Self-Hating Media Moguls Take More Airwaves

"For weeks, it sounded as if amateurs had been bleeding their voices into the broadcasts of stations in Akron, Ohio, owned by Clear Channel, the corporate radio giant." The pirate broadcasters' website contained "a manifesto about 'corporate-controlled music playlists' that took potshots at several local Clear Channel stations." But it was all a Clear Channel marketing campaign, to promote an Akron station's switch to a "progressive talk" format. "We tried to get into the mindset of people who would listen to this new station," said the company's local marketing manager - a mindset that "may involve a suspicion of Clear Channel itself." "It's the heart of the problem with Clear Channel," said Carrie McLaren, the editor of Stay Free magazine. "'We're this huge corporation and we do everything to fake being local.'" Stay Free reported on the outing of "Radio Free Ohio" by a (truly) independent Ohio radio station.