and La Peña Cultural Center presented An Evening of Dialogue and Live Music, at 7:30pm at La Peña. Read more

The event featured Norman Solomon, who is senior advisor of National Radio Project, executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, author of “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death;” C.S. Soong, who is host and producer of the KPFA radio show Against the Grain; and folk singer and cultural activist David Rovics. The event was a benefit for the Oakland-based National Radio Project and for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Some recent National Radio Project shows: Making Contact's Katrina Uncovers: Activism, Racism and Environmental Justice | Katrina Uncovers: Environment, Health, and Rescue

On October 8th and 9th, KDRT-LPFM hosted the Low Power Radio Roundup, an event meant to bring together the many emerging community stations around California and Oregon. Photos In 2000, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the low power radio service, as a way for community groups to get access to the airwaves in a time of excessive radio consolidation. Since then, over 80 new radio stations have hit the air in California alone. As these community groups have little prior experience in radio, this conference is meant to provide a space for these stations to network and share skills and experience. The event included trainings in radio journalism, internet streaming, and radio theater. It also covered a variety of station management and legal issues. In addition to inviting low power radio stations, this event brought together more established community and pirate radio stations from California and Oregon. It was co-sponsored by the Prometheus Radio Project, KPFA, and the UC Davis Technocultural Studies department. Audio about the low power radio movement and its roots in pirate radio. Read the conference announcement, with a description of workshops and information about registering.

FRIDAY, Sept. 23rd - It's the end of the summer, and that means it's time for one last guerrilla screening in the park, compliments of StreetLevel TV, in association with the Video Activist Network and Indybay Join independent filmmakers and videoactivists as they screen this month's episode of SLTV, which was filmed in Chicago with the help of the Octopussy Collective, along with various shorts, music videos and Hurricane Katrina footage fresh from New Orleans.

This month's show covers everything from the history of the poor latino neighborhoods that Dodger Stadium was built on (produced by youth in LA) to the popular locally-produced piece: "Wrong Bathroom", about the daily struggle of transsexual and genderqueer folk, with interviews with Tribe8 members and local activists. The community profile of the month covers revolutionary hip-hop act Entartete Kunst.

The screening starts at 8:30PM in Dolores Park in San Francisco, on Dolores between 18th and 20th Streets.

On Wednesday September 21st George Galloway, member of the British parliament, spoke at Mission High School as part of a tour of his new book, Mr. Galloway Goes to Washington. Listen to audio of Galloway's speech
Galloway defiantly testified in front of congress last spring answering allegations of buisness relationships with Saddam Hussein. Read More.
Enemy Combatant Radio provided a live webstream of this event.

Video of Galloway debating Hitchens in NYC | Galloway tour blog | Tickets for Wednesday