Clearing the air about radio and the community

CLEARING THE AIR ABOUT RADIO AND THE COMMUNITY
[SOURCE: Seattle Times, AUTHOR: Michele Grosenick, Clear Channel]
[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission was in Seattle last week to hear our take on localism and the media-ownership debate. The FCC has held hearings all across the nation designed to get citizen input. These hearings are so important to the process because they allow local citizens' voices to be heard. Unfortunately, some hearings have attracted out-of-town activists with a preordained viewpoint, and high emotions over ownership and local stewardship have pushed reason right out of the room. In my industry, and in my view, it's just common sense that radio stations serve their local listeners or they go out of business, plain and simple. In fact, in a digital age with countless global information and entertainment sources, radio's role as a local news, information and entertainment provider is even more important now than it has been in the past. The fact that radio is local is nowhere more true than right here in Seattle. Regardless of where our corporate headquarters are located, our Seattle radio stations are every bit as much a part of Seattle as the Space Needle and the Pike Place Market, ultimately enriching the Emerald City and the local community in which all of us live.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004014425_clearchannel15.html

* Sign of the times: Another local radio station gets gobbled up
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2004014433_wenatchee15.html