Spitzer Hits Entercom With Payola Suit

[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed suit against radio company Entercom Communications, alleging it traded airtime for pay. Spitzer alleges that Entercom: 1) Traded air time for gifts and other payments; 2) Traded air time for promotional items and personal trips; 3) Solicited and accepted payments from record labels for air time; 4) Instituted corporate programs, supported and directed by senior management, that sold air time to record labels in order to manipulate the music charts. Spitzer also asked the FCC to act on its current payola investigation. "Almost a year after payola was exposed in significant detail, the FCC has yet to respond in any meaningful way," he said. "The agency’s inaction is especially disappointing given the pervasive nature of this problem and its corrosive impact on the entertainment industry."
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6314061?display=Breaking+News...
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* Statement of FCC Commissioner Adelstein:
"The New York Attorney General investigation is piling evidence on top of evidence of the widespread abuse of the public trust. Given the voluminous documents pointing to major, systematic violations of FCC rules, the penalties should be commensurate with the crime. We can't let any violators get away with a slap on the wrist."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-264230A1.doc

* FCC Already Investigating Entercom for Payola
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6314322?display=Breaking+News...
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)

* Spitzer Sues Radio Chain as Part of Music Inquiry
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/business/09music.html?pagewanted=all
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* Spitzer Sues Radio-Station Operator As Payola Probe Expands
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114184658344492816.html?mod=todays_us_ma...